Jasper Public Schools
Jasper, Jasper County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Jasper Collegiate Institute, first local center for higher leaning, opened 1851; partially tax-supported, coeducational. First president was noted East Texas educator Marcus Montrose, graduate, Edinburgh University. After losses caused by Civil War (1861-1865), it was succeeded 1878 by Southeast Texas Male and Female College, which attained enviable status, and enjoyed the financial support of citizens of Jasper before closing in 1910. College properties, including a new building erected 1900, were deeded to the elementary and high schools of Jasper.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Jasper's tradition of higher learning began in 1851 with the Jasper Collegiate Institute, a partly tax-supported, coeducational school led by Edinburgh-educated East Texas educator Marcus Montrose. Weakened by the losses of the Civil War, it gave way in 1878 to the Southeast Texas Male and Female College, which earned wide respect and the financial backing of local citizens before closing in 1910. Its properties, including a building erected in 1900, were then deeded to Jasper's public elementary and high schools.
Why it matters
The site traces the long arc of education in one Texas town — from an antebellum private college to the public schools that inherited its buildings and mission.
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Related people
- · Marcus Montrose
Themes & tags
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