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UMHB Celebrates 175th Anniversary
January 27, 2020
Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor is marking a major milestone this year as it celebrates the 175th anniversary of its founding. February 1 will mark the 175th anniversary of the day the Republic of Texas approved the charter for the first Baptist university west of the Mississippi, and UMHB alumni will kick off a year of celebrations with a dinner that evening, commemorating the school’s rich history.
The alumni dinner will be served “family-style” in a nod back to the days when the family-style meals in the Hardy Hall dining room were used as opportunities not only for eating but also for the students to practice proper meal-time etiquette. Following the meal, the vocal ensemble OneVoice will entertain with a selection of music from UMHB’s early years, and the gathering will end with a traditional candle lighting ceremony.
Guests will leave to the sound of the uppermost bell in the school’s Luther Memorial tolling 175 times, to mark the 175 years of UMHB’s history. The bell, known as the “Belton Bell,” was the bell that originally hung in Luther Hall; today it is only rung on special occasions.
Alumni who are not able to attend the dinner are encouraged to participate by going online to umhb.edu/175, where they will be able to “check in” and share their anniversary greetings with alumni around the world.
The alumni dinner will be the first of a series of anniversary celebrations UMHB has planned for the year. A special exhibit about the school’s 175 years will open in February in the university’s Museum at the Parker House. In early April, a 175th anniversary dinner will be held for members of the President’s Leadership Circle, a group comprised of donors to the university. In mid-April, a Charter Celebration Weekend trip to the school’s original campus in Independence, Texas, will include a chapel service and lunch on the lawn of the historic Independence Baptist Church. The university will sponsor a special commemorative float in Belton’s annual Fourth of July parade, and a big birthday bash is planned for Homecoming Weekend in October.
UMHB is one of the two oldest continuously operating universities in the state of Texas. UMHB shares its birthdate with Baylor University, since both institutions are descendants of the college established in 1845. Upon the request of the Texas Baptist Education Society, the ninth Congress of the Republic of Texas approved the establishment of a school known as Baylor University, which would offer co-educational classes as well as a Preparatory Department for students who were not yet ready for collegiate studies. In 1851, under the same charter, a Female Department and Male Department were created at the school, effectively ending co-education. In 1866, the Female Department obtained its own charter and began using the name Baylor Female College.
The university was established in Independence, Texas, only 16 miles from Washington-on-the Brazos, a center for cotton trade located on the Brazos River. In 1886, due to declining transportation and economics in the area, it was deemed necessary to move the school.
The Male Department decided to consolidate with Waco University in Waco, Texas, retaining the name Baylor University. The Female Department (under the name Baylor Female College) accepted the invitation to relocate in Belton, a 35-year-old small town in Central Texas that was the county seat of Bell County. Belton and its neighboring town of Temple both offered Baylor Female College 10 acres of land upon which to locate, but Belton beat out Temple’s offer of $30,000 to erect the first building on the campus by offering the school $31,000 for that purpose.
Through the years, the school went through a series of name changes. In 1925, the school was renamed Baylor College for Women. Nine years later, a pivotal gift from Mr. and Mrs. John G. Hardin pulled the college from the brink of bankruptcy and, in gratitude, the trustees voted to rename the school Mary Hardin-Baylor College. The school achieved university status in 1978, and its name was changed once again, this time to University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
From the point that it split from the Male Department in 1855 forward, Baylor Female College developed a reputation for excellence in higher education for women. Through the years, it achieved such notable milestones as starting the first work-study program for women in a college west of the Mississippi (1893); serving as the campus model for the Baptist Student Unions organized on college campuses by the Baptist General Convention of Texas (1920); establishing the first school of journalism in a college for women in America; and being recognized as the first Texas Baptist college accepted into full membership in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1926).
In 1971, UMHB became co-educational once more, and since that time, the university has continued to make history as a leader in the fields of education, business, nursing, and church leadership; in athletics through conference and national play; and in other important areas of campus life. Today UMHB offers innovative academic programs, enjoys a robust student enrollment of nearly 3,900 students, and employs more than 500 full-time faculty and staff members committed to Christian higher education. The university has an annual budget of $122 million, and 24,380 graduates worldwide have earned their degrees at UMHB.
For more information about the university's 175 year celebration, visit UMHB 175
