One of the oldest public schools in south Texas is marking its 150th birthday today, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Locke-Hill Elementary School was founded in 1868 on what was then Fredericksburg Road, now I-10 between Huebner and Dezavala. It is named for early Bexar County settler William Jackson Locke, who was one of the earliest people to build a home on Fredericksburg Road, and at one point owned much of the land along Fredericksburg Road, which when was 12 miles north of the north city limits of San Antonio.
Locke's Homestead became known as Locke's Hill.
Locke donated the land for the original school, which was replaced in 1900 by a building which now houses the Northside Alternative High School.
One interesting point in Locke-Hill's colorful history; in the 1920s soldiers spent the night at Locke-Hill Elementary School when they marched from Ft. Sam Houston to Camp Bullis for training.
Before 1900, the school was housed in a new demolished building near Locke-Hill Cemetery, which also is on land owned by Locke.
In 1948, Locke-Hill was one of 12 school buildings in far flung north Bexar County, which then generally served the children of farmers and ranchers, which combined to form the Northside Consolidated School District.
The current Locke-Hill Elementary, which features the entry arch from the 1900 building, is on Dezavala Road, which is where the school's 150th birthday will be celebrated tonight.That school was built in 1975.