ideal Match links tarleton with texas A&M

It was a match made in academic heaven.

The marriage of a tiny, struggling but well-intentioned private school with one of Texas’ educational behemoths celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2017.

An anniversary whose historical significance is marked by the dedication and commitment of supporters of John Tarleton Agricultural College’s effort to join with Texas A&M.

Among the key players in the century-old drama were a steadfast college administrator in Stephenville, the visionary head of Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, various local boosters, benefactors and staunch supporters.

The courtship began innocuously enough when Tarleton President James F. Cox, who took the reins of the school in 1913, realized the dire straits facing the school in the early decades of the 20th Century.

According to Dr. Christopher Guthrie’s John Tarleton and His Legacy: The History of Tarleton State University, 1899-1999, Cox knew the job of just keeping Tarleton operational was a massive one.

“The buildings were in bad repair,” Cox reported. “The library was depleted and entirely inadequate, even for a second-rate junior college. Laboratory equipment and furniture and fixtures for the college were very poor.”

The endowment fund, which launched the school 14 years before, had been depleted by a quarter and Tarleton’s academic reputation was sagging.

“No college president ever faced a more discouraging set-up than was mine at Stephenville in 1913,” Cox said.

Through sheer determination and resourcefulness, Cox and a dedicated, underpaid faculty guided the school’s survival.

Cox envisioned success for Stephenville’s private, self-supporting junior college through joining forces with a larger, stronger state-supported school. His plans revolved around improving Tarleton’s educational quality, thereby boosting the school’s reputation and making prospects for a marriage more appealing to suitors.

Three years after implementing this strategy, Cox contacted Texas A&M President Dr. W.B. Bizzell, suggesting a plan for Tarleton to become a branch institution of the College Station school. Bizzell was intrigued at the prospect.

With the University of Texas beginning to expand, why had Cox and the Tarleton board decided to approach the Aggies?

Ideal Match Links Tarleton to Texas A&M

Agriculture. The College Station institution was the only school in Texas that offered an agriculture-based curriculum. The educational opportunities at Texas A&M dovetailed perfectly with Tarleton’s rural environment and the career requirements of a majority of area students. Cox’s proposal for the two schools’ promising union depended mightily on supporters of the Stephenville college uniting to impress both A&M higher-ups and the Texas Legislature.

A key provision was for area backers to donate funds to buy 500 acres northeast of Stephenville on which to build a college farm. Additionally, money was needed to reinvigorate the shrinking original John Tarleton

endowment back to $75,000. The money, land and existing buildings and facilities on campus would be donated to the state, which would result in Tarleton becoming part of Texas A&M.

Local organizations tried diligently to raise the funds, but were significantly short as the deadline drew near. Local philanthropist Pearl Cage, a supporter of Tarleton aligning with A&M, convinced friend and Texas Pacific Coal and Mining Company owner Edgar L. Marston to make up the shortfall.

With the financial portion of the plan ensured, the merger was widely supported in the halls of state government. Still, well-connected Aggies opposed the union on the grounds that it might affect academic programs and enrollment at the home campus. Some of the Maroon and White faithful feared that Stephenville might take state funding otherwise targeted for College Station.

According to Guthrie, Bizzell assuaged those fears by promising that “…every effort will be made to so correlate the work of these institutions so as not to result detrimentally to the Agricultural and Mechanical College.”

The critical theme of teamwork to achieve the goal was impressed upon Tarleton students and faculty members, who worked to publicize the hoped-for marriage.

Students in the mechanical arts department created a 3-D model of the proposed college farm, featuring outbuildings, a silo, corrals and a two-story home. The model, presented in Austin by a pair of JTAC students and their teacher, was reportedly favorably received, a sign of snowballing support for the project.

On Feb. 20, 1917, three-and-a-half years after Cox took over at Tarleton, the combined work on the campuses of the two schools, the Legislature and Stephenville as a whole, came to fruition. The bill wedding John Tarleton Agricultural College to Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College was adopted by the Legislature.

During the ceremony announcing the acceptance of the proposal, Cox officially delivered the deed to the farm and the agreed-upon financial package to the A&M board of directors.

Now celebrating the 100th anniversary of this union, Tarleton and Texas A&M continue to live happily ever after. “A school will do more for the town than any other enterprise it could get. It will beat two or three Thurber railroads, a cotton oil mill and an ice factory all together.”

Eugene B. Moore, Editor of The Stephenville Empire, in an 1893 editorial promoting the benefits of a college in Stephenville.

“A building of this character must be built with an eye not only to convenience but also with the view of ministering to the comfort and health of students. The lighting and heating must be perfect that the health of the students not be impaired.”

C.r. Coulter, editor of The Stephenville Tribune, seeking contributions for additional dormitory space on campus in a 1909 editorial headlined “For a Greater Tarleton.”

