Trinity University and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church Era (1869-1902)

Trinity University was founded in 1869 by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, which chose a remote site in northern Limestone County for its new institution. The university’s establishment was made possible through the generosity of John Boyd (1796–1873), a Texas Revolution veteran and Cumberland Presbyterian convert. Boyd donated 130 acres in the scenic Tehuacana Hills for the campus, along with 1,400 acres of Blackland Prairie to be sold in smaller parcels to generate income. His own two-story Greek Revival home was used for the first several years as classroom space until the main building was completed by 1873.

Pictured: Circa 1900 cabinet card depicting the Boyd House on Trinity University's Tehuacana campus, courtesy of Elizabeth Huth Coates Library Special Collections & Archives, Trinity University.

Boyd’s vision included laying out a new town on the hill, reserving four blocks for the university’s literary, law, and medical departments and an observatory, and selling the rest to help fund the school. This was the second ambitious use of the site that he proposed, having previously campaigned, unsuccessfully, to make Tehuacana the capital of Texas in 1849–1850, where it placed second in the statewide vote. 

For many years, “College Hall” (later known as Texas Hall) served not only as an academic building but also as a primary school for local Tehuacana children and as a place of worship for the local Cumberland Presbyterian congregation. In the late 1800s, families often moved to or built homes in Tehuacana so their children could attend Trinity. Housing was a constant challenge: students whose families lived elsewhere boarded off campus in approved residences, sometimes living with professors. The university later purchased the Matt Yoakum House to serve as a women’s dormitory and acquired what became known as Watkins Hall to provide free housing for divinity students.

Pictured: Texas Hall circa 1900, courtesy of Elizabeth Huth Coates Library Special Collections & Archives, Trinity University.

Trinity’s academic offerings were broad, ranging from the Classics to calligraphy, and for several years in the 1870s, it operated the only law school in Texas, remarkably offering a course of study in Spanish law. Students participated in athletics, social organizations, and literary societies. While Tehuacana itself had only modest commercial amenities, nearby Mexia, six miles away by carriage, provided more “urban” goods and access to the Houston & Texas Central Railroad.

Pictured: Group portrait of Trinity University students and faculty in front of Texas Hall circa 1885, courtesy of Elizabeth Huth Coates Library Special Collections & Archives, Trinity University.

Tehuacana became the Texas center of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, publishing a religious newspaper and attracting families of that faith from across the state and as far as Tennessee, many with direct ties to the denomination’s founding ministers. The church itself originated in 1810 during the Second Great Awakening on the American frontier, when a revival in Kentucky and Tennessee created a shortage of formally trained ministers. Three Presbyterian ministers (Finis Ewing, Samuel King, and Samuel McAdow) broke away from the Presbyterian Church over strict clergy education requirements and rigid Calvinist doctrine, instead promoting revivalist zeal, accessible ministry, and a theology that blended Calvinism with belief in human free will. The movement quickly spread across the frontier, establishing congregations, schools, and missionary efforts throughout the South and West.

Pictured: Portrait of Reverend J.M. Martin and his wife. Martin was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister. Courtesy of Elizabeth Huth Coates Library Special Collections & Archives, Trinity University

Trinity remained in Tehuacana until 1902, when, not without local controversy, it relocated to Waxahachie for better access to population centers and rail transportation. Recognizing the deep interdependence of the campus and the town, the university deeded most of its property to the “white citizens of Tehuacana” (represented by the city council). This enabled the town to attract Westminster College, a Methodist Protestant institution from Collin County, to take Trinity’s place and continue the educational legacy Boyd had envisioned. It also left behind its monumental building and three former presidents buried in Tehuacana Cemetery, including the first, W. E. Beeson (1822-1882).

Pictured: Beeson’s headstone in Tehuacana Cemetery, which Trinity students raised the funds for.