DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passing it along. Now, Crane County out here in West Texas carries a name — and that name belongs to a man who spent his life doing two things most folks can't manage even one of: building up young minds and holding institutions together by sheer force of will. William Carey Crane.
Noted church leader, educator. A Virginian by birth, which means he came into this world with a certain sense of how things ought to be done — properly, and thoroughly. He took his B.A. and his M.A. both from George Washington University, and from there he went south to Georgia, where he taught from 1837 to 1839.
Somewhere in that stretch, in 1838, he was ordained as a Baptist minister. So right from the start, the man was carrying two callings at once. He went on to pastor various leading churches, and then spent nearly a decade — 1851 to 1860 — as president of two different church colleges in Mississippi.
Two of them. Most folks consider running one institution a life's work. Then came 1863.
The war was tearing the country apart, Texas was operating as Confederate Texas, and twenty-five colleges across the state were shutting their doors. Into that particular storm walked William Carey Crane, newly arrived as president of Baylor University. And here's the part that ought to stop you cold: he kept Baylor open.
While the rest of those twenty-five institutions closed around him, Baylor stayed lit — and it did so, in no small part, because Crane reached into his own personal funds to make it happen. He held that presidency for twenty-two years. And as if shepherding a university through one of the hardest chapters in Texas history wasn't enough, in 1871 he became the first president of the Texas State Teachers Association.
He also served as chairman of the committee to study public school reorganization — because the man was apparently incapable of seeing a problem without walking straight toward it. A Virginian who came to Texas in a time of hardship and planted something that lasted. Crane County carries the name well.
What the marker says
Noted church leader, educator. A Virginian. Received B. A. and M. A., George Washington University. Taught in Georgia, 1837-39; was ordained Baptist minister, 1838. Was pastor of various leading churches; president of 2 church colleges in Mississippi, 1851-60. Came to Confederate Texas, 1863, as president, Baylor University-- position held 22 years. His work and use of his personal funds kept Baylor open while many of state's 25 colleges were closed. First president, 1871, of Texas State Teachers Association and chairman, committee to study public school reorganization.