Wiley was founded in 1873 by the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church to educate formerly enslaved people and their children, and it is often described as the oldest historically Black college west of the Mississippi. Under president Matthew W. Dogan it became, in 1933, the first Black college in Texas to earn an 'A' rating from the Southern Association, and in the 1930s Melvin B. Tolson's debate teams took on and beat top white universities, a story later told in the film The Great Debaters. Alumni include civil rights leaders James Farmer Jr. and Heman Sweatt. This short walk visits the historic marker, the Carnegie-funded library, early twentieth-century halls rebuilt after a 1906 fire, the modern chapel, and a marker to the school's first graduate.
Wiley University has been educating Black Texans since 1873, when the Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church founded it to teach formerly enslaved people and their children. It is often described as the oldest historically Black college west of the Mississippi, and this short walk in Marshall shows why its story reaches far beyond East Texas.
The school settled on this site in 1878, offered its first college-level course in 1885 and welcomed its first Black president, the Rev. Isaiah Scott, in 1893. Its former Carnegie library, finished by 1907, also served as Marshall's public library until 1974, according to the Handbook of Texas, and today holds the president's office.
After a 1906 fire destroyed much of the early campus, Wiley rebuilt in brick, and Thirkield Hall and Dogan Hall are key survivors of that era. Dogan Hall honors Matthew W. Dogan, the president who led the college to a 1933 'A' rating and hired Melvin B. Tolson, whose debaters beat national champion USC in 1935, the story dramatized in The Great Debaters. A campus marker also honors H. B. Pemberton, Wiley's first college graduate, who went on to lead Marshall's school for Black children.
It is a brief walk with a powerful message about education, perseverance and the power of a good argument.
It is a self-guided walking tour: 6 stops, about 0.5 miles, ~35 min. Go at your own pace; the app keeps your place.
Where does it start?
In Marshall, Texas. The exact starting point, the full stop list and turn-by-turn directions are in the TexasRoam app.
How do I take this tour?
Download TexasRoam for iPhone or iPad from the App Store. The tour is included with TexasRoam+. It is not available on the web map.
When is the best time to go?
Visit in daylight on a weekday during the academic year, when campus buildings are open and students are around.
Take the “Wiley University Campus Tour”
Texas Roam guides you turn by turn through Marshall with maps, audio narration and check-ins as you go — plus all 6 stops on this tour and every guided tour, hiking trail and historical marker across Texas. Get it on the App Store.
Guided tours & hiking trails are available only in the TexasRoam app for iPhone & iPad — not on the web map. Free to download; unlock with TexasRoam+.
