BRYAN, Texas — The Wheelock School House was established in 1908 and served as a school for students in Robertson County until the late 1940s after several school districts across Texas were forced to consolidate.
Kathy Hedrick, a resident of Wheelock, has restored several parts of the school building to make it as close to what it previously looked like as possible.
Hedrick said that the restoration process started in 2016 when she felt a need to work on the property with a rich history in her community.
“When I see the building, I see the kids that went to school here who are now in their 80s or 90s,” said Hedrick.
Hedrick said her husband had relatives who attended the Wheelock school, and he had grown up in the community for practically his whole life.
“His father, his aunt, his uncle all went to school here and he grew up probably a couple of hundred yards from here,” said Hedrick.
The Wheelock school saw nearly 200 students in attendance from Robertson County every year up until the building closed before the 1950s.
“My husband’s aunt told me when they went to school here, they would make the kids line up outside the school. There were two grade levels in each classroom, downstairs and when the high school kids were still here, the high school kids met upstairs,” said Hedrick.
Hedrick said she and members of the community started the lengthy process of restorations back in 2016. The building required a historical architect to help.
Hedrick said she’s been able to work on the windows, electricity, and several rooms of the building and said her dream is to see the building fully restored for people in the community to come to see.
“Especially in Wheelock, most of our history is no longer here and it’s just essential for us to preserve what we do have,” said Hedrick.
The Wheelock School House will host a July 4th parade and BBQ cookout.
The event will be from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm. If you like to participate, Wheellock officials are asking you to come early before the parade starts.