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HISTORY OF LOWER VALLEY SCHOOL
Between 1850 and 1870, a German settlement was founded in the region now
occupied by McQueeney, Marion, Cibolo, Schertz, and Lower Valley community in
Guadalupe County. Out of eighty names on the census of 1860, fifty-eight are
those of German settlers. The census calls the settlement VALLEY POST OFFICE.
The post office was located along the banks of the Cibolo Creek about four
hundred yards northwest of the present site of the Lower Valley School.
As the settlement began to grow and spread, a Mr. J. G. Bergfeld built a
grocery and dry goods store and a cotton gin. Later on, he added a saw mill, a
grits mill, a blacksmith shop, and a livery stable.
This became a thriving and prosperous community because of the various
types of farming, ranching, businesses, and trading centers. Valley Post
Office was the first stop going east toward New Braunfels and Bastrop. It was
also the stage coach stop and holdover before going on eastward. Because of
this and being the only post office between New Braunfels, Seguin, and San
Antonio, Valley Post Office became widely known.
The community continued to grow and prosper until 1877 when the
Galveston, Harrisberg, and San Antonio railroad was built to San Antonio. The
location of this railroad, which missed Valley Post Office about two miles,
came through the present sites of Seguin, McQueeney, Marion, Cibolo, Schertz,
Converse and on to San Antonio.
Settlements began to grow up along the railroad, and post offices began
to appear at each settlement. Later the CIBOLO VALLEY POST OFFICE was created
because trains brought the mail, and Valley Post Office was discontinued.
Since the new post office was named Cibolo Valley, this community took up the
name of Lower Valley which later became the name of the community and the
school.
Some of the names of the families of the early settlers in the Lower
Valley community were: Jacob Pfeil, William Seller, Carl Conrad, D. Brotze,
A. Schmitz, Jacob Schlather, George Schlather, J. G. Bergfeld, J. Schulz,
F. Weyel, H. Stolte, C. Voges, William Haecker, O. J. Stapper, T. L. Stapper,
and A. Rittimann.
The German families who immigrated to Texas from Europe in the early
nineteenth century had plans and ideas about the education of their children.
The building of homes and settlements were the first and most important
problems to meet, but as soon as possible schools were set up in the various
community centers.
The first public school was set up in the Lower Valley community in the
year of 1877. It was known as the Lower Valley School #37. All of the schools
in Guadalupe County were under the Community School System, and each school was
assigned a community school number ranging from number one up to as many
schools as the county possessed each year. The number of the school varied
each year,' all depending on the time of the year that said school was filed
with the county.
Mr. August Schmitz, an immigrant from Germany, was the first school
teacher at Lower Valley. He came over from Germany with a boatload of
immigrants and settled in this community. Mr. Schmitz taught at Lower Valley
School from 1877 to 1891, his salary ranging from $30.00 to a top salary of
$234.20 for one school session.