Wichita Falls Junior College

Although private junior colleges were operating in Texas before the 1900s, similar public institutions were not started until the 1920s. The first, Wichita Falls Junior College, began here in 1922, seven years before the adoption of related state legislation. Developed as part of the city school system under the direction of Superintendent Randolph Lee Clark, it opened with fifty-five students, ten teachers, and a curriculum of seven subjects. Early classes were held in the high school building at this site. Planning for a separate junior college campus began in 1928 when Burkburnett educational philanthropists John G. Hardin and his wife Mary offered a matching grant for construction of new facilities. Despite the economic depression of the 1930s, the necessary funds were raised and another site was donated by local residents W. B. Hamilton and N. H. Martin. Renamed Hardin Junior College in honor of the school's benefactors, the institution was relocated by 1938 when the new buildings were completed. In the 1940s the school became a state-supported four-year college. Renamed Midwestern University in 1950, it has been an instrumental factor in the growth and development of Wichita Falls. (1981)

Wichita Falls Junior College is a historical marker in Wichita Falls, Wichita County, dedicated in 1981. It is one of 75 historical markers documented in Wichita County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 94 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 33.9059, -98.4971 near Wichita Falls. The nearest cataloged historic site is St. Paul Lutheran Church (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Kell House Museum, Kell, Frank, House, and Kell, Frank Home.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5485005802. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.