HistoricSiteMarkers
Progressive & Modern Era

Hillsboro Junior College

Hillsboro, Hill County, Texas

Marker Inscription

One of first public junior colleges in Texas. Established 1923, as a part of Hillsboro public school system. Peak attendance was 410 students during 1939-40. School closed Aug. 31, 1950, after voters defeated maintenance tax proposal twice. Reopened 1962. (1967)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Founded in 1923 within the Hillsboro public school system, this was among the first public junior colleges in Texas, reaching a peak enrollment of 410 students on the eve of World War II. Voters twice rejected the maintenance tax needed to sustain it, and the school closed in 1950 before reopening more than a decade later in 1962.

Why it matters

The college marks Texas's early experiment with locally funded two-year higher education, a movement that would eventually put college within reach of communities far from any university.

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