Houston Baptist College was chartered in 1960 on land in the then-new Sharpstown development and opened in September 1963 with 193 freshmen. It became a university in 1973 and took the name Houston Christian University in 2022. The surprise of this compact campus is the Morris Cultural Arts Center, which holds three free-standing museum collections on Bibles, frontier domestic life, and Southern history. This walk starts at the library, visits the landmark Hinton Center, spends time inside the Morris Center, and ends at the football stadium.
About this site
Houston Christian University is a private college or university in Houston, Harris County. It is one of 22 degree-granting colleges and universities TexasRoam maps in Harris County.
The site sits at 29.6938, -95.5160 near Houston. The nearest cataloged historic site is Museum of Southern History (museum), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Museum of American Architecture and Decorative Arts, Dunham Bible Museum, and Emanu El Memorial Park.
Photo: Hbuhusky, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
History
Texas Baptists began planning a Houston college in the early 1950s, and in 1960 the Baptist General Convention of Texas chartered the school as Houston Baptist College. It was built on 158 acres near Fondren Road and the Southwest Freeway in fast-growing southwest Houston and welcomed 191 freshmen in September 1963 under founding president William H. Hinton, adding a new class each year until all four were in place by 1966. The early campus was organized around an academic quadrangle, with residence halls and a physical-education center nearby. The college became Houston Baptist University in 1973. Later additions include the Morris Cultural Arts Center, home to three museums, among them the Dunham Bible Museum and a museum of American architecture and decorative arts, and the neighboring Belin Chapel. The Huskies compete in NCAA Division I and launched a football program in 2013. In September 2022 the university adopted the name Houston Christian University while keeping its Baptist ties.
Stone arch gateway at the main entrance, photographed in 2021 while the school was still Houston Baptist University. Photo: WhisperToMe, CC0, via Wikimedia CommonsDomed campus building and fountain at dusk. Photo: Zereshk, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsBrown Administrative Complex. Photo: Nick22aku (talk), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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