DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Port Arthur College — and friend, this is a story that starts with one man's vision and ends up touching just about everything from Morse code to television. Now, the name John W. Gates might ring a bell — he was one of the founders of the Texas Company, the outfit the world would come to know as Texaco.
And in 1909, Gates turned his attention to something a little different. He wanted to build a school. A nonprofit, non-sectarian, vocational school, to be exact — one that would focus on stenography, accounting, and communications, and complement the industries already taking root in Port Arthur.
But here's the part that gives you pause. Gates didn't just want a school. He proposed building both a school and a hospital — together — as memorials to his mother.
He went to the city, asked them to donate the property, and the City Council obliged, setting aside public park land between Procter Street and Lakeshore Drive. Gates himself appointed the original trustees and named George M. Craig as the first president.
The doors opened for classes on October 4, 1909, with a first class of thirty-five students. Thirty-five. Gates had an eye on the future, though.
He believed the Spanish department would be especially attractive — and he had his reasons. The opening of the Panama Canal and increased trade with Central America were raising the demand for bilingual secretaries and clerks, and Gates figured Port Arthur College would be ready to meet it. The school barely had time to find its footing before things started shifting.
In December of 1910 — just a year after those first thirty-five students walked through the door — the board conveyed the college to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the name changed to Port Arthur Collegiate Institute. Academic, music, and science classes were added to the curriculum in the years that followed. Then in 1919, the M.
E. Church returned management back to the board of trustees. By 1923, the college was a fully accredited commercial school.
And those communications courses? They started with wireless telegraphy. Just dots and dashes across the airwaves.
But they expanded — to radio broadcasting, and then, in time, to a television station. A school that began teaching stenography had grown itself into the broadcast age. Then came World War II, and Port Arthur College stepped up in a way that deserves to be said plainly: the college trained approximately fifteen hundred operators in communications for the U.S.
Army Signal Corps. Fifteen hundred. From a first class of thirty-five.
The college kept growing. In 1975, it became part of the Lamar University System, and later joined the Texas State University System. In 1999, the name changed again — this time to Lamar State College-Port Arthur.
And today, more than three thousand students walk those halls. Thirty-five to three thousand. One man's memorial to his mother, and look what it became.
What the marker says
John W. Gates founded Port Arthur College in 1909 as a nonprofit, non-sectarian, vocational school focusing on stenography, accounting and communications. Gates, one of the founders of the Texas Company (Texaco), envisioned a school to complement local industries. Gates proposed building a school and hospital as memorials to his mother, and asked that the city donate the required property. The City Council used public park land between Procter Street and Lakeshore Drive for the college. Gates appointed the original trustees, including George M. Craig as first president. The college opened for classes on October 4, 1909. Gates believed the Spanish department would be especially attractive, with the opening of the Panama Canal and increased trade with Central America raising demand for bilingual secretaries and clerks. On December 1910, the board conveyed the college to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the name was changed to Port Arthur Collegiate Institute. In succeeding years, academic, music and science classes were added to the curriculum. In 1919, the M. E. Church returned management to the board of trustees. By 1923, the college was a fully accredited commercial school. Communications courses that began with wireless telegraphy expanded to radio broadcasting and later a television station. During World War II, Port Arthur College trained approximately 1500 operators in communications for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. The college flourished and in 1975 became part of the Lamar University System, later joining the Texas State University System and changing its name in 1999 to Lamar State College-Port Arthur. The school has grown from the first class of 35 enrolled to more than 3000 students today.