The history of sports in Dripping Springs

Dripping Springs sports have enjoyed some great successes in the last decade.

Sports at schools usually have roller-coaster histories, depending on many circumstances. Dripping Springs High School is no different than most. In the next few weeks, we will discuss those years over the history of the Dripping Springs school system.

The history of a school says a lot. Three families (Pound, Wallace, Moss) settled on land in the P.A. Smith survey (in what is now the city of Dripping Springs) in late 1853 and early 1854. By 1860, the Pounds had children of school age and hired a tutor, allowing everyone nearby to take advantage as well. That was the beginning of the Dripping Springs school system. It was short-lived when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Later, the soldiers that were part of the Reconstruction held classes.

The Texas Legislature passed the Public School Act in 1876, and Dripping Springs received their charter that December with 29 students. Education took another turn in September 1881 when W.M. Jordan came to Dripping Springs to visit kin and began to convince area people that Dripping Springs was ideal for a private school, Dripping Springs Academy. A realtor, W.T. Chapman gave acreage for the site and the two-room rock building was completed by February.

The academy spawned another important event. Chapman saw this as his opportunity to make money by platting the town of Dripping Springs. The lots sold quickly, and the town was established. The name Dripping Springs was set in 1857 when the post office charter was applied for and received.

The academy prospered for a few years, and the public school merged using county tax dollars to pay the tuition. Since the tuition was more than the taxes, the public school students had a shorter school year unless parents made up the difference. By 1905, Dripping Springs became a graded school. Attendance waned, and the school had dropped the high school grades by 1910. Shortly thereafter, the three high school grades were re-established and would stay that way until the 1940s.

By 1920, the district had outgrown the academy building. A bond was passed, and the 1921– 1922 school year was spent in vacant buildings while the second story was added. The 1930s began another phase that changed the outlook of the size of the district. The trend was many of the smaller schools in the area were consolidating with bigger ones. Dripping Springs was a major recipient of that growth. Before it was all over in 1950, 13 small districts went in with Dripping Springs to expand the district to more than 300 square miles. This would allow Dripping Springs to qualify as a 12-grade school and receive a Rural High School designation.

Finally in 1950, Dripping Springs became an Independent School District.

In 1981, the final event took place that affected the sports situation for the Dripping Springs school district. For most of the 70s, there was a power struggle between the citizens of Lake Travis and Dripping Springs as to who would get the new high school. Lake Travis decided to sue to split the district and finally won the case. The district began a slow growth grind that moved them through the classifications. The growth has speeded up in the past few years and has brought in the next major change decision for the district: a second high school.