DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say, about a mile north of where we're rolling right now. Now, some stories start with a building. This one starts with something harder to build — a vision.
It's 1900, and in Daingerfield, Texas, the Rev. A.J. Hurdle is leading the formation of the Northeast Texas Christian Missionary Convention of the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ.
Formed to serve black members of the denomination, this convention had one primary purpose burning at its center from the very start: the creation of a college. That's what they came together for. That's what they were going to do.
A group of women within the organization took that mission and turned it into something tangible — they formed the Christian College Building Association, and they went to work raising funds. By 1904, they had raised enough to purchase forty-nine acres of land near Palestine, Texas. Forty-nine acres of possibility, bought through deliberate effort and collective will.
Then they kept building. In 1910, contractor J.L. Randolph was hired, and on May 26, 1911 — mark that date — the cornerstone was laid for the main college structure.
The Northeast Texas Christian Theological and Industrial College opened in January of 1912. Seven students walked through the door. Four faculty members were there to meet them.
Several large frame buildings stood on that land. D.T. Cleaver served as the first president, and he was succeeded by I.Q.
Hurdle. And the work those students did — it wasn't just classroom work. They farmed the college lands.
They raised livestock. It was an education of the mind and the hand and the land all at once, drawing students from several states to this patch of Anderson County ground. And then, about 1920, fire took the main college building.
The school closed. The remaining buildings were later razed. Every last one of them.
Gone. No visible reminders left of an institution that drew students from across multiple states — that was raised up from nothing by a convention, a women's association, a cornerstone laid on a May morning in 1911. The land is quiet now.
But the story of what stood here — and what it took to build it — that doesn't raze quite so easy.
What the marker says
(about one mile north) Led by the Rev. A.J. Hurdle, the Northeast Texas Christian Missionary Convention of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was formed in Daingerfield in 1900. Established to serve black members of the denomination, its primary purpose was the creation of a college. The Christian College Building Association was formed by a group of women within the organization, and by 1904 enough funds had been raised to purchase forty-nine acres of land near Palestine, Texas. Contractor J.L. Randolph was hired in 1910, and on May 26, 1911, the cornerstone was laid for the main college structure. Opening with seven students in January 1912, the Northeast Texas Christian Theological and Industrial College consisted of several large frame buildings and had a faculty of four. D.T. Cleaver served as the first president and was succeeded by I.Q. Hurdle. In addition to their classroom studies, the students farmed the college lands and raised livestock. After the main college building was destroyed by fire about 1920, the school closed. The remaining buildings were later razed, leaving no visible reminders of the institution that once provided an education to students from several states. (1989)