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 Led by Henry Schuyler
Thibodeaux, whose home was in present day
Schriever, Terrebonne Parish was carved out of
the southwest portion of Lafourche parish in
1822. In that time, the area had wildlife such
as bald eagles, wolves, puma, and buffalo in the
area. The first attempt at a town was
Williamsburg, located in the Bayou Cane area
(just south of the Southland Mall). The first
courthouse and jail were built there. In that
year, five persons were appointed to the parish
school board ... Francis Guyal, WIlliam Watkins,
Henry S. Thibodaux, Leufroy Barras, and Henry M.
Thibodeaux.
At that time, settlers of
the parish wanted to move the parish seat
further down the bayou, closer to the road that
went from Bayou Terrebonne to Bayou Black.
Hubert M. Belanger and Richard H. Grinage
donated a section of land (1 arpent front by 10
arpents deep) to the parish. The rest of their
property was divided into lots and sold. That
land became the nucleus of the town of Houma,
which was founded in 1834.
A school was built on the
block behind the courthouse in the early 1840s
by Alex McMaster (the fellow who built the
courthouse and jail). On June 11, 1849, an
ordinance was passed to allow the police jury to
donate land on which to build a school. That
donation occurred in 1853. A lot (100' wide
facing Church St.) on the block behind the
courthouse was donated to the directors of the
4th school district. An 1849 issue of DeBow’s
Review mentions a large brick school house in
Houma. It was a plastered brick structure about
30’ deep by 60’ wide. The white-columned front
of the building faced Church Street. A later
addition to the rear of the building was painted
red.
 An early private
educational institution in Houma was the Houma
Academy. It was organized in 1858 and built on
land donated by R.R. Barrow. In 1870, the
building was sold to the Catholic church and
became known as St. Francis de Sales Academy.
Many other small public
schools were constructed around the parish to
meet the education needs of the various
communities. Another issue in 1851 of DeBow’s
states that Terrebonne Parish had 13 public
schools. It also mentions that an excellent free
school at Houma is well patronized. All of these
schools were for elementary grades. Wealthier
citizens might pay for private tutors that would
help their children pass the entrance exams to
get into institutions of higher learning.
After the Civil War, the
Constitutional Convention of 1868 passed an
article saying students would be admitted to
classes "without distinction of race, color or
previous condition." Due to the segregationist
ideas of the day, the white population objected
to mixed races in the schools and often kept
their children home.
The old two-room brick
school (left) behind the courthouse was one of
these schools that had a white teacher but only
African-American students. Soon after, a white
school opened on the bayouside of Main Street
between Barrow and Roussell. Its one teacher was
said to be a carpetbag appointee.
In 1872, another
resolution was passed to allow the school board
to build a school on that block. That was also
the year that the city voted to build a
firehouse on the batture in front of the
courthouse block.
After Governor Nicholls
was elected in 1878, the integrated system faded
and white children began returning to schools.
Though the Constitution of 1879 required a
superintendent of schools for each parish, the
low salary of $200 per year and no
qualifications for the job ensured that people
ill-equipped to lead education were often hired.
The school system in Terrebonne Parish made
little progress for the next 20 years.
In 1896, the leaders of
Houma applied to the Secretary of State for a
charter to establish a high school in the town.
The same year, the "rooster" fire hall (named
due to its rooster weather vane) was moved from
that batture opposite the courthouse to the
block behind the courthouse. It had been donated
to be used as a school.
 In 1898-99, the High
School Auxiliary and High School Association
were formed to promote the idea of a high school
for the parish. At that time, the fire hall was
used for older students, while the older school
building on the north side of the block was used
for elementary students. It was placed south of
the old brick school in the middle of the block
facing Church Street. The former firehouse and
old school were used for both elementary and
high school classes. The older brick structure
on the north side of the block was the girls’
school, while the fireman’s hall was used as the
boys’ school.
 In 1904, superintendent
W.P. Tucker brought in 20-year-old John M. Foote
as head of the Houma schools. He also taught
mathematics. Another math teacher, Mr. Moise
Levy, acted as an unofficial assistant
principal.
In 1908, THS was approved
as a state high school. Jennie and the other
high school students attended school at the old
fireman’s hall. Elementary students attended
class in the brick building on the north side of
the block.
It was the old rooster
building that graduated its first student from
high school in 1908. Miss Jennie Klingman was
the only graduate that year. After graduation
she went to Louisiana Normal School to become a
teacher. She returned to teach grammar school at
THS (primary, grammar, and high school students
all attended school on the same block). The
marble marker by the oak tree in the front of
THS was dedicated to her on the 70th anniversary
of her graduation.
 That was also the year of
the first yearbook, the Panorama. It was called
the Panorama because "it revealed to the people
of Terrebonne a life-like view of student life
at Terrebonne High."
The first editor was Alice
Aitkens. That first edition included histories
of the library, the Ladies Auxiliary, and the
Sugar Belt Athletic and Literary Association.
The administration knew
that the old fireman’s hall was not the best
facility for a high school. Mr. Foote used to
carry around a hammer and nails to point out the
need for a new high school building. On May 12,
1908, third ward property owners voted a special
tax towards the construction of Houma's first
high school. On July 7, 1908, it was announced
that bids would be taken for a new high school.
Mr. Foote's tenure as
principal was short-lived. When Mr. W.P. Tucker
passed away in 1909, Mr. Foote succeeded him as
superintendent. Terrebonne Parish finally had a
professionally trained educator as
superintendent and the move towards a better
educational system was underway.
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