Sallie Booth from Sam Houston State Teachers College for thirty dollars a month and sent their children to this private school. (Ibid. p. 210). Approximately thirty students, mostly girls, of all ages attended this school because the parents didn't want their children whipped. This private school is believed to have been located on the east side of the railroad track, which lasted for only five years. Professor William Kirvin followed Professor Miller in 1885 and served as principal until 1890. Under the supervision of Professor Kirvin in 1891, Wortham formed the first independent school district in Freestone County. (Ibid. p. 210) The first college graduate to teach in Wortham was Professor L. F. Cooper, who came to the school in 1890. He added Latin, algebra and geometry to the curriculum. In 1890, the school building was replaced by a two-story frame building, which stood where the present kindergarten and first grade building is located. Fire destroyed this building in 1902, and a two-story brick building was erected on the same location. A bell tower was built on top of the building to ring in the start of each new day. In 1904–1905, there was an enrollment of 339 children. The tax rate was fifty cents per $100, and the school property was valued at $10,825. A gradual increase in scholastics was noted from 1905 to 1911, and by 1913 Wortham was the first school in Freestone County to be granted affiliation with the State University. By 1918, C. V. Reed was superintendent of the school, which employed eight teachers. The school district, with an enrollment of 385 children in eleven grades, offered four years of accredited high school work. By 1922, the student body had outgrown the two story brick building. A new high school building was erected south of the old building. Trustees at this time were T. B. Poindexter, President; W. J Bryant, Secretary; Henry Meador, Will Calame, J. F. Wallis, John P. Stubbs and T. O. Sims. The new three story brick building costing $50,000 was for grades nine through twelve. The top floor consisted of an elaborate, fan-shaped auditorium with a wooden floor sloping to the edge of the stage. There were only two small classrooms located on the third floor. The discovery of oil around Wortham in 1924 brought money and pupils into the school over the Thanksgiving holiday. On Thanksgiving Day 1924, the Simmons