The old building formerly used by the above mentioned school was rented
in 1861 by Morgan H. Looney, and the school from that time till 1871 was
know as Looney’s School.
In 1863, the old building burned and Mr. Looney took up temporary
quarters in a building located near where the ward school building now
stands. This building continued to be used until 1866 when a new
building was erected where the old building stood. The new building was
an imposing structure, for its day, it being a two-story frame building
with two stairways on the outside, six large rooms down stairs, a large
auditorium up stairs and four large fireplaces. Blackboards were painted
on the walls. There were two doors on the west side, and a partition
wall extending from a point between the doors to the platform, which was
rather elevated and was located against the outside wall. The girls
filed in at one door and occupied the room on one side of the partition,
while the boys came in at the other door and occupied the other side of
the room. Mr. Looney sat on the platform at a point which enabled him to
see what was going on on both sides of the platform. This arrangement
was in keeping with the idea of that day, that the success of a school
is measured in terms of sex segregation. Measured by this rule, the
Looney School was a most successful institution. In the four corners of
the large room were smaller rooms for recitation. The building was
60-feet by 90-feet.
One factor which entered largely into the success of the school was the
ability of the president to secure and hold competent teachers. Among
these were J. L. Covin, who resigned soon after coming to Gilmer and
left for the Army as first lieutenant of Company B, Seventy Texas; Miss
Achsa Culberson, a cousin to Charles Culberson; W. A. Hart, afterwards
county attorney of Wood County, and for years a resident of Gilmer; M.
L. Looney, a brother of the principal, who married Miss Culberson, and
died some years later in Atlanta, Texas; O. M. Roberts, afterwards
governor of Texas, who taught law and bookkeeping for a long time in the
institute; J. C. Reagan, who taught French and Spanish for several
sessions, and who was a gentleman of high scholarship and attractive
personality; and J. B. Norman, teacher of music, the one previously
referred to as leading a band through the war.
After the war, he came back to Gilmer and spent many more years
directing the musical talent of the school and community.
The second reason for the successful operation of the school was Mr.
Looney’s ability as a disciplinarian. Flappers of those days went
elsewhere than to Looney’s school to flap. He had a rule governing
almost every conceivable human activity, and both students and teachers
were required to memorize these rules and review them at frequent
intervals. Scanning the rules we find:
That school began at 8 o’clock and closed at 6 o’clock, and that all
students were to start to school at a certain time, and on entering the
building, should pass immediately to their places in the large
auditorium. All pupils were required to attend Sunday School and Church
every Sunday, no one being excused except for sickness. Swearing,
gambling, dancing, drinking, and horse-racing were forbidden.
When the rules were suspended and the young men were allowed to call on
the young ladies, the ringing of a bell warned him when it was time to
bid her good evening and return to his room. In fact, supervision of
student life extended to the homes and boarding houses of students and
included every detail. Students boarded in the homes of the town, and
such a thing as shielding pupils when they broke the rules was never
known. There was absolute co-operation on this point. Mr. Looney was a
splendid orator, and his lectures on obedience and similar topics had a
wonderful effect on the student body.