State marks historic legacy of Gladewater’s Weldon School
It’s been a long time coming with a lot of work behind the effort, but Weldon Elementary School will soon receive a prized historic marker from the State of Texas.
“We’ve been working on this three years,” Susie Scott said, “and we just got it.”
She’s chair of the five-member committee who took up the torch in 2024 and whose volunteers saw the effort through to the end, very soon. Finalized in Fall 2025, the Weldon School’s historical marker was among 23 approved by the Texas Historical Commission in late January.
Weldon Historical Marker Committee members Susie Scott (chair, left) Darlene Hampton and Darren Richardson pose with the long-awaited landmark to local history. The official marker from the Texas Historical Commission will be officially unveiled during a dedication ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Weldon campus at 315 E. Saunders.
It’s been minted, buffed and polished, with the perfect spot picked out on campus. The unveiling’s set for 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24 at 315 E. Saunders.
“we started at the last reunion,” Scott added. “We ran into some obstacles, but we persevered, and we got it.”
In addition to the chair, the committee includes Darlene Hampton, Darren Richardson, Othelia Taylor and Lesly Taylor, Sr.
Designated job 24GG01 at the historical commission, the project was years in the making.
The application was supported by an extensive “History of Weldon School” compiled by the committee members. The advocates have provided it for readers’ via GladewaterMirror.com
“The year 1969 culminates over a hundred years of education in three counties – Gregg, Smith, and Upshur,” according to the opening of the history. “In the original district, then called Valley Home School District, there were two schools which served as a nucleus for Weldon. They were the ‘town school’ and the Holly Springs school.
“Over the years all or part of Red Rock, Prairie Creek, Evergreen, Joy, Pritchett and Starrville districts were consolidated to finally form the Gladewater County Line Independent School District. Beginning in 1940, Weldon became the receiving high school for surrounding schools. A peak enrollment of over seven hundred students was reached in the 1964-1965 school year when eight other districts were sending high school students.”
The unveiling ceremony coincides with the 22nd Bi-Annual Weldon Alumni Reunion beginning Friday, Oct. 23. (See separate story here.)
From the Marker:
WELDON SCHOOL
After the Civil War, African American families in area Freedmen communities founded schools which over decades consolidated into Gladewater Independent School District by the 1950s. The Bethel community in Gladewater hosted a school for African American students in New Hope Baptist Church by 1900. The school became known as Gladewater Colored School, and in 1922, with assistance from the Julius Rosenwald fund, Gladewater Independent School District constructed a two-room schoolhouse. A local economic boom following oil discovery in the early 1930s meant the school’s population swelled. Six additional acres were purchased in 1934 from George Roden. Grades 9-12 were added.
In 1937, the school was renamed after its principal, J. Weldon Williams (1893-1958). In 1941, a new shop building was constructed, and five acres were added to the site. In 1946 the school constructed a gym and remodeled the elementary annex, which had been damaged by fire. The campus expanded to include an auditorium, additional classrooms and athletic facilities.
Later principals such as Emerson Jackson, Edward Green, and Garfield Hill, assistant principal Rudolph Phillips and others sought academic and extracurricular excellence. The Weldon Bumblebees football team, founded in 1939 by Calvin Cooksey, head coach for 25 years, won 191 games and competed for state 3 times. Students excelled in tennis, basketball, baseball, swimming and track. In the 1960s, students competed in drama, oratorical speaking, choir, music and band. After integration in 1969, the Weldon campus continued to serve local students.