Lenvill B. Martin Collection

Collection

Identifier: A-0283

Staff Only

Content Description

This collection has of minutes, programs, maps, and photographs pertaining to Nacogdoches County schools in the mid twentieth-century. There are also promissory notes, tax receipts, deeds, and receipt books for Lenvill B. Martin and his ancestors. Materials of particular interest to researchers might include:

- Four oversize maps from c.1970 showing how Lenvill Martin, who was superintendent, planned the desegregation of Nacogdoches' schools (See Bundles 2-3).

- Minutes and programs for the Nacogdoches County Council of Parent-Teacher Associations, 1935-1949.

- Photographs of the Nacogdoches High School football team (1912) and baseball team (c.1910s) (see Bundle 1).

Dates

Event: Donated 8/9/2011

Language of Materials

The collection is in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Biographical / Historical

"Lenvill [Martin] was born in Nacogdoches County [September 2, 1910]. A 1929 graduate of Nacogdoches High School, his first teaching assignment was at Union Cross School located on land owned by his father....He taught in regular trm at Harmony school and attended Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College, receiving his baccalaureate in 1938. Mr. Martin got a chance to see Europe from 1943 until 1945..., where he served as a medicial technician in charge of non-commissioned personnel [in the 58th General Hospital]. He helped establish emergency surgical units, and served in general hospitals at Commercy Charlons in France and also in Luxembourg.

Following World War II, Mr. Martin completed his formal education. He received a Master's Degree in biology and history from SFASU, and did additional work at Shrivenham University at Swindon, England. He intended to attend medicial school at Louisiana State University, but shortly before leaving for Louisiana, Ed Cleveland, superintendent of schools in Nacogdoches, asked him to become principal of the junior high school. He also served as elementary school principal before the year was out.

In 1952 Mr. Martin headed a committee to make recommendations to solve the problem of overcrowding in the city's schools, and the result was a bond issue to construct neighborhood elementary schools. Following the construction program, Mr. Martin became principal at Raguet School and also doubled as coordinator of instruction for the other elementary institutions. This eventually became a full-time position. Later, he served as assistant superintendent, and in 1960 became superintendent of schools in the Nacogdoches system. During his tenure the Emeline Carpenter School and the first Thomas J. Rusk school (now known as the Lenvill Martin Building) and the Brooks-Quinn complex were constructed.

Lenvill Martin enriched Nacogdoches schools in many ways. He worked to add courses in the fine arts, especially in music; by 1970 no teachers worked outside their field of certification; the mathematics program was enlarged; and the programs in world geography and social studies were expanded.

Mr. Martin supported all efforts to improve the schools of Nacogdoches, including the bonded efforts to build a new athletic complex, and the 1976 effort to build a new high school and improve the physical condition of the other buildings in the system.

Lenvill Martin worked always in Nacogdoches, but his influence embraced wider horizons. He served on the accreditation committee for the Southern Association for Colleges and Secondary Schools, as chairman for District no.8, as a consultant for evaluation of all the schools in this district; he served on the Language Arts Commission of the Texas Education Agency, which published the "Goals for Elementary Education" bulletin, and travelled widely in the state to establish its use; and he served on the State Textbook Selection Committee, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Supervisors Association, as Vice-President of the Elementary Principals Association, and as president of the Texas State Teachers Association. He was honored with a Life Membership in PTA, an organization he served in many official positions.

Mr. Martin's service has not been limited to education....He was choir director for fifteen years [at Fredonia Hill Baptist Church]. He has served on the building committee for all its structures. He has been an officer in both the Kiwanis and Lions Clubs. He has been a member of the Board of Directors for Children's Services, American Cancer Society, and Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce."

Martin married Marie Gann (1913-2010) and they had three children. Lenvill B. Martin passed away November 7, 2003.

The bulk of this note (excepting the final sentence) is directly copied from a tribute, "A Nacogdoches Citizen Who Makes A Difference...Lenvill Martin," published in the 'Daily Sentinel' by the Nacogdoches Savings and Loan Association (date unknown). See Box 1, Folder 22 inside the collection for the original article.

Extent

3.00 Cubic Feet

Additional Description

Arrangement

This collection is described in 31 folders, housed in one clamshell box, and eight items, dispersed across three oversize bundles. Bundles 2 and 3 are in map case 9. The collection is predominantly organized at the folder level.