Eola School (former) Addition - Eola TX

City:: Eola, TX
Site Type:: Schools, Education and Health
New Deal Agencies:: Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Started:: 1939
Completed:: 1939
Designer:: L.H. Gaskins
Quality of Information:: Moderate
Marked:: No
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

The original Eola School was built in 1928. In 1939, a five-room addition, a gym/auditorium, a rock wall, and two water towers were added with the help of Work Projects Administration (WPA) funds and labor. In 1983, the school closed. In 2005 the school was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is currently the Eola School Restaurant and Brewery.

The five-room addition was added to the west side of the original building. It is constructed of rough faced limestone with brick trim. The gym/auditorium extends off the rear or north side. It is spanned by a barrel vault with brick buttresses along the east and west sides. The low limestone wall surrounds the entire property. There are two concrete water tanks.

The Work Projects Administration (WPA) project, as part of a larger uncompleted project: “The 1940 addition was financed with federal and local funds–$60,000 Work Projects Administration (WPA) funds and $15,000 Eola School District funds. The project started October 24, 1939 and was completed October 5, 1940. WPA records specify the construction of a secondary school, gymnasium and 22,119 gallon concrete water storage tank. The secondary school was to be attached to the west end of the existing building. The playground would be enclosed with a rock fence. The August 25, 1940 San Angelo Standard-Times announced the opening of school on September 5 and stated the new gym, 3 classrooms, a library-study hall and rest rooms were finished.”

Located in a west Texas rural farm community, the Eola School was built in two phases. The first section, a stucco building housing classrooms and an auditorium, was constructed in 1928. A 1939 WPA addition substantially enlarged the school by adding three rooms and a limestone and brick barrel vault gymnasium. WPA work also included a 3.5-foot tall limestone wall around the property and two concrete water tanks. The Eola School closed in 1983. As of 2016 the building houses the Eola School Restaurant.

Eola is 18 miles east of San Angelo, Texas. The Eola School is located southeast of the intersection of FM 381 and FM 765, bounded by FM 381 on the west and a rock wall on the north, east, and south.