Blum Male & Female College

Chartered February 26, 1880, by 36 incorporators; named for Leon Blum, Galveston merchant, largest holder in $20,000 capital stock -- $5 per share. First directors were: R. J. Brailsford, H. J. Casey, W. W. Downs, W. A. Droddy, T. W. Ford, M. D. Hines; First president was Joseph Syler. Pupils ranged in age from 5 to 50 years; those under 12 met in downstairs of 2-story building; older pupils and adults met upstairs. Average enrollment per term was 100 resident and boarding pupils. School "took up" at 8 a.m.; closed at 4:30 p.m. Students entered and left school by lining up -- boys on one side and girls on the other -- a division which continued inside the school room. Lessons were recited on a recitation bench; all tests were oral, often an occasion for community gathering. Subjects offered besides the 3 R's were: philosophy, Latin, grammar, algebra, history, geometry, rhetoric, and geography. Friday afternoons were devoted to spelling matches, recitations. A well in school yard furnished water; most students brought lunch from home in a tin bucket which was covered with a lid ventilated by nail holes. Soon was called Burkeville School, and after expiration of College Charter on February 20, 1905, the building served that purpose until torn down in 1912.

Blum Male & Female College is a historical marker in Newton, Newton County, dedicated in 1967. It is one of 43 historical markers documented in Newton County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 126 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.9991, -93.6704 near Newton. The nearest cataloged historic site is Round Table Inn (historical marker), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include Cade Building, Burkeville City, and Burkeville Church of God.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5351011101. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.