Administration Building, Decatur Baptist College

The Administration Building, Decatur Baptist College, at 1602 S. Trinity St. in Decatur, Texas, and overlooking the town, was built in 1893. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.[1] The building was destroyed in a fire on March 18, 2023.[2]

Administration Building, Decatur Baptist College
Administration Building, Decatur Baptist College in 2018
Administration Building, Decatur Baptist College is located in Texas
Administration Building, Decatur Baptist College
Administration Building, Decatur Baptist College
Administration Building, Decatur Baptist College is located in the United States
Administration Building, Decatur Baptist College
Administration Building, Decatur Baptist College
Location1602 S. Trinity St.,
Decatur, Texas
Coordinates33°13′22″N 97°35′11″W / 33.22278°N 97.58639°W / 33.22278; -97.58639
Area0.4 acres (0.16 ha)
Built1893 (1893)
NRHP reference No.71000973[1]
RTHL No.1197
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMarch 11, 1971
Designated RTHL1964

It was a historic building of the Decatur Baptist College, which was founded in 1891 and which held classes during 1892–93 in an opera house space above a grocery store in Decatur. After the building was completed in 1893, it had 149 enrolled students and eight faculty in the 1893–94 school year. The college went bankrupt in 1896, and reorganized as Decatur Baptist Junior College, the first private junior college in the U.S. Much later it moved to Dallas in 1964 and became Dallas Baptist College.[3]

It was a three-story limestone building. It included 15 rooms and a chapel.[3]

On March 18, 2023, the building, which houses the Wise County Heritage Museum, was completely destroyed in a blaze shortly after midnight along with many artifacts being lost.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Jackson, Austin (March 18, 2023). "Wise County Heritage Museum lost to blaze". Wise County Messenger. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Wayne Bell and Gary Hume (November 12, 1970). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Administration Building, Decatur Baptist College (accessible by searching within National Archives Catalog)". National Archives.
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