Georgetown High School

Georgetown High School

By Andrea Leptinsky Friday, 12 February 2010

GEORGETOWN — Just shy of 90 years old, the building at 507 E. University Ave.—now Williams Elementary—has been a landmark of local education for the City of Georgetown.

Laura Sue Smith was the second generation in her family to attend the former high school, and was there for the construction of the gymnasium and auditorium that was later added on.

“My mother attended the school in 1925,” Smith said. “She was part of the first graduating class from the high school.”

Smith became the second-generation graduate of Georgetown High School on University Avenue when she graduated in 1950. During her five years at the school building—the school included eighth through 12th grades—Smith witnessed the construction of the building’s gymnasium and auditorium, two big additions for the building at the time.

“Our graduation itself was in the auditorium there,” Smith said, who also note that her high school principal was Everette “Pop” Williams, the educator after whom the current elementary school was named.

The high school was built between 1923 and 1924 on the original site of Southwestern University. It was designed by Charles H. Page, an Austin architect who also designed the Williamson County Court House. The building’s architecture features Spanish Colonial Revival influences—as noted on the historic landmark plaque outside the building—and also includes a Baroque-styled entryway with garlands, shells, flowers and urns as motifs.

Once the current Georgetown High School was built at 2211 N. Austin Ave., the site on University Avenue turned into Georgetown Junior High, and then as an elementary school until it closed in 1999. After extensive renovations, the building re-opened as Williams Elementary in 2002.

As for Smith, she didn’t travel far after graduating from the high school. Smith married her high school sweetheart, and together they moved to East Texas and then to San Antonio. It didn’t take them long, however, to settle on Georgetown as their permanent home. Smith worked for the school district—at the current high school—for 20 years as a home economics teacher, vocational academics coordinator and food services teacher.

“If you drink the water of the Gabriel, you always come back,” Smith said. “We wanted to rear our children here. We knew before the kids got home what happened at school that day…the grapevine worked that well.”