A new historical marker has been installed at St. Mark’s School of Texas.
The original sign was destroyed during the 2019 tornado, and a new one went up on campus earlier this month.
Here’s a section of what the new sign says:
“St. Mark’s School has its foundation in three 20th-century preparatory schools, each of which contributed to its high standards and national reputation for academic excellence. Founded in 1906 by educators Menter and Ada Terrill, The Terrill School opened in a Swiss Avenue home with 42 students. The Terrills were strict disciplinarians and demanded high levels of scholastic competence. The school attracted the sons of many of Dallas’ prominent families. By the late 1920s, athletics had begun to replace academics as the preliminary focus. And in response, several Dallas families began the Texas Country Day School for boys to provide a strong academic preparatory education for their sons. When it opened with 10 students and four faculty members in September 1933, Texas Country Day School was located two miles north of the Dallas city limits.”
The Terrills had come from Yale University, and he set up the Terrill School for Boys in East Dallas, near Peak Street and Swiss Avenue.
He invited Ela Hockaday to found the Hockaday School for Girls, which opened in 1913 nearby on Haskell Avenue.
In 1946, the Terrill School became The Cathedral School, and it merged with Texas Country Day School four years later to form St. Mark’s School of Texas.
