Newly Discovered Photographs of a Kerrville Teacher and Hero

This photograph had "Mama's School - Kerrville" written on the back.
It's the school Annie Doyle founded, teaching Kerrville's
African-American students when they had no school they could attend here.
Click on any image to enlarge.

I had a very pleasant visit this week from a doctor from Florida named Gesenia Sloan, a descendant of Henry and Annie Doyle. She flew to Texas, and drove to visit Kerrville, to learn more about her family’s ties here. 

Annie Doyle

The Doyles, especially Annie Doyle, had a huge historical impact on our community. Mrs. Doyle was an educator, and arrived in Kerrville in 1910 with her husband, who was suffering from tuberculosis. Henry Doyle would die here from the disease in 1913.

She was a teacher, and he was a pastor, and they both were well-educated; Henry had a doctorate and Annie was a graduate of the Tuskegee Institute.

Soon after their arrival here, "she collected money and purchased three lots...and persuaded the members of the school board to donate an old school building for the purpose of establishing a school. She was the only teacher at the school, and served as principal for more than 25 years," according to the Kerrville Mountain Sun.

Though a widow after 1913, Annie Doyle stayed in Kerrville with her three sons. She founded and taught at what was then called the Kerrville Colored School. She died here in 1937. 

In 1940, B. T. and Itasco Wilson arrived in Kerrville to teach at the school, and they renamed it the Doyle School in honor of Annie Doyle. 

Today not only is the Doyle Community Center named in her honor, but also the neighborhood around it is called the Doyle Community, after the beloved school. Special street signs, in the school’s colors of purple and white, mark the neighborhood’s streets. 

The Doyle Community Center is an active place – when we visited it this week, some of my favorite people were there at work. They were preparing for an after-school program, and they gave the Dr. Sloan a tour of the building.

Annie Doyle's home.

While she was here, Dr. Sloan asked to see the place where Annie Doyle lived; she wanted to see the Tivy Mountain Cemetery (not to be confused with the Tivy Family Cemetery on top of Tivy Mountain); and the Doyle Community Center. I also took her to see the mural at Carver Park, which features a likeness of Annie Doyle and B. T. Wilson.

In turn, she brought some family photographs, including images of Henry Doyle and Annie Doyle. These photographs have never been published here before.

One photograph in particular caught my attention. On the back of the snapshot was written “Mama’s School, Kerrville, Texas.” The photo was of a single-room schoolhouse, and is the only image I’ve ever seen of the original building of the school Mrs. Doyle founded in Kerrville – a building which would later be replaced by the Doyle School at its present location.

There’s also a formal portait of Annie Doyle, still in its original sleeve, taken at Kerrville’s Wheelus Photography Studio on Earl Garrett Street. While I’ve seen blurry copies of this original, this is the first time I’ve been able to scan a quality portrait of Annie Doyle.

Another photograph shows Mrs. Doyle on the porch of her home on Houston Street. (Houston Street was renamed Rodriguez Street in 1973.) I’ve never seen this image before. Mrs. Doyle lived in a very nice house.

Unfortunately, the old house is no longer standing, and the site is now part of the parking lot of Kerrville’s larger H-E-B grocery store.

My favorite photograph Dr. Sloan brought might be of Annie Doyle being a little silly, taking a humorous pose in her yard, in photograph taken by someone close to her, perhaps one of her sons. Even historical figures occasionally took a moment to play.

I’m very thankful to Dr. Sloan for sharing these photographs with our community. They show a new side of a hard-working educator.Until next week, all the best.

Joe Herring Jr. is a Kerrville native who thinks Annie Doyle, and B. T. and Itasco Wilson, are true Kerrville heroes. This column originally appeared in the Kerr County Lead November 7, 2024.

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