W.E. Jones had a tough act to follow.
In 1937, Jones was named principal of E.J. Campbell High – Nacogdoches ISD’s Black school in the days before desegregation – following in the footsteps of that school’s namesake who was considered to be one of the great men of public education in Nacogdoches during the first half of the 20th century.
But Jones made his own mark on public education here, and it didn’t take long. By 1949, Nacogdoches Independent School District was building a new elementary for Black students in the northwest part of town and needed a name for the campus.
Trustees, according to board minutes from those meetings, voted to name the new campus W.E. Jones Elementary. And what was even more remarkable: Jones – who was also known as the Professor – still had six years to go before he would retire from NISD in 1955.
Jones had been hired in June of 1937 to take over as principal of E.J. Campbell School for the upcoming academic year not long after Campbell’s unexpected passing. Campbell had died while still principal of NISD’s Black school, and a little more than a month after his untimely death, the district’s board of trustees voted to name the campus for Campbell.
Today, Jones’ legacy in Nacogdoches lives on in a very tangible way. His name is still on an NISD school, along with Jerusha Brooks and Mollie Quinn, two other Black teachers who made lifetime contributions to public education in Nacogdoches. Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary, opened in 2004 and located on Sanders Street, was built in roughly the same location as W.E. Jones Elementary.
So how did the combined name of Brooks-Quinn-Jones come about?
Not long after NISD opened W.E. Jones Elementary, the district began another round of expansion that included plans for construction of a new junior high for Black students.
On Oct. 16, 1956, NISD trustees approved the purchase of 10 acres located just to the north of Jones Elementary. Once completed, it was to be used by Black seventh- and eighth-graders in Nacogdoches.
In March 1957, trustees gave their OK to a contract with J.A. Nesbitt Co. in the amount of $394,300 to provide general contractor services for the construction of four new school facilities in Nacogdoches: a high school gym and band hall (now named Beall Gym located near the Thomas J. Rusk campus), additions at Nettie Marshall Elementary and the aforementioned W.E. Jones Elementary, and construction of the new junior high.
In July of that year, the board heard a recommendation to name the new junior high school for Jerusha Brooks, a longtime Black teacher in Nacogdoches who had retired.
Brooks-Quinn Junior High School, built near the current location of Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary School.
At that meeting, trustees chose to wait before making a decision. A month later, on Aug. 13, 1957, the board read a letter nominating Mollie Quinn’s name be joined with Brooks’ name for the new school. The board agreed, and Brooks-Quinn Junior High came into existence.
A few months later, in November 1957, trustees approved Bobcats as the mascot for the new school and selected the colors of maroon and white.
By 1964, NISD was once again expanding and built Emeline Carpenter Elementary School that opened on Leroy Street. The district was also starting a long process of desegregation – it was 1970 before the schools here were fully integrated. It was during that time NISD combined W.E. Jones Elementary and Brooks-Quinn Junior High into one campus that would serve elementary students.