Doyle District

Kerr County, TX

Status: Located – Needs More Research

Year Established: 1896

Council of Governments: AACOG

Public History: There are no current descriptions related to Doyle District in the public record. If you are aware of any sources that we may have missed please share them with us.

Community History: Excerpt from journalist Joe Herring, Jr: The first school in Kerrville for black students was in a Methodist church, led by the church’s pastor, Rev. Patton, according to a news story published in this newspaper in 1995 [Kerrville Daily Times]. There were other schools, too. According to a history of the Doyle School, the “first records of black students finishing a course of study in the Kerrville area was in 1885 when three students graduated from the tenth grade. There were only two more records of graduates between 1885 and 1900. However, from 1900 until the integration of the black school [completed in 1966], complete records are on file. The first record of a black school in Kerrville was in 1909. A new white school was built and one of the old buildings was given to the black community. In order to have the frame structure moved, they would have to come up with the money to have it moved. The black community raised $53 to move the structure to their property.” Sources differ as to where that first school was sited, though it was likely near the intersection of Schreiner and Francisco Lemos streets; other sources say an early name for the school was the “Cabbage Hill School.”Early teachers in that school included a Mr. Burton, and later Mrs. A. W. (Annie) Doyle.” https://joeherringjr.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-doyle-school.html#.YKrz8KhKiUk Excerpt from Interview with resident, Lois Shaw, in Hill Country Community Journal, 2021: “What also surprised her then, and made her mad, was discovering white residents called this area ‘the Settlement, where colored people lived.’ And she and her husband first found a home elsewhere in Kerrville they wanted to buy, but were told by their realtor that was not allowed. “I think that changed in the mid-1990s.” https://www.hccommunityjournal.com/article_15cc21ca-7610-11eb-8564-17875eec36e1.html Excerpt from Kerry County Album published by Kerr County Historical Association in 1986, page 39: The exact years of Barnett Chapel’s existence are unknown. We have been told that in 1897, there were no churches or schools in Kerrville for colored people. There were only four black adults who professed to be Christians. They were families of the Buckners, the Robinsons, the Butlers, and the Blanks. Within a few years after the arrival of these families, Christian Worship services began. The services were held in homes. Later, a school building that had been used by the Mexican Americans was given to the black community. This building stood on the corner of Lemos and Schreiner Street. Excerpt from Kerry County Album published by Kerr County Historical Association in 1986, page 178 (with photo of Lydia Blanks, Mother and Daughters, Nellie, Henrethia, Helen, Zula): Grandma Blanks was a midwife, and delivered a number of babies, and cared for them in their childhood sickness, and Grandma to all, she also cared for adults. During those early days there was no place to worship, except in their home. Grandma and others cooked and sold food, to purchase land, and a building, which took a number of years, but they “keep the Faith to keep keeping on.” Through their faith, hope and hard work, we can see their fruits in Mt. Olive Baptist Church, corners of McFarland and Webster. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth795373/m1/3/zoom/?resolution=2&lat=2955&lon=750 Texas Historical Marker for Mt. Olive Baptist Church – ORGANIZED IN SEPTEMBER 1902 BY REVEREND G. W. MERRIWEATHER OF SAN ANTONIO, THE MOUNT OLIVE BAPTIST CHURCH CONGREGATION FIRST MET IN A SMALL SCHOOLHOUSE LOCATED ON PASCHALL STREET. THE FIRST STRUCTURE WAS A SMALL, WHITE FRAME BUILDING BUT, AS THE CONGREGATION GREW, A LARGER, MODERNIZED BRICK BUILDING WAS CONSTRUCTED IN THE 1960s. IN ADDITION TO SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE IN THE COMMUNITY, THE MOUNT OLIVE BAPTIST CHURCH ALSO PROVIDED MUSIC LESSONS FOR THE YOUTH, EDUCATIONAL STUDY GROUPS, A MISSION CHORUS, A NUTRITION SITE FOR THE ELDERLY, TRANSPORTATION AND VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL. FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, THE CHURCH HAS STOOD AS A BEACON OF LIGHT IN THE KERRVILLE COMMUNITY. Texas Historical Marker for Barnett Chapel Methodist Church – ” This is the oldest African American church in Kerr county. In 1896, Jim and Josephine Barnett were instrumental in organizing the first religious services for African Americans in Kerrville. The congregation was named Barnett Chapel in their honor. On March 8, 1898, John T. Page sold, to trustees Josephine Barnett, Levi Butler, Z. T. Wilson and James Askey, property which remains the congregation’s home today. Circuit-riding ministers came from Bandera, Uvalde and Fredericksburg before the Rev. W.M. Mosby became the first full-time minister in 1902. Through worship, evangelism, outreach, emergency relief, Juneteenth and heritage celebrations, youth programs, music, and mission work, the congregation has made a significant impact on the community. (2017)”