TRADING CENTER / 1873–1918

Education

Although most Dallas County residents valued education, nineteenth-century voters resisted using tax dollars to pay for it. It was not until 1884 that an effective Dallas School Board was formed to create public schools. The first schools were quickly overwhelmed with students. African American students were segregated in inferior facilities with no libraries and attended a shorter term than white students. Other county communities gradually established their own public schools, with similar segregation. For parents who could afford tuition, private and parochial schools such as Ursuline Academy, St. Mary’s College, the Terrill School and Miss Hockaday’s School were desirable options. The first successful institution of higher learning in Dallas County was Southern Methodist University, which opened in 1915.