Dr. Samuel J. Jones (1857-1918) and his wife, Charlotte Hallaran Jones (d. 1904), established Thomas Arnold High School on this site in 1890. The school, which was actually a private academy, occupied the stone buildings vacated by Salado College, where Dr. Jones taught. Named for Thomas Arnold (1795-1842), noted headmaster of Rugby School in England, the academy provided quality education during a time when there were few public high schools. After it closed in 1913, the facilities were again operated as Salado College until 1918, and as a public school until 1924, when the buildings burned. (1975)