Weatherford College

Weatherford College

The bell from Old Main sits prominently in the middle of campus.
Established	March 1869 (March 1869)
President	Dr. Kevin Eaton
Students	5,676
Location	Weatherford, Texas, United States
Colors	Black and Gold
Mascot	Coyote
Website	www.wc.edu

Weatherford College (WC; officially Weatherford College of the Parker County Junior College District) is a community college located in Weatherford, Parker County, Texas, with branch campuses in nearby Wise County, Granbury and Mineral Wells.

WC's roots are in the Phoenix Masonic Lodge No. 273, which laid the cornerstone for the school on July 5, 1869 at the corner of South Main and Lee Streets in Weatherford. After years of construction starts and delays, the first graduating class of six students received their diplomas on June 15, 1875. It is the oldest continuing community college in the southwest.

The original campus, known as Old Main, was a brick structure 50x75 feet and two stories high. At an estimated cost of $12,000 it was named the Weatherford Masonic Institute and served as both a school and Masonic Lodge. The Phoenix Lodge faced financial problems for the next 20 years, and on May 23, 1885 the Phoenix Lodge sold the Masonic Institute to Mr. M. C. Brown who leased the building to the Methodist Church. The Trustees changed the name to Cleveland College in hopes that it might influence President Cleveland to provide some financial support. It was noted that his support consisted of only 1,000 bound copies of the Congressional Record. No monetary contribution was ever made to the college.

Previously, at its annual meeting in 1873, the Weatherford District Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South had passed a resolution authorizing the formation of a high school for Granbury and the authority to erect a three-story stone building to house the school. This school, too, was faced with financial difficulties, and in order to increase revenue, junior college courses were added, and Granbury College was born September 1881. Dr. David S. Switzer was elected president. The only Methodist Junior College in west Texas and very popular with the people of Granbury, the college grew in the next five years. However, in January 1887, the people’s optimism waned when the main building and all its contents were destroyed by fire.

Granbury College immediately initiated a rebuilding program, but because of severe drought, the money was not available. With no funds for rebuilding or to retire the mortgage, Dr. Switzer recommended that the College look for a new “home.”

One of the interested citizens of Granbury reported a friend of his had called and told him the College property in Weatherford was for sale. Mr. Brown had been unable to make payments on his note for Cleveland College, and the college had reverted to the Phoenix Lodge. This citizen committed to use his influence to move Granbury College to Weatherford “if the citizens of Granbury would purchase the property and furnish a certain amount of money sufficient to repair the present building for school purposes.”