Stephen F. Austin Elementary School
Stephen F. Austin Elementary School, also known as the Abell School, is located at 500 Abell Street and served as a public elementary school from 1930 to 2009. It played a significant role in Texas public school integration, including early enrollment of Mexican-American students starting in 1946. The school was one of the nine original sites for the 1958 LULAC-funded “Little School of the 400” program, which taught four hundred basic English words to Spanish-dominant preschoolers, a program that inspired the nationally known “Head Start” program.
In 2018, the Wharton Independent School District applied for an $8.75 million federal grant to use Hurricane Harvey relief funds to construct 34 new housing units on the site of the school. Local advocates recognized the historic value of the school and received approval of a National Register nomination from the State Board of Review in September 2021. While plans were amended to retain the school building, impacts from construction around the school and its use remain a concern. Advocates have proposed alternative sites for the new construction, which would ensure that the site and its grounds remain intact, and that the school building can be used for much-needed nonprofit educational purposes.
LOCATION: 500 Abell Street, Wharton (Wharton County)
DESIGNATION: NRHP
STATUS: Endangered
OWNER: Wharton ISD
RESOURCE TYPE: Institutional
YEAR LISTED: 2021
