Reward for information on carver fire being offered
Submitted by jcht2010 on
By Lisa Shapiro
Staff Writer
The old George Washington Carver School epitomizes a time of great change, according to Frank Condron of the Jackson County Historical Commission. Recently, the historical monument has been a target for vandalism and arson.
On March 13, a fire destroyed the the east wing of the former school. There have been no arrests for the first fire and the fire marshal is looking for leads. The Edna Police Department is assisting with the investigation. If anyone has information about the fire incident that occurred at Carver Elementary, call 1-877-434-7345. If their information leads to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for the fire incident or any other intentionally set fire, they may receive a reward of up to $1,000.
A second fire took place at George Washington Carver School in the morning of March 17. Edna Police Chief Clinton Wooldridge said the fire was in the gym at G.W. Carver School. Wooldridge said witnesses saw smoke and two juveniles coming out of the building.
Two juveniles were detained by the Edna Police Department and were taken to the Victoria Juvenile Facility. They are being charged with arson.
“Contents inside the gym were on fire and took about 10 minutes to put it out,” Edna Fire Marshal Loyd Chase Jr. said. “Only Edna Fire Units responded to the fire.”
The Edna Fire Department received a phone call regarding the fire at 10:15 a.m. and arrived at 10:19 a.m. at the scene to put out the fire, Chase said.
“A state fire marshal also responded back to the scene yesterday, and we are working together to help investigate this incident,” he said.
The school was once called the Edna Colored School that was attended by elementary, junior high and high school students and was located in a neighborhood where a majority of African-Americans lived during the early 1900s.
The Edna Colored School was located at Washington and Harris Streets and served as the main campus until 1953. The land was gifted to Edna ISD in 1942. A few buildings from the Edna Colored School, including its auditorium and gym were removed from the land and moved to the George Washington Carver School Campus. The auditorium and gym were destroyed in 1966 by a fire.
The name of the Edna Colored School changed at its original location to George Washington Carver School. It changed location to MLK Street and County Road in 1953 where the new Carver Elementary School was dedicated. After integration the school served as an elementary school until May 2008. A new Edna ISD Elementary School opened in the fall of 2008 and all students were moved to that location.
The future of G.W. Carver School will be discussed at the March 20 City of Edna meeting at 6:30 p.m.
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