Wayland Baptist University Campus Tour

Wayland Baptist grew out of a 1906 offer from Plainview physician James Henry Wayland and his wife: 25 acres and $10,000 if the town raised $40,000 more. Chartered in 1908, it is the oldest college still operating on the Texas High Plains, and in 1951 it became the first college in Texas to integrate voluntarily. This short walk covers the original administration building, the library and auditorium at the heart of campus, and the arena and museum that preserve the story of the Flying Queens.

Wayland Baptist began with a bargain. In 1906 Plainview doctor James Henry Wayland and his wife promised land and money if the town would raise more. The college was chartered in 1908 and today ranks as the High Plains' oldest college still in operation. According to the Handbook of Texas, it became the first college in the state to integrate voluntarily, in 1951.

Gates Hall, finished in 1910 and named for the first president, is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. A marker there tells Dr. Wayland's own frontier story: he covered a wide circuit of ranches on horseback and sometimes left homing pigeons behind so families could send for him.

Wayland's most famous chapter belongs to the Flying Queens women's basketball team, which got its name because a local businessman flew the players to games in his own planes. Beginning in 1953 they won 131 games in a row, went on to ten national titles, and were inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2019. The Hutcherson Center carries his name, and the Museum of the Llano Estacado tells the team's story alongside regional natural history, including a mammoth skull. It's a small campus with big stories and an easy stop on a Panhandle road trip.