Alcorn State University Sesquicentennial

Alcorn State University will be celebrating its sesquicentennial in 2021. The institution was founded in 1871 on the campus of the former Oakland College that closed in 1860. The name changed in 1878 to Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College and in 1974, to Alcorn State University.

Alcorn is the oldest public historically black land-grant institution in the United States and the second-oldest state-supported institution of higher learning in Mississippi.

Education Corporation of America Closes over 75 Campuses

The Education Corporation of America headquarter in Birmingham, AL announced today that it will close more than 75 sites that enroll roughly 20,000 students.  The company began the process of notifying students and employees.  The sites include those operating as Brightwood College, Brightwood Career Institute, Ecotech Institute, Golf Academy of America and Virginia College.

You can read more at Inside Higher Ed in an article that was posted earlier today, "Large For-Profit Chain to Close."  WSFA-TV in Montgomery, AL posted a short video with an article, "Virginia College closing in Montgomery, nationwide."

KCRA-TV in Sacramento, CA posted "Brightwood College closing Modesto, Sacramento campuses" on its website.

Thirty-two sites are listed for Brightwood College in eight states on the IPEDS College Navigator site and twenty-seven sites in eleven states are listed for Virginia Colleges.

	Brightwood College Sites	Virginia College Sites
Alabama		4
California	10
Florida		3
Georgia		4
Indiana	2
Louisiana		2
Maryland	3
Mississippi		2
Nevada	1
North Carolina	1	1
Ohio	1
Oklahoma		1
South Carolina		5
Tennessee	1	2
Texas	13	2
Virginia		1
Totals	32	27
# states	8	11

If you are interested in recent trends for closures, mergers,and acquisitions access College Closures since 2009 in the index at the right of any College History Garden page. There are separate tabs for non-profit closures, for-profit closures, and one for mergers and acquisitions. Each tab includes basic information for the institutions, i.e., Carnegie Classification, sector, accrediting agency, and the IPEDS unitid.

Hinds Community College Celebrates Centennial

Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi is celebrating the centennial of its founding in 1917 as Hinds County Agricultural High School.  The first college classes were offered in 1922.  The name was changed to Hinds Junior College in 1958.  Branch campuses were opened in Jackson in 1970 and in Vicksburg in 1975.  There was a merger with Utica Junior College in 1982.  The name changed from Hinds Junior College to Hinds Community College in 1982.  

A culminating Centennial Gala is scheduled for November 4, 2017.  You can visit the college website for a timeline of key historical dates or photographs and other information related to the centennial.

Mississippi Industrial College: Several sites offer Images of the Campus

I saw this short YouTube video over the weekend with campus images of Mississippi Industrial College in Holly Springs, Mississippi.  The video publisher did a nice job of editing and the video was posted in June 2013.  

The Lost College web site devotes an interesting page to the history of the institution.

Mississippi Industrial College operated from 1906-1982 and was affiliated with the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church.  An earlier post on the College History Garden also includes links to a couple of sites that offer interesting images of the campus.

The Rust College Leontyne Price Library website also offers images of students and the campus.  You can also find images of Mississippi Industrial College as part of the collection, "Segregation through the Lens: African American Schools in Mississippi before Integration," hosted by the University of Mississippi Archives & Special Collections.

Remembering Mary Holmes College

WCBI-TV of Columbus, MS posted an interesting short video by reporter Victoria Bailey with reflections on the history and important role of the former Mary Holmes College.  The institution was founded as Mary Holmes Seminary in Jackson, MS in 1892 and was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.  After a fire in 1892, the institution moved to West Point, MS where it served the community until it closed in 2005.

For those who are interested, the College History Garden offers a couple of earlier posts on Mary Holmes College:

• Mary Holmes Seminary (MS)...a history at HBCUStory
• Mary Holmes College: Tenth Anniversary of the Closing

Mary Holmes College: Tenth Anniversary of the Closing

Andrew Hazzard reports for The Dispatch on the tenth anniversary of the closing of Mary Holmes College.  The institution was founded in 1892 in Jackson, Mississippi as Presbyterian Seminary and was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.  It moved after a fire in 1895 to West Point, Mississippi and ultimately closed in 2005.  You can read an earlier post on the College History Garden that also highlighted the institution.

