McKenzie College, also called McKenzie's College, was a
private college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
located on the plantation of
Reverend John W. P. McKenzie, a Methodist minister, in
Clarksville,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, United States. Starting in 1841, the school grew from 16 students educated in a log cabin to over 300 students and 9 faculty members occupying four large buildings in 1854.
It was the largest institution of higher education in Texas during the 1850s and 1860s. Before the American Civil War began, it trained almost all of the new Methodist ministers in the state. Unable to retain financial support after the War, Rev. McKenzie closed the school in June, 1868.
He served for a year as the first president of another Methodist school, Marvin College in Waxahachie, Texas, then completely retired from church-related work. He died in Clarksville on June 20, 1881.
History
John Witherspoon Pettigrew McKenzie (most often abbreviated to John W. P. McKenzie) was a native of North Carolina who was admitted to the Tennessee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1836. He was soon transferred into the Arkansas Conference, which had been established on the Texas frontier. This conference assigned John and his wife Matilda as missionaries to the people of the Choctaw Nation, who had just been removed from their homes in various Southeastern states to the Indian Territory.,
[Jordan, Milton. "McKenzie College, Red River County, Texas." ''East Texas Historical Journal''. vol. 48, Issue 1, Article 7. 2010. Accessed May 5, 2019.] p. 13. In 1839, the conference appointed John and Matilda to the Clarksville Circuit inside the Republic of Texas. In 1836, Matilda became a teacher in the first school for girls opened in the Choctaw Nation of Indian Territory (near Shawneetown in present-day
McCurtain County, Oklahoma
McCurtain County is in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 33,151. Its county seat is Idabel. It was formed at statehood from part of the earlier Choctaw Nation in Indian Territo ...
.
)
Suffering from poor health, Reverend John W. P. McKenzie retired from missionary work in 1841 and moved to a plantation southwest of Clarksville, Texas. He began offering classes for local boys in his home, which he named Itinerant's Retreat.
As the school grew, a separate log cabin was built. Most of the first students were receiving primary and secondary education, although the school awarded its first
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in 1844. By 1845, the school was divided into three departments: preparatory, collegiate, and female. Four buildings were built in 1853 to accommodate the school's rapid growth.
McKenzie, and most of the school's other instructors, were Methodists, but did not pressure their students who adhered to other denominations to become Methodists. For example, B. F. Fuller, a Baptist, admitted later that he was nervous about enrolling in McKenzie College and the difficulty he anticipated having there because of doctrinal differences. The experience allayed his fear. He not only continued his education there, but a few years later, still a Baptist, became a teacher at McKenzie.,
p. 13.
Always considered a Methodist institution, McKenzie's school was actually controlled by the Methodist Conference for one year, After 1860, the college formed a military department that organized all male students into companies, in which they performed daily drills. In June 1861, McKenzie cancelled the final examinations and the graduation ceremonies that normally ended the school year.
By 1863, the enrollment had dropped to 33, and rose to an average of 74 for the period 1864–67. Unable to keep the institution financially independent, McKenzie and his son-in-law, Smith Ragsdale, closed it on June 25, 1868.
Giving up on restoring his school, McKenzie accepted an appointment as the first president of the Church-owned Marvin College in
Waxahachie, Texas
Waxahachie ( ) is the seat of government of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020.
Etymology
Some sources state that the name means "cow" or "buffalo" in an unspecified Native American language. One possible ...
, but served for only one year, 1868–9. (Marvin College closed in 1878.) McKenzie returned to Clarksville and retired. He died there early in the morning of Monday, June 20, 1881, just after his school's regular morning prayers.
Student life
The ''Handbook of Texas'' states that about half of the students came from the Red River area, 40 percent came from other parts of Texas and 10 percent came from Arkansas and Louisiana. The school year was 10 months long, and the cost for 10 months tuition, board, room and laundry was $180.
Initially, the student body was all male. It is unclear when the first females were admitted, but Jordan notes that during the prosperous 1845-1860 period the school had two competing newspapers: ''The Bee'', which was run by young women, and ''The Owl'', run by young men. A third paper, ''The School Monthly'', began publication somewhat later.
The college was home to two
literary societies
A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newsle ...
, the Philologian Society and Dialectic Society.
[ ]
Female students were enrolled in the Female Department, which was supervised by the founder's wife. Their academic curriculum was substantially the same as that required for the young men, but upon graduation, they were awarded diplomas, rather than degrees.
Facilities
McKenzie College first opened in the fall of 1841, with 16 to 18 students at the high school or elementary levels. Classes met in a single log cabin that was by in size. By 1853–4, the school had expanded into what was described by one student as "... four large, multi-story buildings." The McKenzie's home also served as a dormitory for young women. Two of the new buildings, named Grant and Duke, to honor their donors, became dormitories for male students. Two floors of the Main Building contained the chapel, offices, recitation rooms, laboratory, and library, as well as a book store. The third floor was used by the literary societies for their meetings, debates, and oratory.,
p. 15.
Notable people
*
Martha E. Whitten (1842–1917), author
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mckenzie College (Texas)
Defunct private universities and colleges in Texas
Educational institutions established in 1841
Southwestern University
Education in Red River County, Texas
1841 establishments in the Republic of Texas
1868 disestablishments in Texas