The first school in Myrtle Springs was built prior to 1884. The only information recorded is that it was a frame building. The second school was built about 1884 and was a brick building with arched windows. It was torn down about 1908. The third school building was a brick building built in 1919 and was razed (sic) about 1928. It only lasted ten years. The fourth school was a frame building built in 1929 and is the building which is being restored and is now used as a community center. One of the out-buildings on the campus of the fourth school was sold and used as a school by the black community in Edgewood. After integration in the 1960s, the school fell into disrepair and was used for hay storage. In 1990, the Edgewood Historical Society purchased the building, fully restored it, and it is now available for viewing in the Heritage Park Living History Museum in Edgewood. Above information courtesy of Lynn Mullins and Edgewood Historical Society.

According to information found on the Van Zandt County Historical Commission’s website at www.vanzandthistoricalcommission.com/, the first school in Myrtle Springs, a frame building, was built prior to 1888. The second school, a brick building, was built about 1884, but was torn down about 1908 and was replaced with another brick building in 1919 which lasted about 1919 and replaced by a wood frame building in 1929. This is the current building on the site.

According to LaRea Miller (sadly now deceased), this last building closed after the 1976-1977 term as a result of state facility regulations becoming more rigid. The community simply didn’t have the means to erect a new and modern facility. Students above the sixth grade were already attending school in Wills Point. With the closing, the remaining students transferred to Wills Point.

The building had a troubling time following the school’s closures, but in 1979, some of its former students, had a reunion in the school and continued in following years. About 1989, the former students formed the Myrtle Springs Alumni Association, but failed to register it as a 501(c)(3) organization. Through the diligent work led by Bill and Ida Rusk and others, Myrtle Springs Alumni Association is a fully qualified 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization recognized under federal tax code. Contributions are fully deductible.

Transcribed by B. Miller, 1999
from Pictorial History of Van Zandt County, 1848-1994
with permission of Van Zandt County Historical Commission