Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy on our About page and give us feedback.

The school at 500 N. University Parks Drive has gone by many names over the past 54 years and shaped countless lives. 

Soon it will be a distant memory. Crews this week are well underway with the demolition of the school originally built as Jefferson-Moore High School, making room for the City of Waco’s downtown redevelopment project.

Jefferson-Moore High School opened in 1972. City officials are seeking more photos and memories about the school. Credit: Courtesy of Waco McLennan County Library

But the city is taking steps to make sure the memories are preserved. Staffers are collecting photographs and memorabilia from alumni, former staff and community members and interviewing some of them for posterity.

Sean Sutcliffe, a local historian and librarian at West Waco Library, has conducted about half of the 14 interviews for the project.

FFurniture stacked inside the vacant building on Feb. 26 at the campus most recent used for Kendrick Elementary School. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America

“A common theme was family,” Sutcliffe said. “Students felt like it was a good, positive, family atmosphere. People felt good and were proud of their school. We picked up on that real early on with the Jeff-Moore students. Two sisters we interviewed had been at the old segregated A.J. Moore and then they made that change [to Jefferson-Moore] so that was fascinating as well.”

Trophies set aside in the vacant school in February. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America

A.J. Moore High School was the name of the all-Black school near the Brazos River that closed and merged with the new Jefferson-Moore school in 1972. That school was in turn consolidated with the Waco High School in 1986, leaving the campus to become a districtwide ninth-grade center. 

The vacant school on Feb. 26. The school is being demolished to make way for the Barron’s Branch phase of Waco’s downtown redevelopment project. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America

The campus served as a career and technology magnet school known as A.J. Moore Academy from 1997 to 2012, then housed Indian Spring Middle School until 2021. It was also briefly used to house Kendrick Elementary School students when that school was rebuilt.

The rubble of a classroom at the former Indian Spring Middle School on Monday. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America

Waco Independent School District last fall sold the city the 23-acre campus, including the track across Jefferson Avenue, for $32.2 million. The city plans to break ground later this summer on the first phase of the downtown redevelopment, known as Barron’s Branch, which will include a fountain plaza and a constructed creek with waterfalls and bridges. 

The Waco City Council last week chose to negotiate with three development teams for a combined $194 million in private investment in the Barron’s Branch phase.

Demolition workers remove roofing from the former Indian Spring Middle School building on Monday. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America
Trees on the property have been protected from future development on the Barron’s Branch footprint. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America
Demolition crews tear down the former Indian Spring Middle School building near St. Francis Catholic Church to make way for the future La Pila Plaza on Monday. Credit: Justin Hamel / The Waco Bridge / CatchLight Local / Report for America
Rendering of the future La Pila Plaza on the current Indian Spring Middle School grounds. Credit: Rendering courtesy of the City of Waco

Share your story

More from Waco Bridge

Justin Hamel is a visual journalist for the Bridge through a partnership with Catchlight and Report for America. He’s excited to help shape the Bridge’s visual journalism by ensuring every story includes...