Type Private Affiliation Methodist Founded 1841 | Active 1841–1868 Campus size 170 ha | |
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Location Clarksville, Texas, United States Similar Soule University, Rutersville College, Southwestern University | ||
McKenzie College, also called McKenzie's College, was a private college located on the plantation of Reverend John W. P. McKenzie in Clarksville, Texas, United States. Starting in 1841, the school grew from 16 students educated in a log cabin to over 300 students occupying four large buildings in 1854. It was the largest institution of higher education in Texas during the 1850s and 1860s.
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History
Suffering from poor health, Reverend John W. P. McKenzie retired from missionary work in 1841 and moved to a 421-acre (1.70 km2) plantation in 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 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.
Student life
The college was home to two literary societies, the Philologian Society and Dialectic Society.