RIGGS FAMILY SCHOOLS & HISTORY

BANDARA, TEXAS SCHOOLHOUSE

SCHOOLHOUSE BUILT IN BANDERA, TEXAS FOR RIGGS FAMILY MEMBERS. THIS WOULD LIKELY HAVE BEEN THE FIRST SCHOOLHOUSE BUILT BY THE BRANNICK RIGGS FAMILY. (There may not have been a schoolhouse built in Bandera by or for Riggs family members. This is being researched.)

Due to the lack of a formal public school system, schools in Bandera County in the 1860s were few and far between. They were small, informal, and run by communities, churches, or private individuals rather than the state. The county's rural and developing nature during this period meant that educational opportunities were highly localized and often dependent on a family's ability to pay or spare their children from farm work. 

Structure of early Bandera County schools

• One-room schoolhouses: Similar to other rural areas in the United States at the time, any formal schooling was likely conducted in a one-room schoolhouse.

• Community-based: The schools were organized and financed locally by citizens and church congregations, rather than by a central school board.

• Teacher autonomy: Teachers largely determined their own curriculum and were responsible for the daily operations of the school. The education they provided was guided more by their own practices than by any official policy.

• Agricultural schedule: School schedules were dictated by the farming season. Children were excused from school during planting and harvesting, when they were needed to work in the fields. 

Challenges to education in the 1860s

• Limited access: Education was not universally available. Many families could not afford the cost of schooling, or needed their children to work for economic survival.

• Informal institutions: There were no official, government-run school districts. Texas did not establish a formal statewide system of public education until after the Civil War and the Reconstruction era. The Civil War, which took place from 1861 to 1865, further disrupted educational efforts, and most schools in the South were temporarily or permanently closed during this time.

• Civil War impact: The effects of the war would have compounded the existing difficulties of a frontier county. Limited resources and political instability would have made organizing and funding schools extremely challenging.

CHICOSA CANYON SCHOOLHOUSE

SCHOOLHOUSE BUILT IN CHICOSA CANYON, LAS ANIMAS COUNTY, COLORADO FOR RIGGS FAMILY MEMBERS. THIS WAS THE SECOND (? maybe the first) SCHOOLHOUSE BUILT BY THE BRANNICK RIGGS FAMILY. (No photograph of the schoolhouse has been found.)

Construction started in 18xx and was completed in 1871.

From the publication, CHICOSA BILL: “A schoolhouse was built, and in the summer and fall of 1871, Mr. Steven D. Stout taught the first school in that vicinity. People came for miles to hear the singing, which was taught among other things at our school, as one of Mr. Stout’s hobbies was vocal music.”

THIS SECTION IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
History of the Riggs Chicosa Canyon Schoolhouse will be described here.

RIGGS HOME RANCH SCHOOLHOUSE

SCHOOLHOUSE BUILT AT THE RIGGS HOME RANCH FOR RIGGS FAMILY MEMBERS. THIS WAS THE FIRST SCHOOLHOUSE BUILT IN ARIZONA TERRITORY BY THE BRANNICK RIGGS FAMILY.

Construction started in 18xx and was completed in 1882. Riggs Home Ranch School was used until the El Dorado School was built in 1900. The Riggs Home Ranch School was included in the El Dorado School District on August 13, 1883. (Date from Cochise County Board of Supervisors meeting establishing District #16)

THIS SECTION IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
History of the Riggs Home Ranch Schoolhouse will be described here.

EL DORADO SCHOOLHOUSE

Construction started around January 2, 1900 and was completed in time to move in on December 3, 1900.

El Dorado School District #16 was established in Cochise County on August 13, 1883 and remained a district until 1965.

THIS SECTION IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION
History of the El Dorado Schoolhouse including students and photographs will be shown and described here.