Abilene Christian University

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, in my own words. Back in 1906, a man named A. B.

Barret, an educator and preacher for Texas Churches of Christ, set out to build something that didn't come along every day: a school meant to offer Christian education at every grade level. Now, a school needs a place to stand, and that's where Colonel J. W.

Childers comes in. The Colonel deeded his homesite, right there at North 1st and Victoria streets, to serve as the campus. And in gratitude, that first institution carried his name: Childers Classical Institute.

Not a short name, but a proud one. Then came 1912, and with it a man named Jesse P. Sewell, who took the helm of the institution and held it for twelve years.

Twelve years of what the marker calls early expansion, which is a quiet way of saying the place was growing into something considerable. By 1920, the institution had taken a new name: Abilene Christian College. And nine years after that, the college picked up and moved to new facilities, the very ground the marker now stands on.

The story doesn't end there, though. In 1976, the school took the name it carries today: Abilene Christian University. One founder, one donated homesite, a succession of names, and more than seven decades of building toward something.

That's a long arc for a school that started on one man's front lot.

What the marker says

This school, formed to provide a Christian education for all grade levels, was founded in 1906 by A. B. Barret, an early educator and preacher for Texas Churches of Christ. It was first called Childers Classical Institute in honor of Colonel J. W. Childers, who deeded his homesite at North 1st and Victoria streets for use as a campus. Early expansion of the institution began in 1912 with the 12-year presidency of Jesse P. Sewell. In 1920 it became Abilene Christian College and nine years later was moved to new facilities here. The present name was adopted in 1976.