Catholic Higher Education in the American South, 1830-1930

Kathryn Mary Wrightson's 2003 Ph.D. dissertation for the University of Georgia, Toward a History of Catholic Higher Education in the American South:  Essays on Sources and Context, is available for those interested in the history of southern colleges.  The author identified fifty-five Catholic institutions that opened during the period between 1830-1930.  Ten of these are still operating and the others tended to close after brief periods due to the isolation and poverty of the areas served.

Wrightson begins with an overview of 19th century religious life in the region.  The third chapter provides brief historical sketches of the Catholic colleges founded in nine states.  The fourth and fifth chapters focus respectively on the structures and "souls" of Catholic colleges.  She concludes by analyzing institutional success and closure in a variety of ways.  Wrightson also includes comments on the state of available sources for information and offers useful suggestions for additional research.

Mississippi Colleges that have Closed, Merged, or Changed Names

This table below includes institutions that have closed, merged, or changed their names.  If you note a need for changing or updating information, please notify ray01brown@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

An index with links to separate pages for other states and countries is available.

There is a College History Garden Facebook group or you can view and follow multiple College History Garden boards on Pinterest or there is a board specifically devoted to Mississippi colleges.

Thanks for your interest and suggestions!

Historical Marker for Okolona College (MS)

Lena Mitchell has an article from July 27, 2014 on the djournal.com web site covering the unveiling of a roadside marker commemorating the history of Okolona College in northern Mississippi.

Mitchell writes that, "Nellie Minor Adams, a graduate of the high school in 1945 and the college in 1947, read the inscription from the historical marker:  The Okolona Normal and Industrial School was founded in 1902 by Dr. Wallace A. Battle. It educated African-Americans through high school and provided industrial training for young adults. At its peak the school’s enrollment topped 200 students annually. In 1921, the school became affiliated with the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi and a member of the American Church Institute for Negroes. The school changed its name to Okolona College in 1934 and closed in 1965.”

See an earlier post on the College History Garden with links to photographs and other resources.

Mary Holmes Seminary (MS)...a history at HBCUStory

Pamela Foster posted a fascinating history of Mary Holmes Seminary at HBSCUStory.  The institution was founded in Jackson, MS in 1892 as Mary Holmes Seminary to educate young women.  The building was destroyed by fire in 1897 and was rebuilt in West Point, MS.  Mary Holmes became coeducational in 1932.  It was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and after struggling financially trustees voted to suspend operations for fall 2003.

Mississippi College and Clinton, MS

Walter Howell, Clinton (MS) Historian, is providing three presentations this month on the history of Clinton and Mississippi College.  Live streaming is available at 7 p.m. on February 6th, 13th,  and 20th of 2014.

Archived videos of the Clinton (MS) History Presentation Series will also be available after each program.  The initial presentation titled "Clinton Founders" focused on the three officials from the federal land office in Jackson who were instrumental in starting Hampstead Academy in 1826 and founding the Town of Clinton in 1829.

"Clinton During Flush Times and Panic" on February 13th will cover the decade of the 1830's when Mississippi College was chartered and flourished while the Town of Clinton became a trade center for Hinds County. Town and Gown's prosperity ended with the panic of 1837.

The February 20th program, "Clinton: Politics and Dueling" will tell the story of the personal quarrel between President Andrew Jackson and Senator George Poindexter that led to the famous Caldwell-Gwinn duel in Clinton in 1836.

Howell's presentations are based on the research and writing for the forthcoming history of Clinton and Mississippi College: Town and Gown.

John Wesley Beeson and The Beeson Colleges

I stumbled across a reference to James T. Dawson's hardcover history of John Wesley Beeson several days ago and am delighted to learn more about the Beeson family's involvement with higher education in the South.

The book will certainly interest anyone who seeks specific information on East Mississippi Female College, Meridian Male College, or Meridian Woman's College.  Dawson weaves together a narrative with numerous photographs, architectural sketches of campus buildings, and selections from various yearbooks.

Dawson is also successful on another level in describing some of the approaches used by J.W. Beeson and other members of his family involved in the management of the institutions.  A brother, Malcolm Alfred Beason, served as president of Meridan Male College until 1914, later serving as a faculty member and dean of agriculture at Oklahoma Agricultural & Mechanical College, Stillwater, OK.  J.W. initially focused his energy on Meridian Women's College and ultimately moved from Meridian, MS.  He pursued other successful ventures after 1919, particularly with insurance, though he and his heirs continue to have a significant impact on higher education as reflected in major gifts to support Beeson Divinity School of Samford University and the Beeson International Center at Asbury Theological Seminary.

