Lon Morris College
Lon Morris College was established in Kilgore, Texas, in 1873 as Alexander Institute, the founder being Dr. Isaac Alexander, an East Texas area preacher and educator.
Alexander Institute existed as a private enterprise until 1875, when it was transferred to the East Texas Conference of the Methodist Church. The conference later decided that the Institute would better serve the needs of the church if it were more centrally located in the conference. Several locations were considered with Jacksonville being selected and Alexander Institute was moved here in 1894.
As part of a bonus to get the Methodist school located here, Jacksonville offered the property of a private institution called Sunset School. Alexander Institute moved into this two-story brick building located on the block at the corner of South Bonner and Sunset Avenue. The next year, the name of the school was changed to Alexander Collegiate Institute.
This location became undesireable because of the noise of the Texas and New Orleans Railroad, which was being built after the Institute was moved to Jacksonville. By 1904, money was being contributed for the construction of a new main building. Land was purchased on College Avenue at the present site of the campus.
Completed in 1908, the new main building know as "Twin Towers," was made of cement blocks, had three full stories, a basement, and three rooms in the fourth story. It was constructed under the supervision of W. K. Strother, president, C. R. Kelley and Richard Davidson.
After moving to its present location, the institution moved toward junior college status which was achieved in 1912 under the leadership of a new president, M. L. Lefler. True status as a junior college for Alexander Collegiate Institute was recognized by the General Board of Education of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1916 at which time the name was change to Alexander College.
In 1924, the name again was changed, this time to Lon Morris College, in honor of Rev. R. A. (Lon) Morris, a Pittsburg, Texas, banker who endowed the college with a grant of $10,500.00 and a new dormatory for boys named Lula Morris Hall.
C. E. Peeples was elected president of Lon Morris College in the spring of 1935. Under his leadership, the school moved toward a sound financial footing and a functional new physical plant. In 1960, the "Twin Towers" building was torn down to make room for a complex of buildings now valued at about three million dollars and consisting of three academic buildings, a joint administration and library buidling, three dormatories, a gymnasium and student center. The present goal is to be "Debt Free in '73".
Lon Morris College is the oldest existing junior college in Texas. It
is fully accredited and its graduates include citizens prominent in every
walk of life. Its glorious past, 100 years of it, serves as a solid foundation
for a promising future.
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Original ACI building on Bonner Street given in 1894 to East Texas Methodist Conference as inducement to move Alexander Collegiate Institute from Kilgore to Jacksonville. |
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"Twin Towers", completed in 1908, served Lon Morris until 1960. It was torn down to make room for new administration building. |
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The Cecil E. Peeples Academic Center houses offices of the administration and library at Lon Morris College.. |
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Dr. C. E. Peeples, president of Lon Morris College, came to that position in 1935.. |
Compiled by Greg Smith. If you have any materials you'd like to contribute, please email me.