“I remind you that John Tarleton still lives through his benefaction. His memory will not vanish from the earth. The students who come here in increasing numbers to profit by the intellectual heritage that this old pioneer has left to them, will not cease to reverence his memory and feel grateful for the educational opportunities that he made possible for them.”

texas A&M President W. B. Bizzell upon Tarleton joining the A&M System.

“So long as I live I want to see the Purple and White honored and revered…”

Dean J. thomas Davis

“Our 1934-35 basketball team at Tarleton went undefeated for the second year in-a-row. Two undefeated seasons in-a-row began to get statewide, even national attention.”

Col. Willie l. tate, 1915 and After

“…the good name of the college depends on proper conduct on the part of individual students. Be a positive factor in the elevation of the moral tone of the student body.”

the Purple Book, 1925 edition

Legislative approval and a Herculean fund-raising effort would be necessary to accomplish the joining of Tarleton and Texas A&M a century ago. Stephenville and area citizens were called upon for both, and their tireless efforts proved crucial in making the dream a reality.

Community Support

Key to Drive

They showed up in droves when a committee of five state senators, five legislators and Secretary of State Churchill Bartlett, standing in for Gov. James Ferguson, were greeted in a 1917 inspection tour.

Groups representing communities across the county, from Dublin, Lingleville, Morgan Mill, Thurber, Alexander, Oak Dale and Valley Grove, showed their support, as well, according to Richard King, author of The John Tarleton College Story.

“I see you people in Stephenville have been quite busy,” said one lawmaker observing the crowd of an estimated 3,000. “For one thing sure, the proper spirit for building great schools exists in this town to a very marked degree.”

Local women served as hostesses, feeding the visiting dignitaries at the college dining hall, paid for by donations from Stephenville service organizations, including the 20th Century Club and the Knights of Pythias Lodge.

With legislative approval secured, supporters turned to raising an estimated $80,000 in just two weeks to buy the college farm. When A&M President Dr. William Bizzell’s planned visit was postponed, local leaders gained a little extra time to address the $10,000 shortfall.

“This delay will give several of our wealthy citizens who have not been so liberal as they should opportunity to open their purses as well as their hearts,” read a newspaper editorial. “It is too big a prize to lose and it must not be lost.”

It wasn’t.

The funds were gathered in time for Bizzell’s arrival, and Tarleton’s inclusion into the A&M System was assured.

While the mutually beneficial partnership between Tarleton and area residents began 100 years ago, the importance of that alliance remains. Benefactors keep John Tarleton’s vision of educational availability alive.

The Tarleton State University Foundation, incorporated in 1989, has provided more than $9 million in support since then and continues to generously fund scholarships and other university priorities. The Tarleton Alumni Association, founded in 1912, donates all member dues to the university for scholarships, in addition to other continuing support.

Longtime faculty member and local leader Dick Smith left more than a half-million dollars in 1974 for scholarships for students in English, mathematics, science and social science. Thousands of students have reaped the benefits from Smith’s largesse, many finding the Smith scholarship the key to continuing their studies and achieving their degrees. Similarly, Joe Long, one of Dick Smith’s former students, along with his wife Teresa, provided $3 million for student scholarships and for an endowed chair in social sciences, enhancing both opportunities for students and the university’s academic quality. Tarleton alumnus and Iredell businessman and rancher Roscoe Maker also endowed scholarships with an estate gift in 2012, exceeding $2 million.

Most recently, long-time faculty member and administrator Dr. Lamar Johanson and his wife, alumna Marilyn Timberlake Johanson, made a life estate gift estimated at more than $5 million, including 1,700 acres of farm and ranch land that the university is using for research and academic programs.

The largest gift in university history, $6 million from Mrs. W.K. Gordon Jr. and the Gordon Foundation, provided $1 million for scholarships and $5 million to continue funding the W.K. Gordon Center for the Industrial History of Texas, a Tarleton historical research facility, museum and special collections library in the ghost town of Thurber. In total, Mrs. Gordon and the Gordon Foundation provided nearly $10 million in support of Tarleton.

Organizations supporting various university functions are also dependent on the support of Stephenville and area residents. The Ultra Club provides scholarships to university fine arts students, as well as travel expenses to conferences and funds for visiting artists.

Similarly, The Texan Club has existed for more than three decades funding athletic scholarships and offering support for Tarleton’s men’s and women’s sports teams.

Additionally, The Friends of the Dick Smith Library, established in 1990, features volunteers and donors in support of library enhancements.

Community support continues to flow to Tarleton to aid its students, improve its programs and advance its contributions to the region, state and nation.

For information about supporting Tarleton, please view www.tarleton.edu/giving

A photo of the original John Tarleton College building