Dr. Horace G. Clark
Independence, Washington County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born in Massachusetts. Coming to Texas (1850) with wife, Martha Davis Clark, he was principal and second president of Baylor Female College. Mrs. Clark also taught and counseled students. Family operated dormitory on this site 20 years. Dr. Clark, with $1,000 gift from Dr. Asa Hoxey, built 3-story main hall. He was ordained to ministry (1858) at Independence Baptist Church. Family opened Clark's Academy, Houston, 1871; Dr. Clark took Holy Orders (1880), Christ Episcopal Church, Houston, and was a rector in Corpus Christi. Mrs. Clark, a lifelong Baptist, died in 1896.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Massachusetts-born Horace G. Clark came to Texas in 1850 with his wife Martha and became principal and second president of Baylor Female College at Independence, where Martha also taught and counseled students. The couple ran a student dormitory here for two decades, and with a $1,000 gift from Dr. Asa Hoxey, Clark built a three-story main hall. Ordained a Baptist minister in 1858, he later opened Clark's Academy in Houston and eventually took Holy Orders in the Episcopal church.
Why it matters
Independence was a cradle of Texas higher education, and the Clarks' work at Baylor Female College reflects the early push to educate women in 19th-century Texas.
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Related people
- · Horace G. Clark
- · Martha Davis Clark
- · Asa Hoxey
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Davis Family
Independence, TX
The Davis family were renowned educators whose roots ran back to the Rev. Abner Davis, founder of Shurtleff College in Illinois. Drawn to Texas by Baylor Female College, daughter Martha and her husband joined its staff in 1851, and in the following years much of the extended family followed to devote their talents to Baylor at Independence. One daughter, "Little Mary," even taught among Indians briefly before turning to the college.
Female Department of Baylor University
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Chartered under the laws of the Republic of Texas in 1845, the Female Department of Baylor University brought higher education to young women at a time when few institutions did. From its first president Henry L. Graves through the era of Rufus C. Burleson, it educated Texans until Baylor moved to Waco in 1886. The women's college then relocated to Belton, where it endures as the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Live Oak Female Seminary
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Founded in 1853 by Presbyterian minister James W. Miller, Live Oak Female Seminary in Brenham offered schooling to female boarding students and day students of both sexes until 1888. Miller's sister-in-law Rebecca Stuart Red served as principal until 1875, when she left to open her own seminary in Austin. The campus centered on Miller's home, "Oak Lodge," whose upper floor held classes alongside dormitories, an auditorium, and a music conservatory.
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