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Archives & Alumni

The Billy W. Sills Center for Archives is the living memory of Fort Worth ISD, a destination where our history, culture, and community come together. Located at 7060 Camp Bowie Boulevard, the Center welcomes students, alumni, educators, and the public to experience the legacy of our schools firsthand.

Here’s what you’ll find when you visit:

  1. Research Resources – Browse hundreds of yearbooks, explore PTA scrapbooks, and discover documents that bring the story of FWISD to life. Whether you’re tracing family history or conducting scholarly research, our collections open doors to the past.

  2. Museum Collections – Step into classrooms of decades past through artifacts on display: desks, uniforms, instruments, typewriters, maps, and even original artwork created by FWISD students and teachers. Rotating exhibits ensure there’s always something new to discover.

  3. Distinguished Alumni – Celebrate graduates who have gone on to achieve excellence across diverse fields. Their stories, once featured on the District’s Wall of Fame, now live on in our permanent digital catalog.

  4. Lecture Series – The Billy W. Sills Lecture Series brings together historians, educators, writers, and community leaders to highlight the importance of preserving our shared history. These events are open to the public and shine a light on the many ways education shapes Fort Worth.

The Center not only preserves history. It makes history accessible. From old report cards, yearbooks, and memorabilia to inspiring stories of alumni achievement, the Archives offer a unique opportunity to see how our district has grown and thrived.

Honoring the Namesake

The Center proudly bears the name of Billy W. Sills, a dedicated social studies teacher and consultant who began collecting FWISD history in the 1950s. His vision and commitment laid the foundation for what has become one of the region’s most valuable educational resources.

Two framed paintings of city buildings hang on a white wall in the foreground, while the background reveals a dimly lit art gallery with a piano, chairs, and other artworks.
In the foreground, two colorful paintings of children are displayed on a white pedestal, while the background features more artwork on a white wall.
Two framed paintings hang on a white wall in the foreground, while the background reveals a gallery space with more artwork on display and a small table with chairs.
An elderly woman looks through a photo album at a table in the foreground, while paintings are displayed on easels in the background of a well-lit gallery.
Two framed paintings of Venetian canals are displayed on easels in the foreground, with bookshelves and other artwork visible in the background of the gallery.
A wooden desk with books and a globe sits in the foreground, while a grandfather clock and a flag stand in the background.
An elderly woman with glasses looks at a photo album on a table in the foreground, with paintings and bookshelves filling the background.
A dark wooden bookshelf filled with books, a teddy bear, and a football helmet is in the foreground, while the background is a continuation of the same bookshelf.
An elderly woman looks at a scrapbook filled with photos and mementos on a wooden table, with chairs and a blurred background of a room.
Antique wooden school desks with attached benches are arranged in a classroom setting, with a sign indicating %22Center Archives%22 in the foreground and a blurred background of more desks and wooden walls.
Framed photographs of groups of people are displayed on a light blue wall, with a smaller framed photo hanging above them.
A row of old books, mostly history texts, fills a dark wooden bookshelf.
A wooden desk in the foreground holds a globe and a rotary phone, while a framed portrait of Abraham Lincoln and an American flag hang on the wall in the background.
A vintage %22Whiz%22 composition book with a train and airplane illustration is stacked on top of other books, with a wooden surface visible in the background.
Two vintage letterman jackets, one maroon with a black %22D%22 and the other cream with red stripes and a patch, rest on a white surface with a blurred background.
A newspaper with headlines about Ferguson, Gomez, and Gil Barnett is spread open in a drawer, with other papers stacked behind it.