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In 1891 the newly-incorporated Town of Oak Cliff voted
to seek bids on a school building. The newspaper reported: “Resolved by the city council of Oak Cliff that the mayor be instructed to advertise for plans for a modern three-story brick school
building with brick cross walls [sic] to be erected at Oak Cliff, Texas, to contain twelve rooms for school purposes and the cost of said building, complete, not to exceed the sum of $22,000,…” The
corner stone was laid at the corner of Patton and Tenth streets for the school in September, 1892 under the auspices of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas.
In 1891 William Hardin Adamson was
named Superintendent and Oak Cliff Central School operated at that location until a new building was constructed to house the high school in 1915 at the corner of Ninth and Beckley. The old
building was then operated as an elementary school until 1926 when it was torn down and the students assigned to John H. Reagan and James Bowie schools and later to the new Ruthmeade School (now John F.
Peeler). 201 East Ninth Street has been the site of a Dallas’ high school facility since 1915.
Opening after some controversy, the new Oak Cliff High School was a state-of-the-art facility—one of
two built to relieve overcrowding at the Dallas High School on Bryan Street where all high school students had formerly attended. Controversy arose over the differences between the two new
schools—Oak Cliff and Forest Avenue.
The latter was built with four stories on the front of the building, with the fourth floor housing art rooms and an art gallery. Oak Cliff residents complained loudly to the school board that they too should have such art facilities—to no avail.
The new school was composed of a u-shaped building which was added to several times over the years. Originally the facility was made up of the front hallway with classrooms and offices
facing Ninth Street and two short wings with two rooms on each end facing Beckley Avenue on the west side and private homes on the east.
Later, around 1925 an addition was constructed which added an auditorium, lunchroom, gymnasium and additional classrooms on the end of the north wings (probably because the new Sunset High School was to open that year). A central heating system was operated by coal boilers with a giant blower system designed to circulate the air into the classrooms. Later the basement coal bins were converted to athletic dressing rooms.
Around 1928 the houses next door to the school on the east were acquired, including the studio of noted artist Frank Reaugh—“The Ironshed Studio”—and his parent’s home which faced 8th Street.
Adamson Field was established on the entire block on the east side of the building. The June class of 1931 erected an archway sign at the corner of Crawford and Ninth streets proclaiming “Adamson Field.”
Principal W. H. Adamson died in May, 1935 and four days later the school board voted to re-name Oak Cliff High School for him. At that time he had served as principal for 31 years.
Additions built with federal aid in 1938 added wings on the east and west ends of the main hallways which provided on the first floor west the long-awaited art room as well as a chemistry lab and choir
suite. On the east end were a woodshop, basement facilities for the ROTC, football locker room (which got them out of the coal bin), a biology lab and physics lab.
Later additions to the campus
included a “boys gym” in 1959 (named for Howard A. Allen, the principal) and in the ‘70’s metal buildings on Adamson Field for auto shops and early childhood classes. Private homes were acquired at
Seventh and Patton for a new athletic field and a parking lot across Ninth Street from the school.
Over the years there have been numerous changes to the building.
The auditorium was remodeled following a $15,000 back-stage fire in May of 1944 which started in the stage curtains. The front entrance of the building was rebuilt due to structural problems around that time as well. Of course there have been numerous remodeling efforts and the addition of air conditioning in the ‘70’s.
In 2002 the look of the front of the building changed due to new landscaping and concrete work made possible by the Adamson Alumni Association and in 2005 an addition was added to the rear of the
building extending to Eighth Street.
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Alumni Association-Save Historic Adamson Update:
First off, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to all former and current Adamson
students who have contacted us by this message board and also by emails and phone. It makes us proud and thankful to be able to represent such a special and considerate group, and it means a lot to know
our work is being appreciated as well. We have heard each and every appeal to do all we can to save the school from demolition, and our commitment to this end will be unyielding.
The process of
attaining historic landmark designation for the school which began back in October of ’07 continues to move forward, and at this point we cannot accurately predict it’s date of finalization. We were told
at the outset that it would be a long and difficult process. No joke!
Now for the good news. It may not actually come down to the landmark designation as the ultimate saving grace for the
school, if recent information we received from DISD comes to pass. We were able to have a conversation with Jerome Garza who represents Adamson as the District 7 Trustee within the Dallas ISD, and
basically he gave us his assurance that it was his sincere intention to save as much of the . . . continued here
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2008 All Class Reunion photos requested - E-mail to 
