In March 1886, Joseph D. Bell drilled Waco's first artesian well, and the area around the well became known as Bell's Hill. The Waco School District opened the Sixth District School at 6th and Franklin streets in 1889; it was moved to a new structure at 15th and Burnett by 1904. All district schools were given official names in 1906, and the Sixth District School became Bell's Hill School. The school building collapsed in 1923 because the soil beneath it was unstable. A new structure was erected at the former location of the Bell Water Company's well in 1925. The facility was expanded in 1954, with further expansions and additions made in 1988. In 1998 the school served approximately 600 students. (1998)
Bell's Hill School
The roadside stories worth pulling over for.
Bell's Hill School is a historical marker in Waco, McLennan County, dedicated in 1998. It is one of 198 historical markers documented in McLennan County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 224 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 31.5370, -97.1396 near Waco. The nearest cataloged historic site is Site of Old Texas Cotton Palace (historical marker), about 0.7 miles away. Others within a short drive include Cooper, Madison, House, Clifton, Albert Turner, House, and Austin Avenue Methodist Church.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5309012073. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
Get Texas Roam — all 28,000 sites in your pocket
See this site and every marker, cemetery, courthouse, museum and landmark across Texas on one live map — find what's near you, get directions, and check in as you roam.
or open the live map in your browser →Free · ad-free · the iOS app and the web map share one account, so your visits sync across both