The book can be purchased from the Lauderdale County (MS) Department of Archives and History in Meridian, MS for $20 plus shipping/handling.

Chickasaw Female College (MS)

Chickasaw Female College in Pontotoc, MS was initially founded as Pontotoc Female Academy in 1836.  The institution was later affiliated with the Presbyterian Church after 1852 and ultimately closed in 1936.

The Mississippi State University Libraries digital collections include two Chickasaw Female College catalogs from the 1890-1891 and 1902-1903 academic years.

Okolona College (Mississippi)

Okolona Industrial School was founded in Okolona, MS in 1902 by Wallace A. Battle to provide normal and industrial education for African-American young people.  Wallace led the school until 1927 when he became Field Secretary for the American Church Institute for Negroes.  His wife, Effie T. Battle then led the school.  The name was changed to Okolona College in 1932.  Effie Battle departed and A.M. Strange was elected by trustees to lead the institution.  In 1965, the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi decided to withdraw support and the institution soon closed.

A fascinating study of the Okolona site was published in 1997 by The Small Town Center, a unit at the time of the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University.  The case study of possible uses included an assessment of the existing buildings along with scale models for various alternatives.  The National Council of Negro Women had previously purchased the site and was hoping to develop facilities to serve multiple needs of the organization and the town of Okolona.  

Several more recent images of the Okolona College site have been posted on Panoramio.

Gulf Park College for Women, Pt. 2

Alumni and friends of Gulf Park College for Women maintain a web site with links to a variety of resources for people interested in the history of the institution.  

The site includes part 1 of "Gulf Park College for Women: A History" written by Dr. Louis Elias, Jr. published in the November/December 1995 issue of Coast.  The article focuses on the period from 1921-1950 and the presidency of Richard Garfield Cox.  

Links are also available off the alumni site to may photographs of students and over fifty years of Sea Gull yearbooks digitized by University of Southern Mississippi, McCain Library and Archives.

Civil War Impacts Colleges

Michael David Cohen comments on the Civil War and the impact on colleges for the New York Times.  South Carolina College (Columbia, SC), Pennsylvania College (Gettysburg, PA), Wesleyan Female College (Macon, GA), Columbian College (D.C.), and Corona Female College (Corinth, MS) are mentioned.

Gulf Park College for Women (MS)

Gulf Park College was founded in 1919 and closed in 1971.  The institution was located in Long Beach, MS and was also known as Gulf Park College for Women and Gulf Park Junior College.  The campus is now used by the University of Southern Mississippi.  

The Mississippi Digital Library Gulf Park College collection, hosted by the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries, includes almost 300 photos of students and images of historical documents.

The Preservation in Mississippi website offers several photos from 2010 and a nice map of the campus.

Fifty volumes of The Sea Gull [1922 through 1971] are available through the Internet Archive in a variety of formats.

Clarke Memorial College

Five linked videos are available from YouTube to form a tour of the campus of the Clarke Memorial College.  The Baptist institution operated from 1908-1992 in Newton, MS.  There are also a couple of videos with photographs of campus life covering several decades.

Mississippi Industrial College (Holly Springs, MS)

Sarah B. Gilliam posted several haunting images of Mississippi Industrial College on her blog in February 2012.  The institution operated from 1906-1982 in Holly Springs, MS and was associated with the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church.

The Preservation in Mississippi website also offers a slide show and map of the campus.

Catalogs for some Closed Mississippi Colleges

The Mississippi State University Library offers a number of catalogs as part of their digital collection.  Those from institutions that have closed include:
     Cooper Normal College (Daleville, MS) 1892-93 Catalog
     Grenada College (Grenada, MS) 1934-35 Catalog
     Hillman College (Clinton, MS) 1924 Catalog
     Lexington Normal College (Lexington, MS) 1896 Catalog
     Shuqualak Female College (Shuqualak, MS) 1888-90 Catalog
     Warren Female Institute (Oxford, MS) 1883-84 Catalog