By: Debra Blacklock-Sloan
Gregory Elementary School, aka Gregory Institute, born out of the Freedmen’s Bureau Schools (1865), opened in January 1870. The school was named for General Edgar M. Gregory, assistant commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau in Texas from September 1865 until May 14, 1866. Gregory Institute was Houston’s first purpose–built elementary school
for black children in the Fourth Ward. Its first location was a two-story brick building on Jefferson Avenue between Louisiana and Smith Streets. It was incorporated by the state in 1870 and operated as a tuition-based school under the leadership of trustees Rev. Elias Dibble (1811-1885) and Richard Allen (1828-1928). The Freedmen’s Bureau Schools closed in 1872, and all black pupils transferred to Gregory Institute, making it the largest black primary school in the city of Houston. In 1874, complaints from black residents resulted in white teachers being replaced with black teachers who worked under a white principal. The school was severely damaged by a storm in 1875.
Gregory Institute became part of the new Houston public school system in 1876, and Henry C. Hardy (1847-1909) was its first black principal. Charles Atherton (1863- 1928) became principal in 1890. Pupils were transferred to Colored High School in 1893 because of the building’s deterioration due to years of overcrowding. In 1903, the campus relocated to a new wood-frame building at 1400 Wilson Street near Cleveland Street. W. E. Miller (1871-1947) was chosen as principal. The wood-frame building was destroyed by fire in 1925.
Architects Gottlieb and Hedrick designed a two-story brick building valued at $114,523 in 1926. Construction was completed in 1927. W. L. Davis (1876-1960) became principal, followed by W. S. Francis (1852- 1937), E. A. Chester (1886-1950), Libbie Boutte (1883-1962), Lois Brantley (1907- 2003), and Johnnie H. Brooks (living). HISD closed the school in 1980 and leased the building to the city. The building, which sat vacant for many years, was included in the Freedmen’s Town Historic District 1985 NRHP designation. The school also received a State Archeological Landmark designation in 1995.
In 2000, HISD donated the building to the city, which later approved plans to renovate it as a facility for the history and cultural heritage of African-American Houstonians. Smith and Company Architects designed the structure’s adaptive reuse and Prime Contractors built it. In 2009, the former elementary school opened its doors as the African American Library at the Gregory School, the first library branch devoted exclusively to black history and culture of African-American Houstonians. The Gregory School has a unique place in Houston and Texas history.
