DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do it justice. Before there were public schools spreading across east Texas, education had to come from somewhere, and it came from places like the Alexander Institute. Now, this school had roots.
It was a successor to the New Danville Masonic Female Academy, founded over in nearby Danville back in 1854. That's the stock it came from. And the man who shaped it into something worth remembering was a Virginia-born educator named Isaac Alexander, born in 1832, who would live all the way to 1919.
They called him Dr. Alexander, and the institute bore his name for good reason. He was president of the academy when it picked up and moved to Kilgore in 1873, soon after that city itself had been founded.
Young town, young school, big ambitions. Then in 1875, operation of the school was transferred to the East Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. That gave it backing, and it gave it reach.
The institute offered courses from the primary level all the way through college level. It was regarded, and I mean highly regarded, as a finishing school for girls and a preparatory school for boys. Students came from all parts of east Texas to get instruction there.
Now the boys boarded in private homes around town, but the girls stayed with Mrs. Alexander herself, who happened to be the daughter of a well-known Methodist minister by the name of Reverend James Hall. That's the kind of tight-knit, purposeful community this school represented.
Dr. Alexander held the presidency until 1894. That's when the school moved on, heading to Jacksonville in Rusk County, where it became Lon Morris College, one of the oldest junior colleges in the state of Texas.
But the story of the old building didn't end there. The Kilgore public schools took over that original classroom building right here at this site and used it all the way until 1913. Then the structure was dismantled, and the lumber, every plank of it, was used to build a private residence.
An old school became someone's home. The walls that heard recitations and lessons got a second life. Not a bad way to go.
What the marker says
Before the establishment of public schools, education was provided by small private academies such as the Alexander Institute. a successor to the New Danville Masonic Female Academy, founded in nearby Danville in 1854. The institute was named for pioneer educator Isaac Alexander (1832-1919). A native of Virginia, Dr. Alexander was president of the academy when it moved to Kilgore in 1873, soon after the city was founded. In 1875 operation of the school was transferred to the East Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Offering courses from primary through college level, the institute was highly regarded as a finishing school for girls and a preparatory school for boys. Students from all parts of east Texas received instruction here. The boys boarded in private homes and the girls with Mrs. Alexander, daughter of a well-known Methodist minister, the Rev. James Hall. Dr. Alexander served as president until 1894, when the school moved to Jacksonville in Rusk County and became Lon Morris College, one of the oldest junior colleges in Texas. The Kilgore public schools occupied the old Alexander Institute classroom building at this site until 1913. The structure was then dismantled and the lumber used to build a private residence.