Marker Inscription
Decatur Baptist College, world's first institution to be planned (in 1898) as a junior college. This hall was built in 1892, for an earlier school.
Historical Marker
Decatur Baptist College
The roadside stories worth pulling over for.
About this site
Decatur Baptist College is a historical marker in Decatur, Wise County, dedicated in 1964. It is one of 91 historical markers documented in Wise County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 162 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 33.2230, -97.5867 near Decatur. The nearest cataloged historic site is Episcopal Mission of the Ascension (historical marker), about 0.4 miles away. Others within a short drive include Texas Tourist Camp Complex, Tilghman, S. W., House, and Stone Prison, Old.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5497001197. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
History
Decatur Baptist College grew out of Northwest Texas Baptist College, established in 1891 with Decatur chosen as its home. After financial trouble, it reorganized in 1898 as a junior college, often cited as the first private junior college in the United States. It prepared students for Baylor University until relocating to Dallas in 1965 to become what is now Dallas Baptist University; its 1893 administration building later served as the Wise County Heritage Museum until it was destroyed by fire in 2023.
Sources: tshaonline.orgen.wikipedia.org
Get Texas Roam — all 28,000 sites in your pocket
See this site and every marker, cemetery, courthouse, museum and landmark across Texas on one live map — find what's near you, get directions, and check in as you roam.
Nearby in Wise County
Historical Marker
Episcopal Mission of the Ascension
Decatur · 1968
Historical Marker
Texas Tourist Camp Complex
Decatur · 1994
Historical Marker
Tilghman, S. W., House
Decatur · 1974
Historical Marker
Wise County Messenger
Decatur · 1981
Historical Marker
Stone Prison, Old
Decatur · 1968
Historical Marker
Decatur First United Methodist Church
Decatur · 1981
Historical Marker
Wise County, C.S.A.
Decatur · 1963
Historical Marker
Terrell, Charles Vernon
Decatur · 1972