Wylie Schools
Wylie Independent School District is located in south central Collin County. At the time members of the Class of '61 were attending Wylie schools, the district served Wylie and surrounding areas including Liberty Grove. There were approximately 500 students attending elementary, junior high, and high school. There was one elementary school, one junior high that was attached to the high school, and one high school.
In 1949, when the Class of '61 started school, Wylie Elementary School housed first through fourth grades on the 1st floor, with fifth through seventh on the 2nd. Some of the members of the Class of '61 started first grade in the Wylie Elementary School, but as the City of Wylie grew, so did the enrollment at the schools. Each year the class that would be the Class of '61 grew larger as more and more families relocated to Wylie. By the mid-50's the elementary school was overcrowded.
The red brick building, constructed in 1926, originally housed all grades - first through twelve. Students attending there during 1st-4th grades may remember looking over a wall into the gym in the basement below where high schoolers had once played basketball. There were swings and climbing bars in the playground and the "Little Store" was just across the street. Demolition of the Wylie Elementary School building in the late 60's took with it a piece of history.
In 1955, an addition was added to the high school building to accommodate junior high students. Seventh grade members of the Class of '61 and eighth graders in the Class of '60 moved to the new facilities, becoming the first students to occupy the new Wylie Junior High. The junior high shared the gym, home economics classroom, science lab, and other facilities with the high school.
In September of 1957, the Class of 1961 became Freshmen at T. F. Birmingham High School. During the four years spent in high school, new students arrived and others left for new places and endeavors. Members of the Class of 1961 consider any student who attended Wylie High School during those years as part of the class even though they may not have been a '61 graduate.
T.F. Birmingham High School, and all its furnishings, was a gift from T.F Birmingham. The administration office, library/study hall, and classrooms were separated from the science and home economics classrooms by a gym with bleachers and a stage. Agriculture and shop classes were conducted in a separate building. The football and baseball fields were directly behind the school. There was no air conditioning, so the windows were left open in the warmer months. The building has since been demolished to make room for the new T.F. Birmingham Elementary School.
If anyone could be credited with the success of Wylie Schools, it would be T. F. Birmingham and his sister Pearl. In 1901, Mr. Birmingham helped found the Wylie Independent School District with taxing ability to fund the schools. As President of the Board of Directors, he organized a bond election in 1902 to build a new school building. In 1937, The Birminghams purchased land and donated funds to build and equip a classroom for manual trades. Donations also made possible the construction of a cafeteria and home economics building. In 1940 the Birminghams founded the Birmingham Trust in memory of their son Ovid. Around 738 acres of land was conveyed to the district, dedicating any money derived from these lands to Wylie ISD for use in existing shop and home economic programs. In 1947, the "Miss Pearl Birmingham Thousand Dollar Scholarship" was founded, and in 1948, the Birminghams donated $100,000 to build a new high school. That high school was named in his honor. In 1950, an additional 168 acres of land was donated to the Birmingham Trust, creating funds to enhance advanced studies in American History and Chemistry. Between 1940 and 2022, the Birmingham Trust has contributed $16,766,321.00 to Wylie ISD. For more information about the Birminghams and their generosity to Wylie ISD, see the F.O. Birmingham Memorial Land Trust Website.