White Oak, Gregg County
The small community of White Oak grew up around a one-room school built in the 1880s. After the first school building burned in 1885, local families worked to erect a new one-room school, which also was used for religious services. By 1912 it was replaced with a two-room building. After oil was discovered in East Texas in the 1930s, the school became overcrowded with the children of families who came to the area in search of black gold. The community constructed a modern brick facility in 1933, and in 1937 the first senior class graduated from White Oak School. Facilities were added as needed over the years. New administration, elementary and middle school were erected in the 1980s. (1999)