The following Hood County Historical Note was scanned from the
Hood County Genealogical Society Newsletter No. 15; May 1997
Editor: Merle McNeese
HISTORY OF BRUSHY SCHOOL
By: ADDIE SARGENT KINSON
The exact date of the first school house in the brushy Community is unknown, but we do know it wits destroyed by fire. sometime between 1880 and 1885.
This building as described by a former pupil Mrs. Ada Peters Gauntt who attended this school as a small child. It was a very small one room built of lags with a fireplace across one end and three or four revs of seats made of split logs. It was known as Duckinville School and was situated about 100 yards north of the Rough Creek Cemetery, near enough to the creek for water to be carried for drinking. No one seems to know where the name Duckinville originated. Some think it was because all the teen age boys wore home made trousers sewn from a material called Ducking and usually dyed blue. Others think it was named for a family in the community named Dunkin.
Only three teachers named of this school have been obtained- A Mr. Kelly, Mr. Berry who was the father of our Granbury Arthur Ferry and Miss Annie Gollsome.
Some of those attending this school were Adrian Davis Alien Nelson, Ada Gauntt now deceased.
Soon after the loss of this school by fire a new building was erected of lumber on the Lee Mash property near where the City refill is located. This school was named Brushy, It took its name from being almost hidden by trees and brush.
Only one teachers name could be recalled according to Mrs. Gauntts information. My father George E. Sargent taught a term in this at the age of 28.
Some of the pupils attending this school were Fannie, Burl, Earl, Ada & Jeff Rhea, the Davis and Carter children, Tommy Peters, Marcus Elder, Emma and Rosa Allen Nelson, Mollie Holden, Eva Cassity, Will Long, Lee Nash, Charlie Peters (Above information given by Jeff Rhea-The only surviving pupil of this school that we can locate).
After a few years the residents of the community decided it was too far for the small children who resided in the northern part of the district to walk to school so they built a small structure of lumber just inside of where the rough Creek Cemetery is. It took the name of the original school that burned Duckinville. After a short time the people decided they could not support two schools so they voted to build a two teacher school nearer the center of the Community, so the men of the community moved the Brushy building ,using log rollers, onto the present site which was deeded to the community by two civic minded citizens- Mr. Jim Nelson and Mr. Hastings. An extension was added on :he north end of the original building. This was in the year 1900 or 1901. This school was named Rough Creek because the creek has its beginning a short distance south of the school grounds. Squaw creek also heads here. It could have been named Squaw Creek School, But happened it wasn’t.
Later a partition was added making two rooms some of the first teachers were: Arthur Berry, Mrs. Lunsford. Mr. Edwards- who was the father of Jimmie Edwards of Granbury. Miss Earl Duckworth, R.M. Mugg, Mamie Smith, Ethel and Myrtle Abbott, Glady Miller.
As the population increased another room was added on the vest of the original building consisting of Old Brushy, Duckinville and Rough Creek. So we compromised and called it Brushy.
After consolidation with the Granbury School the building has been used as an active community center for church services, Revival meetings, singings, club activities. Home comings and various community affairs, but all of this was terminated when our beloved school house was destroyed by fire of an unknown origin on Nov. 14. 1978.
From HCGS Newsletter, Volume 15, Number 1, May 1997