Bethany Church and School - Bethany Cemetery - Plano, TX
N 33° 04.566 W 096° 44.218
14S E 711243 N 3662000
An interpretive sign at Bethany Cemetery notes this as the location of the Bethany Christian Church and Bethany School, also revealing that some of Bethany's benefactors gave today's Texas Christian University some help to get started.
Waymark Code: WMZ150
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 08/24/2018
Views: 2
The
Plano Conservancy calls these "Wayside Signs", and this one reads:
Bethany Church and School
The Bethany Cemetery site at one time included Bethany Christian Church, Bethany School and the Bethany Home Demonstration Club. Presently looking south, there is no trace of the school or church. Attendance at the Bethany Christian Church and Bethany School dwindled in the 1930's, as road improvements gave easier access to town. The buildings were eventually demolished due to lack of use.
Addison Clark and his brother Randolph acquired funding from Bethany Christian Church to start Add Ran College. The finance mainly came from C.S. Haggard, Captain R.W. Carpenter and Captain Bush. CS. Haggard was repaid for his loan with scholarships for his children. Captain R.W. Carpenter and Captain Bush were repaid with land for their loans.
From its humble beginnings in Thorp Spring, Texas, Add Ran College would go through many evolutions; first moving to Waco, Texas in 1895. As the school grew the name was changed to Texas Christian University in 1902. In 1910 a fire destroyed the school's main administration building. A group of enterprising business leaders offered TCU 50 acres and $200,000.00 to rebuild in Fort Worth, Texas, the school's present location. In 1993 TCU honored Addison and Randall Clark with a statue unveiling. One wonders if the brothers would have been able to achieve their dream without the financial help of Bethany Church.
Aerial view of TCU Campus, ca 1970
TCU Photo Collection, Special Collections, Mary Couts Burnett
Library, Texas Christian University
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The original Add Ran College belongs to the ages, but the site in Thorp Spring is marked by a 1936 Texas Centennial Marker, and there are a few interesting bits remaining to be seen there. Just up the road is historic Thorp Spring Cemetery, where you can visit the grave of Addison Clark and his parents. You'll have to drive a bit further, to Stephenville, to pay your respects to Randolph Clark in West End Cemetery, though.