Burleson College

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Burleson College, out there in Hunt County. Now, the story of Burleson College is the kind of story Texas knows well. A dream bigger than the pocketbook, held up by sheer stubbornness for thirty-five years.

Let me take you back. It was 1895. The Hunt County Baptist Association made a decision: Greenville needed a school.

And they weren't alone in thinkin' that way. All across the country at the end of the nineteenth century, Christian denominations were standin' up colleges left and right, trying to bring extended education to rural children who might not otherwise get it. The trouble was, more schools were built than the churches could ever financially support.

Burleson College was born into exactly that predicament, established without adequate support from the very churches behind it. The college was named after Dr. Rufus C.

Burleson, former president of Baylor University in Waco. And they didn't put it just anywhere. They set that school on a hill, one mile west of the Hunt County Courthouse, which, if you think about it, is about as fitting a location as you could ask for a place with ambitions.

The purpose of the college, as they stated it, was to encourage, maintain, promote, and support education in all of its branches. They offered a four-year preparatory program and a four-year college program. And here's a detail worth noting: that college program was offered free to men who desired to preach the gospel.

Free. Which tells you something about what they valued, and also something about the financial hole they were already diggin'. In 1896, the Hunt County Baptist Association leased the school to a Dr.

S. J. Anderson, maybe hoping someone else could sort out the books.

It didn't stick. By 1898 they had resumed control, and with it, the college's indebtedness. By 1907, Burleson had become a junior college under the Baptist Education Commission, and the debt had risen considerably.

The buildings were in need of repair. The financial ground was always shifting underfoot. Then came 1925.

The girls' dormitory burned. Just like that, another financial setback dropped on an institution that was already strainin' under the weight of its own ideals. But the following year, 1926, complete financial support from the Greenville-Dallas district of Baptist women replaced that dormitory building.

Women stepping up to hold together what the broader organization was struggling to sustain. But the struggle didn't end there. Still fighting the finances, the board of trustees and the Baptist General Convention of Texas made the call.

In 1930, they closed Burleson College. Thirty-five years. That's how long the determination of local citizens kept that school on the hill.

And in those thirty-five years, more than eight thousand students came through those doors for secondary education. Eight thousand. Not a bad legacy for a college that was, from the very beginning, running on more faith than funding.

What the marker says

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)