Soule University was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

in Chappell Hill, a rural community in Washington County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. Chartered in 1856 and named after Bishop Joshua Soule, the school replaced the male department of Chappell Hill Male and Female Institute and was intended to succeed the struggling

Rutersville College Rutersville College (occasionally misspelled ''Ruterville College''), was a college located in the unincorporated community of Rutersville in Fayette County, Texas, United States. Chartered under the Republic of Texas in 1840, Rutersville Colleg ...

. Soule was beset by financial challenges after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and two epidemics of yellow fever, leading the Methodist Church and Soule's president to form

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwester ...

as a replacement in 1873. Despite the

Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...

transferring Soule's charter to Southwestern in 1875, local supporters kept Soule open until 1887 under the name Soule College.Soule University
''

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

'' The female department became an independent institution, Chappell Hill Female College, eventually outliving Soule and acquiring its campus.Chappell Hill Female College
''Handbook of Texas''

History

Soule University began as 'Chappell Hill Institute', a private preparatory school informally established during or before 1850. The school was chartered by the

in 1852 as a non-denominational preparatory school under the name Chappell Hill Male and Female Institute. That same year, Philander S. Ruter, son of Methodist missionary Martin Ruter, was elected president of the school. In 1854, Chappell Hill's charter was amended to affiliate the school with the Methodist Church.Jones, William B. (2006). ''To Survive and Excel: The Story of Southwestern University''. The Methodists had been seeking a replacement for the financially unstable and scandal-ridden

and identified Chappell Hill as the site for a new institution of higher education. The Methodist Church took great pains to ensure the new school was under the authority of the Methodist Church, attributing some of Rutersville College's failures to the school's independent legal status. In 1856, Soule University was chartered as a Methodist-affiliated university and all students in the male department of Chappell Hill Male and Female Institute were transferred into Soule's preparatory department. Classes began in September 1856 with seven academic departments. Originally located in the former buildings of Chappell Hill Male and Female Institute, the university built a new building on donated land in 1858 to separate itself from Chappell Hill Female College. Soule closed in 1861 at the start of the

with most students joining the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

. During the war, the Confederacy used Soule's campus as a hospital. When the university reopened in 1865, the classrooms and library had been badly damaged and most of the school equipment had been lost. The economy of the Chappell Hill area was devastated after the war, limiting the university's sources of funding. When an outbreak of yellow fever in Chappell Hill grew into two epidemics, Soule's student population dropped precipitously and never recovered. In an effort to broaden the university's reach, Soule opened Texas' first medical school in 1865. The school, located in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, was self-sustaining and eventually severed connections with Soule to become the Texas Medical College and Hospital, now the

University of Texas Medical Branch The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a Public university, public Academic health science centre, academic health science center in Galveston, Texas, United States. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the olde ...

. The epidemics combined with financial troubles led Soule University president Francis Asbury Mood to petition the Methodist Church to found a new “central university for Methodism” with the full backing of all five Methodist conferences in Texas. The resulting school, originally named Texas University but chartered as

, assumed the role for which the Methodist Church had founded Soule. The Church declared Southwestern to be Soule's successor in 1873 and the Texas Legislature transferred Soule's charter to Southwestern in 1875. Local supporters in Chappell Hill kept Soule open for over a decade after the school's charter was transferred to Southwestern. By 1873, Soule had paid off all debts and was seeking to start a law school in another city, despite recently releasing its neglected medical school in Galveston. The university was renamed Soule College in 1878, but enrollment continued to decrease until only 29 students remained in 1887. In that year, Soule approached Southwestern with a proposal that Soule become a correlated school of Southwestern. The proposal was rejected. Soule University closed in 1887. Soule's campus was used by Chappell Hill Female College until it closed in 1912.

Student life

The university was home to at least two

literary societies A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newslet ...

, the Alpha Society and the Adelphi Society. A chapter of the

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Phi Gam and sometimes written as FIJI, is a North American social fraternity with 139 active chapters and 13 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania ...

fraternity was chartered in 1861 before the university closed at the start of the Civil War. The chapter disbanded in 1866 when returning members of the fraternity transferred to

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

.Blackstock, Towner
The Lost Chapter at Soule University
''The Archives: Phi Gamma Delta'' Soule's newspaper, ''The University Stylus'', was established in 1871.
Southwestern University Special Collections

Notes

External links

Soule University
at the ''

''
"Duty and Doctrine: The Origin Story of Southwestern University"
{{Authority control Defunct private universities and colleges in Texas Universities and colleges established in 1856 Southwestern University Education in Washington County, Texas Educational institutions disestablished in 1887 1856 establishments in Texas 1887 disestablishments in Texas