Burl Carroll Collection

Named Collections > C > Carroll, Burl

Burl Carroll

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Burl Carroll, known as “B” to friends and family, had a long career as a teacher, principal, and superintendent in Tarrant and Collin Counties. According to an essay written by Carroll's descendant, Beverly Davis, he began teaching in 1892 in log cabin schoolhouse in Tullahoma, Tennessee after graduating with a teaching degree from Winchester Teachers College. He moved to Texas in 1898 where he embraced the opportunity to advance his career in the public school system. He taught and served as principal at various schools in Collin and Tarrant Counties, including those in Keller, Birdville, Brooklyn Heights, Web, Arlington, and Sagamore Hill. In 1918, he won the election for Tarrant County Superintendent of Public Schools. Carroll served as County Superintendent for four consecutive terms.

During his first term, Carroll directed the consolidation of Lonesome Dove, Sams Schoolhouse, and White’s Chapel schools into one district called the Carroll Common School District No. 99. Following the election to create a common school district, Carroll petitioned for a bond election to fund a new school building. The bond was approved and Carroll School, later named Carroll Hill School, was built in what is now the city of Southlake.

Carroll continued his education while teaching and serving as superintendent by taking education courses at Texas Wesleyan College and Texas Woman’s College. He frequently spoke at conferences and other events about the condition of public education and made suggestions for improving the curriculum. In 1938, in his fourth term as superintendent, Carroll suffered a heart attack and died. He is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Fort Worth.

SCOPE AND CONTENTS

Beverly Davis donated a framed photographic portrait of Burl Carroll (image shown), a funeral card box filled with sympathy cards, and binder of materials from Carroll’s personal and professional life. Her personal research on Carroll’s career in Tarrant County’s public school system was included in the binder. The collection contains clippings, correspondence, documents, photographs, and records. The materials are dated 1884 to 2011 and includes some undated items.

Materials in this collection consist of the following:

Clippings

  • Burl Carroll obituaries, 1938
  • Aviator Ormer Locklear clipping about his death in 1920

Correspondence

  • Letter to Superintendent Burl Carroll from First State Bank concerning a school voucher for District No. 100, 1919
  • Letters of Recommendation for Burl Carroll, 1926-1932
  • Funeral card box containing sympathy cards from Burl Carroll's funeral, 1938
  • Sympathy letters to Mrs. Doris A. Carroll following the death of Burl Carroll, 1938
  • Letter to Burl Carroll from J. L. Clinton requesting a character reference for Rev. C. Ross Payne, 1919
  • Letter to Burl Carroll from his mother, 1919
  • Letter to Burl Carroll from H. H. Anderson, 1924

Documents

  • Burl Carroll's travel notes and expenses for his road trip to Texas, 1929
  • Burl Carroll's speech about the importance of spelling instruction in public school curriculum, circa 1922
  • Research paper - Burl Carroll: A Legacy in Carroll Independent School District, by Beverly Davis, University of Texas at Arlington, 2009
  • Research on the history of public schools in Carroll, Sagamore Hill, Grapevine, Bedford, Birdville, Keller, and Brooklyn Heights, compiled by Beverly Davis, 2011; undated
  • Poem, untitled, undated

Photographs

  • Burl Carroll portraits, 1890s-1938
  • Burl Carroll and his family, portraits and snapshots, circa 1910-1938
  • Burl Carroll sitting at a desk in an office, circa 1925
  • Group photograph of Burl Carroll with his students outside of Britton School, 1933
  • Group photograph of Burl Carroll with his students outside of Webb Elementary School, Arlington, Texas, 1936

Postcards

  • Sites in Tullahoma, Tennessee 

Programs

  • Programs from Burl Carroll's funeral at Sagamore Hill Baptist Church, April 12, 1938

Records

  • Certificate concerning the appointment of a Public Free School Teacher, appointed and certified by President Board of Trustees of Oak Grove School District, Tarrant County, Texas, January 11, 1884
  • Petition supporting Burl Carroll as candidate for School Board of Trustees in Coffee County, Tennessee, August 24, 1899
  • Burl Carroll's test results and certificate for the Teacher's Examination for State Certification, 1913-1917
  • Election returns for Tarrant County Superintendent elections, with Burl Carroll's campaign card, flyer, and clippings, 1918-1924
  • Property records for Lots 5-13, Block 7 of Galbraith's subdivision of the Murray Hill Addition, Fort Worth, Texas, 1917-1935
  • Standard Pocket Roll Book (1928) and a handwritten class list (undated) belonging to Burl Carroll
  • Burl Carroll's Academic and Service Record, Tarrant County, Texas, 1935
  • Burl Carroll's college Course Transfer Forms from Texas Woman's College and Texas Wesleyan College, 1936
  • Teacher's Contract made between Burl Carroll and Webb Elementary School, Arlington, Texas, 1936
  • Burl Carroll and Doris Anderson's marriage license and marriage bond, issued in Bryan County, Oklahoma, July 1937
  • Burl Carroll's retirement benefits from the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, 1937-1960
  • Death Certificate for Burl Carroll, 1938
  • Invoices and correspondence from Burl Carroll's funeral, addressed to Mrs. Doris A. Carroll from Harveson and Cole, Inc. Funeral Home, Fort Worth, Texas, 1938