Bishop Ward Normal and Collegiate Institute

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Bishop Ward Normal and Collegiate Institute
ActiveSeptember 17, 1883–c. 1890
FounderCharles W. Porter, Richard H. Cain, Thomas M.D. Ward
Religious affiliation
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Location
intersection of Old Madisonville Road and Pleasant Street
Huntsville, Texas, U.S.

30°43′38″N 95°33′38″W / 30.727333°N 95.560467°W / 30.727333; -95.560467
Map

Bishop Ward Normal and Collegiate Institute (1883 – 1890) was a private co-educational collegiate institute for African American students (or HBCU) in Huntsville, Texas, founded by the African Methodist Episcopal Church.[1] It has a historical marker erected in 2018 by the Texas Historical Commission (no. 20117).[2][3]

History

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Bishop Ward Normal and Collegiate Institute was founded in the early 1880s, by the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church), under presiding Elder Charles W. Porter and Bishops Richard H. Cain and Thomas M.D. Ward.[4][5] Joshua Houston is also sometimes credited as one of the founders.[6][7] It was named after a clergyman.[4] The board of trustees included Joshua Houston, Memphis Allen,[8] Joseph Mettawer,[5] John "Tip" Hightower,[5] and Alex Wynne.[9] The trustees were all affiliated with the AME Church, and had purchased the school building;[3] located in a two-story brick mansion with eight-rooms, on 54 acres (22 ha) of land.[10] Houston, Mettawer, and Allen had all served as county commissioners in Walker County, Texas during the Reconstruction era.[11]

Opened September 17, 1883 on Smith Hill in Huntsville, Texas, it was the fifth college established for African American students in Texas.[1] The college was led by professor Charles W. Luckie, and the first class had an enrollment of 10 students.[5] The curriculum included liberal arts (Latin, Greek, mathematics and grammar), as well as teaching, domestic arts, manual labor, and trade.[3]

By 1884, the school enrollment was about 164 students and included boarding facilities.[5] It closed in c. 1890 due to a lack of funding.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Dwyer, Charles L.; Holder, Gerald L. "Huntsville, Texas: A Historical Overview". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  2. ^ "Bishop Ward Normal and Collegiate Institute". Historical Marker Database (HMDB).
  3. ^ a b c Coffen, Donna (February 5, 2020). "A Long-Forgotten HBCU to Get a Historical Marker in Huntsville, Texas". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Crews, D'Anne McAdams (1976). Huntsville and Walker County, Texas, a Bicentennial History. Sam Houston State University Press. p. 42.
  5. ^ a b c d e Foner, Roy (June 16, 2023). "Lest We Forget: The Bishop Ward Normal and Collegiate Institute". Samuel Walker Houston Museum. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  6. ^ Deeringer, Martha (January 2013). "The Other Remarkable Houston". Texas Co-op Power. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  7. ^ Pruitt, Bernadette (January 31, 2007). "Joshua Houston (1822–1902)". BlackPast.org. Retrieved August 14, 2025.
  8. ^ Littlejohn, Jeff (2009). Huntsville. Walker County Historical Commission. Arcadia Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-7385-7133-1.
  9. ^ Burdett, Betty (2006). The Wynne Home: Then and Now. Texas Review Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-881515-89-0.
  10. ^ Prather, Patricia Smith; Monday, Jane Clements (1995). From Slave to Statesman: The Legacy of Joshua Houston, Servant to Sam Houston. University of North Texas Press. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-929398-87-7.
  11. ^ "Huntsville, Texas: A Historical Overview". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  12. ^ Gates Jr., Henry Louis; Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks (2008). The African American National Biography: Hacker-Jones, Sarah. Oxford University Press. p. 336.