Culak's School

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Marker No: 15703

Aluminum 27 x 42 Subject Marker 

Geographic: ​29° 33.607′ N, 97° 11.591′ W

Location: Intersection of Farm to Market Road 532 and County Highway 290, on the right when traveling west on Highway 532, Molton

Marker Text: In 1916, nineteen taxpayers of the Moulton Independent School District (MISD) petitioned the county court to establish a new rural school for northwest Lavaca County, because unpaved roads and a lack of school buses made it difficult for rural children to attend schools in Moulton. The petition was granted and Distract 64 was formed, encompassing about eight square miles from the Gonzales-Lavaca County line to within two miles of Moulton.
​   Joe Culak donated one acre of land for the school, and so the school was named "Culak's School" in his honor. The first school board election was held in April 1917 with Culak, Gus Huff and Alois Zidek elected trustees. A 24 by 48 foot frame building was erected in the spring of 1917, and Ruby Meiners was hired as the first teacher. Enrollment varied through the years and was highest from the mid-1920s to the early 1940s. The county school board certified Culak's School to teach seven grades in 1934 and eight grades the following year. Prior to the 1935-36 term, a second teacher, Ben Darilek, was added to help with increasing turnout, and the schoolhouse was enlarged and renovated. Peak enrollment came in 1941-42 when sixty-two students attended. The school reverted to one teacher when Darilek went into military service in 1942, as did most other male teachers from Lavaca County. Student enrollment declined sharply after WWII.
    The final school year at Culak's School was 1948-49, that summer the county school board declared the district dormant and consolidated the attendance area with MISD. In December 1950, the Moulton SPJST Lodge #184 purchased the land and former school building for $1700 and rehabilitated the building for reuse as a meeting hall and community facility. Today, Culak's is one of the few remaining rural school houses still standing in Lavaca County. (2009)