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In 1937, the Dallas school board appointed a building committee to find land for a new high school for African Americans. The committee chose eleven acres at this location. Lincoln High School was one of the largest campuses in the city, with twenty classrooms, chemistry and physics laboratories, auditorium, cafeteria, and library in the main building. A federal Public Works Administration grant paid for nearly half of the construction cost. In January 1939, Lincoln High School opened its doors for the first time with 1,255 students and 31 teachers. Because of extreme overcrowding, many of these students had come from the only previous school for Blacks, Booker T. Washington (5 MI. N). Tueria Dell Marshall (1883-1960), the first principal at the new school, served for 16 years and saw the enrollment surge to more than 3,000. Marshall, credited with bringing his students quality academic training, is buried in the historic L. Butler Nelson Cemetery adjacent to his beloved school. Attendance at Lincoln declined during an incremental desegregation plan from 1960 to 1971, and new schools also trimmed enrollment. Lincoln has many distinguished graduates, counting more than 200 educators among its alumni. Dallas architect Walter C. Sharp, responsible for several schools in Arlington, Dallas and Tyler, designed Lincoln High School, and Dolph-Bateson Construction Company served as contractor. Sharp's Moderne architecture design, with window repitition and a cantilevered entry canopy emphasized the horizontal direction. The vertical massing and tower with glass bricks at the entrance made the building a landmark in the neighborhood. (2006) |
