Bellville, Austin County
Bellville’s 1918 two-story brick schoolhouse served all grades, but by the 1930s had overcrowding and structural problems. An initial application for funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA), a federal New Deal program, was denied in 1936. After H.F. Granau led 40 citizens in signing a petition, the board of trustees voted to issue bonds for $50,000, and a second application to the PWA secured an additional $58,000. Blum E. Hester was the architect and A.N. Evans was the contractor for a new high school and gymnasium (also used as an auditorium), which opened in 1939 with U.S. Senator Tom Connally making the dedicatory address. The facility was the high school until 1970, then served other grades and school used until being renovated in 2006 as the school district’s administration building and BISD school museum. (2018)