Desegregation

Abstract Beaumont Independent School District (BISD) originated in 1883 with Beaumont High School. By 1948, the district had absorbed French High School and established a high school for black students, Charlton-Pollard High School. In 1983, the original Beaumont ISD board voted to dissolve the district and officially merged with South Park ISD in 1984, forming the current Beaumont Independent School District. This collection is an artificial collection of community materials that consists of...

Abstract

Elmo Willard, III, was a leader of Beaumont's civil rights movement. He and his law partner, Theodore Johns, won cases for the desegregation of Beaumont's public parks and Lamar University. These papers include correspondence, legal documents, news clippings, and photographs.

Abstract The Jefferson Theatre was designed by architect Emile Weil in 1927, orignially for the Jefferson Amusement Company. The theatre closed in 1972, but reopened after an extensive restoration in 2003. This collection consists of materials originally collected by the Jefferson Theatre Preservation Society. The majority of the collection is comprised of deeds, oil leases, financial records, and correspondence related to the estates of Lena Mayer and Sol E. Gordon and their relatives. The...