Burleson College

Burleson College began as a resolution before the Hunt County Baptist Association on October 1, 1894, from Rev. S. J. Anderson, pastor of Greenville's First Baptist Church, and was incorporated in February 1895 with $50,000 in capital stock. It took over the faculty and pupils of Greenville College, whose eight seniors became its first graduating class. In 1929 it had 325 students and nineteen teachers. Debt and competition from tax-supported schools, above all East Texas State at Commerce, closed it on December 5, 1930.

What the plaque says

Burleson College BURLESON COLLEGE The Hunt County Baptist Association decided to establish a school in Greenville in 1895, a common trend at the end of the 19th century for Christian denominations to support colleges. Burleson College was one of these schools that was established without adequate support from the churches. Since they were designed to bring rural children extended education, many more schools were built than the churches could financially support. Burleson College survived for 35 years through determination of local citizens. The purpose of the college was "to encourage, maintain, promote, and support education in all of its branches." It had a four-year preparatory program and a four-year college program that was offered free to men who desired to preach the gospel. The college was named after Dr. Rufus C. Burleson, former president of Baylor University in Waco. The school itself was built on a hill one mile west of the Hunt County Courthouse. In 1896, the Hunt County Baptist Association leased the school to Dr. S. J. Anderson, but they again resumed control of the college and its indebtedness in 1898. By 1907, Burleson became a junior college under the Baptist Education Commission. Its debt had risen considerably and buildings were in need of repair. In 1925, the girls' dormitory burned, creating another financial setback. In 1926, complete financial support from the Greenville-Dallas district of Baptist women replaced the dorm building. Still struggling financially, the board of trustees and Baptist general convention of Texas closed Burleson College in 1930. Throughout its existence, more than 8,000 students attended Burleson College which provided secondary education for the area. (2014)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Audie Murphy / American Cotton Museum — 2.4 mi
  A Greenville museum of Hunt County's military heroes, including Audie Murphy, and of cotton, which keeps the engine of what it says was the world's largest inland cotton compress.
• Rockwall County Historical Foundation & Museum — 24 mi
  A small museum in Harry Myers Park that keeps the evidence on Rockwall's rock wall, sandstone dikes that geologists call natural and folk tales call built.

More markers nearby

• Hunt County's First Railroad — 0.8 mi
• Greenville Building and Loan Association — 0.9 mi
• Greenville — 1.0 mi
• Greenville's Electric Light Plant — 1.0 mi