Baylor University

World's largest Baptist University. Founded under charter issued by congress of Republic of Texas on Feb. 1, 1845, and in continuous operation ever since. Named for Judge R.E.B. Baylor (1791-1873), a native of Kentucky, an 1820s United States Congressman from Alabama, one of the first district judges in Texas. Judge Baylor, with the Rev. William Tryon and the Rev. James Huckins, obtained the charter under the terms of a resolution of the Union Baptist Association to establish "A Baptist University...to meet the needs of all the ages to come." First location was at Independence, in Washington County. Early presidents were Henry L. Graves (1847-52), Refus C. Burleson (1852-61), George W. Baines (1861-63), and William Carey Crane (1863-85). Texas supreme court justices Abner S. Limpscomb, Royal T. Wheeler, and Judge Baylor taught the first law classes. An early benefactor was General Sam Houston, who sent his children to the university and who initiated construction of the first woman's building. In 1886 the university moved to Waco, where new schools have been added and the plant enlarged in later years. The Armstrong Browning Library, Texana collections, and other features are world renowned.

Baylor University is a historical marker in Waco, McLennan County, dedicated in 1970. It is one of 198 historical markers documented in McLennan County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 224 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.5471, -97.1207 near Waco. The nearest cataloged historic site is George W. Carroll Science Hall (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Baylor, R.E.B., Burleson Quadrangle, and Neff, Governor Patrick Morris.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5309000341. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.