Paul Quinn College

Texas' Oldest Liberal Arts College for Negroes. Originally Connectional High School and Institute for Negro Youth; opened in Austin, April 4, 1872,by the African Methodist Episcopal Church, under Bishop J.M. Brown (1817-1893), who served 1872-1876 as president. Founders were Bishop R. H. Cain, the Revs. J.H. Armstrong, W.R. Carson, J.V. Goins, Abraham Grant, William Leake, and Henry Wilhite. Later known as Waco College and located at 8th and Mary streets, the school taught newly freed slaves blacksmithing, carpentry, tanning, and the like. In 1881 it was moved to present site and renamed for Bishop William Paul Quinn (1788-1873), an early Missionary to the Western States. The expanded curriculum was taught in the first building erected from a "ten cents a brick" campaign, expressing the dreams of a desperately poor people. Additional buildings arose as service and value of the college became apparent, with growth accelerated since 1962 under leadership of Bishop O.L. Sherman. Illustrious alumni and students honor the Paul Quinn Motto: "A past to cherish, a future to fulfill."

Paul Quinn College is a historical marker in Waco, McLennan County, dedicated in 1972. It is one of 198 historical markers documented in McLennan County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 224 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.5721, -97.1209 near Waco. The nearest cataloged historic site is First Church Building in Waco (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Miller, Dorris, Butler, George Harrison, House, and Saint Luke African Methodist Espiscopal Church.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5309003957. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.