Delta County was first inhabited by European settlers in the 1820s, when the area around present-day Ben Franklin was developed.
[3][4] The history of education in Delta County began in 1847, when a group of pioneers from Shiloh, Tennessee constructed a combined church, school, and community center on the bank of the South Sulphur River.
[2] Although citizens of the Delta County area were divided between secession and Sam Houston's unionist views, the region generally escaped any Civil War conflict.
However, during the period when the rest of the country was going through reconstruction, the Delta County area focused on expanding its education.
Sylvia Wood and Judy Falls wrote that "Even the early rural communities had some type of schools".
[9]: 19 In 1896, Cooper built its first school; previously, the city had been focusing on establishing a government and its economy.
[7]: 8–9 Cooper ISD has three campuses - In 2009, the school district was rated "academically acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency.