Cox Springs School
Jonestown, Texas
2025 HISTORIC RESTORATION AWARD
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Cox Springs School is a surviving example of early 20th-century rural education in Texas. Dating to 1928, the building once served as a one-room school for the children of the Cox Springs community.
In 1938, the construction of the Mansfield Dam and the creation of Lake Travis forced the relocation of the schoolhouse. In 1941, the building was cut in half, loaded onto flatbed trucks, and reassembled at its current location on Old Burnet Road, where it continued to serve as a school for nearly two more decades.
After the students were transferred to a new facility in 1959, the building took on a second life as the Cox Springs Church of Christ until 1968. Architecturally, it stands as an excellent example of box-and-strip construction, a once-common rural building method that is now rarely found intact.
When the newly formed Cox Springs School Restoration Society took over stewardship, the structure was in serious disrepair. Decades of neglect had taken a toll — the structure leaned noticeably to one side, and the cedar piers supporting the building were deteriorating. Loose battens, rotted siding, and sagging porches all threatened the stability of the school.
Rather than give up, the Society launched a three-phase restoration effort, raising funds and completing each stage as resources allowed, while ensuring that every step met the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Restoration.
In Phase I, the team leveled the building and replaced the failing cedar stumps with durable concrete piers, adding new joists to stabilize the floor system. In Phase II, the damaged portion of the chimney was rebuilt using salvaged brick, and the framing around it was repaired. The salvaged trim & chalk board, which were documented prior to removal, were re-installed.
The north wall, which had suffered significant structural failure, was reinforced with exposed tie-rod framing — a creative solution that added strength while allowing visitors to see the original construction. Additionally, the doors were repaired or replicated with great care, using original materials wherever possible. The deteriorated siding and battens were replaced only where necessary, with new wood milled to match the original profile. Even the historic pressed metal skirting was reproduced based on surviving fragments found on-site.
In Phase III, the team addressed the eleven severely deteriorated windows. Though too damaged to save, they were meticulously documented and then reproduced .
Of course, one of the greatest challenges of this project was funding. The Society’s volunteers worked tirelessly to raise the necessary funds, phasing the restoration as donations were secured. Their perseverance ensured that this important piece of Jonestown’s history would not be lost. Today the Cox Springs School stands as one of only three surviving historic schools in the area.
Looking ahead, the Cox Springs School Restoration Society is committed to ensuring the building remains a vibrant part of the community. The plan is to make the building available as a community events venue, once interior restorations, furnishings, and interpretive displays are complete. The Society continues to raise funds for these final phases and also intends to pursue Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and State Antiquities Landmark designations—further securing the school’s place in Texas history.
The award was presented at Preservation Texas’s 2025 Honor Award Ceremony in San Antonio on October 30, 2025.
Owner: Cox Springs School Restoration Society
Project Manager: Tracy Hirschman Hutson, Hutson Gallagher, LLC
Architect: Hutson Gallagher, LLC
Engineer: Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.
Contractor: Justin Roppolo, ATC Contractors, Inc.
