Beulah A. Harriss
Denton, Denton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Beulah A. Harriss (1889-1977) moved to Denton in 1914 from Nebraska to become the first women’s physical education teacher at North Texas State Normal College, now University of North Texas (UNT). With a degree from the University of Nebraska in physical education, Harriss coached the university’s first women’s athletic teams and instructed every sport except football. She organized the physical education department in 1918, which grew under her direction, and the green jackets club, whose purpose was to support all activities of the college. Harriss was a founder in 1923 of the Texas State Physical Education Association (now Texas Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance), serving as president in 1933. She was also a founder of the Texas Woman’s Athletic Association in 1924. Established in 1928 at UNT, Harriss was one of twelve charter members of the RHO Chapter of Delta Psi Kappa, a national fraternity for the promotion of interests in the field of physical education. She was named honorary national president in 1960. The first recognized Girl Scout in Texas, Harriss started the first troop at the College in Denton in 1917. She helped build the scout lodge at hills and hollows in South Denton in 1923. Harriss and 12 other professors from the college were charter members of the Denton County Teachers Federal Credit Union in 1936, now DATCU. After 46 years at UNT as a teacher and women’s athletics activist, Harriss retired in 1960. She was inducted into the North Texas Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987, 10 years after her death. Harriss devoted her life to the youth and citizens of Denton and is remembered each February 27th on Beulah Harriss day. The Girl Scout little house stood near this site.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Beulah A. Harriss arrived in Denton from Nebraska in 1914 to become the first women's physical education teacher at the college that is now the University of North Texas. She coached its earliest women's athletic teams, organized its physical education department in 1918, and helped found the state and women's athletic associations that professionalized the field. She also started Texas's first Girl Scout troop in 1917 and devoted forty-six years to the youth of Denton before retiring in 1960.
Why it matters
Harriss helped open competitive athletics and physical education to American women at a time when both were widely thought unsuitable for them.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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