Video
Junction School Audio Described Tour
Transcript
On November 21, 1910, the Junction School opened its doors for the first time to welcome students for the fall term. The Junction school is a one room school, and it has been set to appear as it looked in 1912, when 4-year-old Lyndon B. Johnson attended this school. All artifacts on display are replicas. An open double doorway welcomes visitors to the inside of the school. The building is of rectangular structure. The interior walls and ceiling are painted light beige, and the wooden floorboards are brown. There are eight windows with green shades in the school. 4 on the east wall and 4 on the west wall. Portraits of George Washington and Robert E. Lee adorn one of the walls. A double doorway is in the south, and a single doorway in the north. On the north wall of the school there are two wooden framed blackboards encased in transparent plexiglass. On top of the blackboards is a white stripe with the alphabet written in cursive letters. In between blackboards is the single wooden doorway leading to the back of the school. Two wayside exhibits are currently in place in this area of the school for visitors to learn more about President Johnson’s education legislation history. A plexiglass wall divides the room creating a visitor area. Three rows of wooden double desks with black metal legs with folding seats fill the classroom. These desks are facing the blackboards. One of the rows has 6 desks, while the other two have 5 desks each for a total of 16 desks in the classroom. Two wooden benches with a back support are in the front end of two of the rows, and they served as recitation benches. Each desktop has typical classroom materials such as a small rectangular chalkboard and chalk to write with. On top of some desks are toys such as a cloth doll or a wooden slingshot.
The teacher’s table and chair are positioned in front of the class against the east wall. On top of the desk there are a few books, a brass hand bell used to summon students, and a colorful floral arrangement. A cowhide bottomed chair with arm rests sits behind the desk. Just above the teacher's desk, a wood map case containing maps on rollers hangs from the ceiling by two thin metal chains. A US map is rolled out for display. In the center of the room sits a rectangular, cast-iron box stove with a chimney pipe that extends to the ceiling. The stove is positioned in a sandbox and bordered by four wood benches. Students would use these benches to stay warm or to dry their clothes during the rainy season. Inside the sandbox there’s also a metal ash bucket and a shovel. At the south end of the classroom there is a rectangular wooden table. A metal bucket, a blue metal wash pan, and a white bar soap holder sit on top of the table. Students would use these items to wash their hands. A second metal bucket with a dipper inside also sits on the table. Students would use these two items to drink water from. Typical toys from the period such as yo-yos and a bag with marbles are also on display.
Clothing from the period including hats, shirts, and coats hang from hooks secured to a wooden board on the south end of the classroom to the southeast corner. In the southwest corner, there is a shelf. On top of the shelf lunch pails of different colors, shapes, and materials, in addition to various small rectangular chalk boards are in place.
Description
Guided, audio-described virtual tour of the Junction School, a one-room schoolhouse where President Lyndon Johnson first attended class at the age of 4 years old.
Duration
3 minutes, 41 seconds
Date Created
01/12/2022
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