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    WHITEWRIGHT, TEXAS

    Grayson County, North Central Texas
    Highways 11 and 160
    12 miles SE of Sherman

    Population: 1,740

    Where to Stay - Whitewright Area Hotels
    Sherman Hotels

    History in a Pecan Shell

    The town was named after investor William Whitewright in 1878, as the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad was fast approaching. Whitewright platted the town and lots were soon being sold by his agents. In the 1880s the town had all essential businesses as well as a private school, Grayson College, and a public school.

    A post office was granted in 1888. The population was nearly just over 1,800 by 1900 and 1,666 twenty-years later.

    Whitewright was served by th MKT and the Cotton Belt through the 1920s. Whitewright enjoyed a continued success as a supply center and shipping point for farmers.

    The population after WWII remained at a respectable 1,537 although businesses declined.

    Whitewright Past & Present - Photo Gallery

    Whitewright TX After 1911 Fire
    Downtown Whitewright after the 1911 Fire
    Whitewright Texas Downtown
    Downtown Whitewright today. 2011 Photo
    More Texas Then & Now
    First national Bank of Whitewright  Texas
    First National Bank of Whitewright, built 1905, survived the 1911 fire that destroyed downtown. - June 2008 Photo
    Whitewright Texas -  First National Bank building details
    June 2008 Photo
    More Texas Banks
    Whitewright Texas Downtown
    Another view of Downtown Whitewright. 2011 Photo
    Grayson College Laboratory, Whitewright, Texas

    Site of Former Whitewright High School

    "This is an interesting little building we found on the site of the former Whitewright High School. While the former Whitewright High School is gone, this building remains.

    Our research finds that the building was built between 1900-1905 and was used as a laboratory for the former Grayson College campus in Whitewright.

    Sometime around 1920, after the new Whitewright High School was built on the site the building sat dormant for some time. But by 1929, the building was being used for "Manual training". When I was in school, we called that "Shop".

    The building today seems well secured and is owned by the First Baptist Church in Whitewright.

    It is all that remains of the old Whitewright High School and Grayson college before that." - Stephen Taylor, May 2006 photo
    Grayson College Laboratory, Whitewright, Texas
    Gymnasium in Whitewright Texas
    "This is the gymnasium/auditorium at Whitewright. Built in 1936, it appears to be a collaboration between the City of Whitewright and the School District. Today, the First Baptist church owns the property and the gym is being used as an activity center. All the windows have been replaced, and it has a new roof." - Stephen Taylor, May 19, 2006
    Where to Stay - Whitewright Area Hotels
    Sherman Hotels
    Whitewright Texas Forum
    Impersonation of a Bricklayer
    About Whitewright High School Gym and Lab

    Dear TE, I attended and graduated from Whitewright High School. I used to live nearby I am writing after reading (the first of many) your website has for WHS.

    The gym information and picture caught my eye. As well the "City and School" connection to building it. The crew was a WPA crew, if I remember correctly. Also, there was a man on the construction crew who did not know how to lay brick, but said he did! This caused two things to happen. One is he lost his job. The other is that after catching the errors, the crew placed one huge block/brick upon another, not staggering it as usual! This is on the face of the building. This story was told to me when I found a man and son at dusk looking for the blocks and errors with a flashlight to point them out. The error was fixed also by placing a "half block" or brick in the front of the building or elsewhere.

    The Lab building was always shut whenever I went to school there. It was said to be a museum, a site dedicated to the old College days. I used to see a reunion there about every year, on Sundays. One day after I was grown I passed and recognized this gathering at the building as the suppossed "reunion." Everyone, as usual, was dressed in suits and "to the "nines." I also swear I recognized one of the people as being the famous "Higgins" character on the television show, "Magnum P.I." Now you may understand why I'd like my name witheld. I am pretty sure it was he, as I used to watch that show and read a bit about it. Seeing pictures of him (don't remember his real name) I also remembered that in one episode he played his "twin brother" from Texas. I wondered at the [difficulty of] swapping an English Brogue (mum was a Scot ) to a Texas drawl! - NWBR, Somewhere in Texas, September 22, 2007

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    This page last modified: March 31, 2011