Haygood Seminary, also known as Haygood Academy, was a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

near

Washington, Arkansas Washington is a city in Ozan Township, Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 180 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 148 in 2000 United States Census, 2000. It is part of the Hope, Arkansas, Hope Hope ...

, United States. It was established by the

Colored Methodist Episcopal Church The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (C.M.E.C.) is a Methodist denomination that is based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology. Though historically a part of the black church, the Christian Methodist Episcopal church ...

(CME Church, now Christian Methodist Episcopal Church) to train

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

in Arkansas for a career in the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. It was one of the first such institutions established by the CME Church. In 1927, the school relocated to

Jefferson County, Arkansas Jefferson County, officially the County of Jefferson, is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas in the area known as the Arkansas Delta that extends west of the Mississippi River. Jefferson County consists of fi ...

, where it operated as Arkansas-Haygood Industrial College before closing during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

History

The school was organized in March 1883 by the

(CME Church) congregation in

. This congregation had been formed in 1867, three years before the formation of the national CME Church in 1870. The idea for the school was pushed for by John Williamson, a former slave whose owner, Samuel Williamson, was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

preacher. Williamson pushed for the congregation to support a new educational institution and named the school the Haygood Institute, after

Atticus Greene Haygood Atticus Greene Haygood (1839–1896) was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He edited the Wesleyan Christian Advocate, served as president of Emory College, and wrote several publications. Biography Atticus Gre ...

, a bishop in the

Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...

, president of Emory College in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, and a supporter of education for African Americans. The seminary was under the direction of the CME Church's Little Rock Conference. The school was established roughly southwest of Washington, in a two-story wooden building on a campus. Henry Bullock served as the president of the school's board of trustees and was a large supporter of the school. Though the early 1890s, the school expanded to include an elementary department and had had several principals through that time, including Josie Beebe, Ida M. Lane, and H. R. Pickney. In early 1894, the school had its first recorded graduating class, consisting of Frank Carter, Oliver Mitchell, and Bradley R. Williamson. Also by this time, the school had established itself as one of the premier educational institutes for African Americans in the area between

Philander Smith College Philander Smith University (previously Philander Smith College) is a private historically black college in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is a founding member of the United Negro College Fund (UNC ...

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, and

Texas College Texas College is a private, historically black Christian Methodist Episcopal college in Tyler, Texas. It is affiliated with the United Negro College Fund. It was founded in 1894 by a group of ministers affiliated with the Christian Methodist Ep ...

Tyler, Texas Tyler, officially the City of Tyler, is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the List of municipalities in Texas, 38th most populous city in Texas (as well as the m ...

. Haygood Seminary's property at the time was valued at $5,000.

In late 1894, the Reverend George L. Tyus, a graduate from

Paine College Paine College is a private, historically black Methodist college in Augusta, Georgia. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Paine College offers undergraduate degrees in the liberal arts, ...

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

, and the first African American man in

southwest Arkansas The geography of Arkansas varies widely. The state is covered by mountains, river valleys, forests, lakes, and bayous in addition to the cities of Arkansas. Hot Springs National Park features bubbling springs of hot water, formerly sought across ...

to hold an earned academic degree, became the president of the seminary. His time in this position included significant growth for the institution, including the acquisition of a farm that students could work on to gain experience and to pay for their education. There was also an increase in other

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...

al opportunities for students. Several new buildings were constructed for the school, including a

blacksmith's shop A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, and classes were offered to teach brick masonry, carpentry, millinery, and sewing. Additionally, a twelve-room, two-story girls' dormitory was built and named Tyus Hall, in honor of the president. In 1908, the school had 166 students and five teachers, with annual expenses of roughly $5,000. Tyus left Haygood Seminary in 1910 to become the president of Texas College. On February 8, 1915, a fire destroyed several buildings on the campus. Around the same time, the CME Church felt that a better location was needed for a church-supported educational institute in the area. In 1915, they founded the Arkansas-Haygood Industrial College on of land roughly south of

Pine Bluff, Arkansas Pine Bluff, officially the City of Pine Bluff, is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, tenth-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County, Arkansas, Jefferson County. The population of the city wa ...

, with the college's first classes beginning in 1922. However, the seminary near Washington continued to operate, with a new building constructed at the school in 1921 named Williamson's Hall. By 1927, the seminary had completely relocated to the Pine Bluff location, with the remaining buildings at the old location being sold to the Washington Public School District. From 1919 to 1928,

Dominion Robert Glass Dominion Robert Glass (April 19, 1892 — October 8, 1968) was an African-American educator, academic administrator, and college president. He was the president of Texas College, a historically black college in Tyler, Texas, from 1931 until 1961 ...

served as the president of Arkansas–Haygood Industrial College. The school district operated Lincoln High School, the county's public high school for African Americans, at the site. The last original building from Haygood Seminary, Williamson's Hall, was demolished in 1955. Meanwhile, Arkansas-Haygood Industrial College continued to operate until it closed during

Notable alumni

* Oliver Mitchell, the first pastor of Bullock Temple CME Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. *

Randall L. Tyus Randall may refer to the following: Places United States *Randall, California, former name of White Hall, California, an unincorporated community * Randall, Indiana, a former town *Randall, Iowa, a city *Randall, Kansas, a city *Randall, Minnesot ...

, a field director for the

United Negro College Fund UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities. ...

and a member of the

Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and str ...

during the

presidency of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy's tenure as the 35th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with his assassination on November 22, 1963. Kennedy, a Democrat from Massachusetts, took office following his ...

. * M. M. Wilburn, a professor at Philander Smith College.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * {{HBCU 1883 establishments in Arkansas 1927 disestablishments in the United States African-American history of Arkansas Christian schools in Arkansas Defunct Christian schools in the United States Educational institutions disestablished in 1927 Universities and colleges established in 1883 Former theological colleges in the United States Historically black universities and colleges in the United States Seminaries and theological colleges in Arkansas Universities and colleges affiliated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church