Bishop College

Bishop College, located in Marshall, Texas was established in 1881 by the Baptist Home Mission Society. The founding of Bishop College was spearheaded by Nathan Bishop, who wanted to establish a Texas college for black Baptists. The college focused primarily on religious teachings, but also taught literature, science and the arts. In 1925 the college started a training program for ministers, and in 1929 discontinued the high school department attached to the college. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools granted Bishop College a Class B rating in 1931, and in 1948 the college received its Class A accredidation. Both the graduate programs and the teacher education programs were dropped from the colleges curriculum between 1952 and 1957. Although the college struggled financially from its inception, the college moved to Dallas, Texas in 1961  where they exanded in size compared to the Marshall campus. Bishop College officially closed its doors in 1988 after several unsuccessful attemps to restructure its debts and raise money.  Miss Genevieve Brown of Gainesville, Miss Cartie Lee Combes, and Miss Myrtle Boyd both of Pilot Point all attended Bishop College. Clergymen Martin Luther King, Sr. and Jesse Jackson are both notable alumni of Bishop College.

[Bishop College Teachers' Cottage, Marshall], photograph, 1926, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Marshall Public Library. ; [BishopCollege Dormitory, Marshall], photograph, 1926, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Marshall Public Library. ; [Bishop College Dormitory, Marshall], photograph, 1926, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Marshall Public Library. ; [Bishop College Dormitory, Marshall], photograph, 1926, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Marshall Public Library. ; [Bishop College Dormitory, Marshall], photograph, 1926, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Marshall Public Library. ; [Bishop Students Dressed for Even], photograph, 1926, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Marshall Public Library. ; Handbook of Texas Online, Jack Herman and Peggy Hardman, "Bishop College,".