There were no free schools in those days. Parents had to pay for their
children’s tuition. Money was scarce and the teacher’s salary was low,
and the terms of school short. They put up a log school house somewhere
about where the cemetery is now located. They hired Tom Jones to teach a
two months school at a salary of twenty-eight dollars a month. He had
only seven pupils.
After the discovery of oil in this part of the county, East Mountain
entered upon a period of sure-enough development. People became rich
overnight, and new homes, new churches, and new schools were built. The
East Mountain High School was organized in 1933-34. It is now one of the
outstanding high schools of East Texas. The building and equipment cost
$250,000. They are affiliated with the State University with 33 credits.
They operate six buses in carrying the pupils to and from school. They
have a cafeteria in the building, and maintain a brass band. They use 18
teachers and have 330 students.