Howard Payne University

For months the school had no settled name. The Indian Creek meeting of June 1889 chose trustees but not a title, and Pecan Valley Baptist College and Brownwood College were both used before the board chose Howard Payne that October. The first charter was filed July 23, 1891, and the first degree came in 1895. After joining the Texas System of Correlated Schools in 1897 it gave up senior-college status and ran as a junior college until the Baptist General Convention of Texas restored it in 1914.

What the plaque says

Howard Payne University The Pecan Valley Baptist Association was formed by representatives of Baptist congregations in this area in September 1876. Meeting at Indian Creek in June 1889, the association acted on an executive committee resolution calling for the creation of a Baptist college within the organization's boundaries. Brownwood was chosen as the site of the school. The Rev. John David Robnett, first president of the college Board of Trustees, traveled extensively to raise funds for the institution. His brother-in-law, Edward Howard Payne, made a large contribution to the school, which was then named in his honor. Howard Payne College opened its doors on September 16, 1890, the same day the cornerstone was laid for the main school building. Classes were held in Robnett Hall, a building John Robnett had built with plans to provide boarding facilities at the college. Dr. A.J. Emerson served as the school's first president. Over the years the college grew and enrollment increased. Daniel Baker College, a Presbyterian school which opened in Brownwood days before Howard Payne, was incorporated into the Baptist College in 1953. The school was raised to university standing in 1974. The old main building burned in 1984. (1989)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lake Brownwood State Park — 9.9 mi
  A CCC park on a reservoir that filled in a single flood before its dam was done, with stone cabins, a hilltop dance pavilion and a grand staircase climbed by dancers arriving by boat.

More markers nearby

• The Rev. Dr. John David Robnett — steps away
• The Rev. Noah Turner Byars — steps away
• Veda Wells Hodge — steps away
• Brooke Smith — 0.3 mi