A Joint Project of the Sam Rayburn House Historic Site and the Fannin County Historical Commission
Celebrating America 250 with Spotlights of Fannin County Citizens Who Participated In or Witnessed Historical Events
Fannin County, Texas -- Ela Hockaday, founder of the Hockaday School in Dallas, was born near Ladonia in 1875 to Thomas and Maria Hockaday. Her father Thomas had established the Giles Academy near Ladonia. He was also a farmer and operator of a cotton gin.
Ela’s mother died when she was four, and her elder sister raised her in Bonham where Ela attended Bonham schools. She then attended what is now the University of North Texas and taught in Sherman, where she became a principal. She had further education at the University of Chicago and Columbia University, and taught in Oklahoma.
In 1913 she was invited to establish a girls’ preparatory school in Dallas, which was first called the Miss Hockaday School for Girls. The Hockaday School was to become one of the most well-respected all-girls’ schools in the country. The four words on the cornerstone were: Character, Scholarship, Courtesy and Athletics.
Ela retired in 1946 but continued to live on the edge of the school campus.
Ela died in 1956 and is buried at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Dallas. The Handbook of Texas calls her the “Pioneer of Girls’ Education in Texas.”
A historical marker, “The Hockaday Homestead Site”, is on FM 64 about 5 miles east of Ladonia. The marker honors both Thomas and Ela Hockaday.
