Hidalgo County Schools
HIDALGO COUNTY SCHOOLS The history of the Hidalgo County schools is as mercurial as the economic development of the county. Schools have sprung up and faded as the economy boomed or waned in communities all over the area. ... This new area in the New Mexico Territory all became part of Doña Ana County. In 1868 Doña Ana County was divided and the western portion became Grant County, named in honor of the illustrious Civil War General. ... Most of these schools, however, were located in Santa Fe or the surrounding areas. The first glimmer of hope (for the future Hidalgo County) was the public school law made in 1860. ... These would be public schools, not free schools, and the law would remain in force, with some modifications for the next thirty years. ... Finally in 1872, the legislature levied the first poll tax of one dollar a year for each able-bodied man 21 years or older, and assigned it to the schools exclusively. Later the liquor tax and certain fines were added to public revenues that financed schools. Because of poor and dangerous traveling conditions between the Shakespeare-Lordsburg communities and the Grant County Schools in Silver City area, a school began in Lordsburg in 1884. It was under the auspices of the Grant County Superintendent. ... This was the first school in the county, and it faced many problems. ... McGRATH Taught at Plank School 1894-1895 The following year Miss Emma Marble replaced McGrath in the Plank school and Miss Ida Cain was employed to teach the primary levels in a room rented for this purpose north of the school building There were many other schools that sprang up in the area. Any time there were eight or more students in an area, a teacher was to be provided by the county. Schools were usually built by the local residents and were frequently paid for by box suppers and dances. ... The McGee Mine School, located north of Granite Gap, appears in many of the local histories, but not in county records. Maps of Hidalgo County from 1920 show schools at Gray and Maddox, both south of Animas. These schools are only faint memories for local residents as they had already been disbanded by 1920. ... In 1919 the legislature created Hidalgo County and Lordsburg was named the county seat. ... The first meeting of the County Board was on January 29, 1920. The board divided the county into eleven “districts”---Lordsburg, Virden, Valedon, Steins, Rodeo, Animas, Neblett, Walnut Wells, Cloverdale, Valley View, and Lone Walnut. ... Clark served as the first County MRS. LUELLA CLARK First County Superintendent Taught at Valedon, Lordsburg, and Lone Walnut Superintendent. Her duties included the securing of teachers, requesting and apportioning supplies, and the direct supervision of all the rural schools. In 1922, under Superintendent Inez Wright, two more schools – Playas-Red Hill and Pratt – were added. The last order of business (of the January 29, 1920 board meeting) dealt with the upcoming elections which proposed making the Lordsburg High School into a county high school. ... Third, allowing county use of the high school would be more efficient, since the graduating class of the city high school had consisted of only one in 1920, and would only have reached three by the following year.