Daniel Baker College

Daniel Baker College buildings

Daniel Baker College was founded April 5, 1889 in Brownwood, Texas and was named in memory of the Rev. Dr. Daniel Baker, a Presbyterian circuit-riding minister, who helped organize the first presbytery in Texas in 1840 and Austin College in 1849.

Baker was born on August 17, 1791 at Midway, Liberty County, Georgia, he was the second president of Austin College (1853 – 1857), and he died in Austin, Texas on December 10, 1857.

Daniel Baker College was founded by Dr. B. T. McClelland, fulfilling the plans of the Austin Presbytery to open a Presbyterian college for west Texas. Dr. McClelland, a Presbyterian minister and a graduate of Oberlin College and Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, founded the first Presbyterian church in Brownwood in 1886. As the first president of Daniel Baker College, Dr. McClelland almost singlehandedly, kept the college open during its early years, through his own personal determination. Their mascot was a goat named Hillbilly ,^[1] which complemented their nickname, and the college's motto was Veritas et Humanitas, meaning "Truth and Humanity."

The institution was plagued with financial difficulties and was consolidated with nearby Howard Payne College (now Howard Payne University) in 1952. Its campus was taken over by Howard Payne University and the main building renovated as the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy.^[2]

Notable alumni

• Novalyne Price Ellis—a school teacher and speechwriter whose memoir was adapted into a movie.
• Umphrey Lee - President of Southern Methodist University
• Phil Baxter—an American songwriter, singer and band leader.

References