Site of Campus of Old Columbia College
Van Alstyne, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1889 an association composed of merchants and landowners from the Van Alstyne area saw the need for quality education and established Columbia College. The school served all grades through college level, emphasizing vocational training as well as the arts and sciences. The institution was housed in a three-story frame structure on this four-acre fenced site. There were 40 students in the first class and the enrollment increased to 578 by the 1893-1894 school year. Students from a large section of North Texas studied at this coeducational facility. Howell Lake Piner (1858-1935) served from 1890-1895 as the school's first president. He was born in Kentucky, reared in Honey Grove, Texas, and received his education at Vanderbilt University. After selling his interest in Grayson College, Whitewright, Texas, Piner came to Columbia and skillfully directed the development of the institution. As the area grew, Van Alstyne residents recognized the need for a community high school. Columbia College became part of the Van Alstyne Public School System in 1906. The college building continued to serve the schools until 1915 when it was destroyed by fire.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1889 area merchants and landowners founded Columbia College to bring quality education to the Van Alstyne area, housing it in a three-story frame building on this four-acre site. The coeducational school taught all grades through college, blending vocational training with the arts and sciences, and grew from 40 students to nearly 600 within five years. It merged into the public school system in 1906 and served until fire destroyed the building in 1915.
Why it matters
The college shows how North Texas communities pooled private effort to build higher education on the frontier's edge before public schools could fill the need.
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Related people
- · Howell Lake Piner
Themes & tags
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