Details for Alla School

Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5085000120

Data

Marker Number 120
Atlas Number 5085000120
Marker Title Alla School
Index Entry Alla School
Address
City Celina
County Collin
UTM Zone 14
UTM Easting 708027
UTM Northing 3694334
Subject Codes women, women's history topics; educational topics
Marker Year 1983
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No
Marker Location from Celina, go about 3 miles N on SH 289 to CR 105, go E about 2/10 mile to marker
Private Property No
Marker Condition In Situ
Marker Size 27" x 42"
Marker Text In 1866 Moses and Mary Jane Hubbard and their daughter Alla moved from Missouri to Collin County, where Hubbard was a successful doctor, farmer, and one of the largest landholders in the area. Concerned with the inadequacy of the local school, the Hubbards supplemented Alla's education at home and then sent her to Pritchett Institute in Glasgow, Missouri, where she earned a degree in literature in 1880. A talented writer, Alla Hubbard returned to Texas and married Dr. B.F. Spencer in 1884, but died five years later. In 1895 her parents founded a school in her memory. Named Alla School, it was formed from the consolidation of the nearby Emerson and McWhirter school districts and was completely financed by the Hubbards. With an initial enrollment of 108, Alla School opened in 1896 with nine grades, no scholastic age limit, no tuition, and an eight-month school term. The Hubbards, aware of the benefits of a solid educational background, instituted these uncommon features at a time when there was little support for free public shools. In 1958 the Alla School merged with the Celina Independent School District. Funds from the Hubbard estate, however, continued to serve public education in the Celina Schools. (1983)