MEXIA, Texas — When you think of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Texas, the first that may come to mind may be Wiley College, Prairie View A&M University or Texas Southern University.
But there was a small Black college built in the middle of Mexia, TX named Saint Paul Normal and Industrial College and it impacted many lives for the short amount of time it was open.
The story of St. Paul began with Reverend Lee Wilder Thomas, a Limestone County native born in 1873.
Before helping found St. Paul, Thomas himself graduated from Wiley College, another HBCU in Marshall, TX.
He met his wife, Clementine “Clemmie” Estella Ross, in Limestone County and they had 13 children.
Today's descendants of Rev. Thomas weren't even aware that he founded a Black college in Mexia.
It came to a surprise to Schuyler Carter, a great-grandchild of Thomas, and her family when she found out the history of her great-grandfather. But with his history of always giving back to the community, she says it wasn't far from the man he was.
"It is so vital for the next generation to know what these people did to invest in the Black community. While there's no building where the school was, I don't believe it's purpose diminished at all and people need to know that," Carter explained.
The idea for St. Paul arose in 1906 with members of the Primitive Baptist Church.
Then in 1912, Thomas found oil on the land he owned and struck big financially. With so many Black people residing in Mexia at the time, Mexia native and historian Dan Keeling says a lot of Black people struck big too.
“When you get to the hill in Mexia where the college is, it's more dry, more airy, with more mesquite trees. That's where the majority of Black people lived. So when they found the oil, the majority of people who got money from the oil boom were Black families.”
With his newly found fortune, Thomas wanted to invest in education and the progression of the Black community. So he invested $9,000 of his oil earnings (over $150,000 in today's U.S. dollar) to build St. Paul Normal and Industrial College for the Mexia community.
Many other Black locals also pitched in however they could to make this college happen.
“Field slaves and sharecroppers who didn't have much money, not much means, took their earned means to build this college,” Primitive Baptist Crunch minister John Richardson shared.
Construction was completed in February 1929 and the school was then opened in September 1929.
The school opened with 35 students and had a prime focus on education while also providing trade courses. While it was open, the Black community thrived and the school even hosted local events.
But due to the Great Depression, teachers were sometimes not compensated in full, bills were paid late, and the school’s debt grew.
“Our obligations continued to increase” and “...for years we were unable to keep up on the interest on the principal of the main debt," Rev. Thomas explained in the Mexia Newspaper.
In an article written by Carter, she explained how the property was foreclosed upon in 1940. Thankfully, Rev. Thomas saved it again, arranging (along with two other pastors) for new financing. Things looked up. Members of many Primitive Baptist churches in the area fervently raised money and paid off the new debt faster than expected.
"Rev. Thomas was able to sign a note with the estate of a local banker and actually got to college back. They had a ten year note and they got it back in three years,” Keeling said.
Things were looking up for the school for a while but it still wasn't enough to keep the doors open.
The school eventually closed for good in 1953.
While all that can be seen of St. Paul are broken pillars and carved in bricks, the families of people who taught at or attended the school are still in Mexia today.
Mexia local Bill Proctor said my father was a teacher here at the college for quite a while.
Primitive Baptist Church minister Henry V. Chambers Jr said his father received a certificate from St. Paul and this school will forever be in his heart.
The Primitive Baptist Church is the last building standing. They now own the 31 acres of land the college was built on.
The church ministers have now made it their mission to finish what reverend L.W. Thomas started over 70 years ago.
"We are now here to resurrect that, and to make it what it should be which is a recognized, legitimate higher education college for young people who are trying to better themselves educationally so that they can better themselves economically,”
After Keeling spent two years submitting proposals to the Texas Historical Commission to recognize St. Paul as an historical marker, it was approved to have a historical marker put in front of where the school once stood.
The unveiling of the marker is expected to happen sometime in the summer. The hope for the future of St. Paul is that it will be open and available for the Black community in Central Texas again within the next few years.