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Mrs.
Henrietta M. King
A photograph (circa 1870) of Mrs. Henrietta M. King
wife of the founder of the King Ranch, Richard King.
She saw a need for education in Kleberg County, and
she provided the means for children to become educated.
Mrs. King played a major role in the location (she
donated the land), design (worked with the architect),
and building (provided skilled laborers) of the original
Kingsville High School. Kingsville High School
was later named after Mrs. H.M. King.
There is no known record of the name of the architect.
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The
Original H.M. King High School
The original H.M. King High School. The corner
stone was laid on July 21, 1909. Notice the
street in the photo, Kleberg Avenue (Main Street)
was not paved when the picture was taken.
The architect for the old H.M. King High School is
unknown. The design of the building used a Spanish
mission theme. The tower and facade designs
incorporated the San Jose Mission (left), the Alamo
(center), and Mission Concepcion (right).
When the new H.M. King High School was built in 1966,
the old high school became part of Memorial Junior
High. Memorial Junior High School was located
next to the old high school.
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A visit
to the old H.M. King High School - January, 2001
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Texas State Historical
Marker in front of the old high school.
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The old high school - January,
2001. |
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The left parapet, representing
San Jose Mission.
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The center parapet, representing
the Alamo. |
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The dome of the old high
school, representing Mission Concepcion. How
many coats of paint has it seen?
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Looking east down Kleberg
Avenue, toward downtown from the street corner in front
of the old high school. |
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The corner stone
of the old high school. It says;
ERECTED AND PRESENTED BY
HENRIETTA M. KING TO
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF KINGSVILLE, TEX.
TO BE USED ONLY FOR
PUBLIC SCHOOL PURPOSES
THIS CORNER STONE LAID BY
CHAMBERLAIN LODGE
No. 913.A.F.&A.M.
JULY 21, 1909 |
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| One has to wonder what was placed
in the corner stone? Today, the old high school is abandoned
and the doors and windows are boarded up. Portions of
the roof have collapsed and it appears that there has been
very little, if any maintenance. What a sad ending to
the one time pride of Kingsville.
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H.M.
King High School Today
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| Above is a photo of H. M. King
High today. Opened in 1965, the new H. M. King High
School has been expanded since 1971 to include an indoor swimming
pool. The outer wings of the front of the school have
been extended on both the north and south sides. A baseball
diamond now exists south of the track. Across the street,
there is a shopping mall, where an open field once existed.
If you haven't visited Kingsville in many years, try to remember
what the area around the high school looked like in 1971,
and compare it to today. |
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Some
interesting information about H.M. King High School, taken
from the History Of Kleberg County, Texas, published in
1976.
The
first graduate of H.M. King High
School:
The first graduate from H.M. King High School was Marjorie
Elizabeth DeLeuw. She graduated Kingsville High School
(before it was named H.M. King High) on May 18, 1911.
She was born July 6, 1895, to Jean and Jacob DeLeuw in Holland.
Her mother died when she was five years old and she was
brought to San Antonio, Texas by her mother's brother, James
Arthur Battram and his wife. She attended school in
San Antonio until they moved to Brownsville in 1904.
They then moved to Kingsville in 1905, where Mr. and Mrs.
Battram operated Kingsville's first nursery in connection
with the King Ranch.
First Cheerleaders And A New Mascot?:
In 1924, Doris Besch Tracy and Felix Callahan were elected
the first cheerleaders of H.M. King High. Doris Besch
Tracy also changed the name of the H.M. King High mascot
from the "Goats" to the "Brahmas".
A special "thank you" to Doris Besch Tracy for
saving all of the future graduates of H.M. King High the
embarrassment and humiliation of being called the H.M. King
High "Goats"!
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