Site of Campus of Old Columbia College

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passing it along just as it reads. Back in 1889, up in Grayson County near Van Alstyne, a group of merchants and landowners looked around at what they had, and decided what they needed was quality education. So they formed an association and established Columbia College.

Now, this wasn't some modest little one-room affair. The institution was housed in a three-story frame structure, sitting on a four-acre fenced site, and it served all grades right on through college level, with an emphasis on vocational training alongside the arts and sciences. Forty students showed up for that first class.

Forty. And by the 1893 to 1894 school year, enrollment had climbed to five hundred and seventy-eight. Students were coming in from a large section of North Texas to study at this coeducational facility, which, for the era, was worth noting on its own.

The man who shaped those early years was Howell Lake Piner, born in 1858, and listed on the marker as having served as the school's first president from 1890 to 1895. He was born in Kentucky, reared in Honey Grove, Texas, and educated at Vanderbilt University. Before coming to Columbia, he had sold his interest in Grayson College over in Whitewright, and then arrived at this institution and, in the marker's own words, skillfully directed its development.

As the area around Van Alstyne kept growing, residents recognized a new need: a community high school. So in 1906, Columbia College became part of the Van Alstyne Public School System. The college building kept on serving those schools for nearly another decade.

Then, in 1915, it was destroyed by fire. Three stories of frame construction, four acres, nearly six hundred students at its peak, and in the end, gone. What you're passing now is the site where all of that stood.

What the marker says

In 1889 an association composed of merchants and landowners from the Van Alstyne area saw the need for quality education and established Columbia College. The school served all grades through college level, emphasizing vocational training as well as the arts and sciences. The institution was housed in a three-story frame structure on this four-acre fenced site. There were 40 students in the first class and the enrollment increased to 578 by the 1893-1894 school year. Students from a large section of North Texas studied at this coeducational facility. Howell Lake Piner (1858-1935) served from 1890-1895 as the school's first president. He was born in Kentucky, reared in Honey Grove, Texas, and received his education at Vanderbilt University. After selling his interest in Grayson College, Whitewright, Texas, Piner came to Columbia and skillfully directed the development of the institution. As the area grew, Van Alstyne residents recognized the need for a community high school. Columbia College became part of the Van Alstyne Public School System in 1906. The college building continued to serve the schools until 1915 when it was destroyed by fire.