When the Santa Rita Ward School officially opened Feb. 18, 1927, it relieved overcrowding at the Harris Avenue and Fort Concho schools.
Surprising many, the schools were again suffering from overcrowding the next year.
San Angelo’s sixth ward school
On April 23, 1929, it was announced that a contract for $26,000 had been awarded to F.M. Reeves & Son for the “Van Buren Street School.”
The site, located in the northwest Freeland Addition, consisted of 24 lots in Block 2-C, purchased for under $14,000, officials said.
This school, which later became known as Stephen F. Austin Elementary, opened in the fall of 1929 with 225 students.
After 95 years of service, school officials decided to close Austin Elementary along with a few others.
Demolition on the school started a few weeks ago,
