Tyler Junior College opened in 1926 as an extension of the city's public schools and became an independent college district after World War II. Voters then approved bonds for a new campus off Fifth Street, laid out in a colonial style by Tyler architect Shirley Simons, and by the late 1980s it was described as the largest single-campus junior college in Texas. TJC is known well beyond East Texas for its high-kicking Apache Belles, and its grounds also hold a planetarium and an independent art museum. This short walk links the college's historical marker with those three signature stops.
About this site
Tyler Junior College is a public college or university in Tyler, Smith County. It is one of 3 degree-granting colleges and universities TexasRoam maps in Smith County.
The site sits at 32.3336, -95.2843 near Tyler. The nearest cataloged historic site is Tyler Junior College (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Rudolph Bergfeld, Woman's Building, and Bonner, Thomas R., Colonel.
Tyler Junior College opened in 1926 as part of the Tyler public school system, and its enrollment sank as low as 156 students during the early Depression before recovering. In November 1945 voters created a separate Tyler Junior College District, backing it with a tax levy and a bond issue for a campus of its own, and the college left the school system in 1946, the same year Harry E. Jenkins began a 35-year presidency. Architect Shirley Simons drew up the original campus plan in a colonial style, and Jenkins Hall, named for that longtime president, remains one of its signature buildings. The college broadened its curriculum in the 1950s and added technical, vocational and health programs from the 1960s onward, and it is widely known for its Apache Belles drill team and for the planetarium in its Center for Earth and Space Science Education. TJC marked its 100th anniversary in 2026.
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