Fred Douglass High School
The “Free Colored School’ in Denton Texas was first mentioned in a charter in 1876. This date labels the school as one of the earliest buildings in the Quakertown neighborhood. Fred Douglass High School was operating under that name as early as 1895 in Denton, with a school-size of 162. A focal point of the Quakertown Freedmen’s Community, the school burned down in 1913. While it was being rebuilt, classes would meet at the local St. James Church or at the Grand United Order of the Oddfellow’s building. The school was not rebuilt at its original location, but rather moved to the southeastern side of town where the community was moved after a city ordinance cleared the Quakertown neighborhood for the development of a municipal park.
Fred Douglass High School was renamed the Fred Moore High School in 1949 after long-time principal and community leader. The school remained the only colored high school in Denton County until it was integrated into the Denton Independent School District in 1967. Today the school still stands and operates within the Denton ISD as an alternative high school.
The colored school in Pilot Point provided education for first through eighth grades, and students who wished to continue their education after would then need to attend Fred Douglass School in Denton roughly 20 miles away.
Handbook of Texas Online, Randolph B. Campbell, "Moore, Frederick Douglas,"; "Desegregating Denton County's Schools." Denton County Office of History and Culture: Blog. ; Oliver, Ruth Autry. "The Development of the Public Schools of Denton County, Texas, 1900-1942." Master's thesis, University of North Texas, 1943. ; Winston Bruce, interviewed by Amanda Cannedy, April 12, 2018, University of North Texas Oral History Archive. ; “Removing the Danger in a Business Way: The History and Memory of Quakertown, Denton, Texas,” (maters thesis University of North Texas, 2015) ; “City Council Session.” Denton County News, July 30, 1896. University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Library Consortium. ; Moffitt, D.J. "City and Vicinity" The Post Mirror, October 30, 1896. University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Library Consortium. ; "Fred Douglass School Panoramic, 1941." Denton County Office of History and Culture. ; "County Schools Report." The Post-Signal, August 23, 1910. University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Library Consortium.; "The Free Negro." The Post-Signal, July 21, 1911. University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Denton Public Library. ; Negro Education: A Study of the Private and Higher Schools for Colored People in the United States, Volume 2 ; 1917 ; John J. Lane, History of Education in Texas: Issue 35. January 1, 1903. U.S. Government Printing Office ;