In 2013 the annual meeting of the PHSSW was held on the lovely campus of the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas. One of the presentations at that meeting was by Jim Hauser of Willet Hauser Architectural Glass, Inc. on “The Stained Glass Windows in the Munger Chapel at the University of the Ozarks.” This large impressive edifice with gorgeous stained glass windows was completed in 1933, much of the work done by students who earned their tuition by engaging in this work. Henry Lee Willet, who ran the stained glass studio in Philadelphia, was a life-long Presbyterian, serving as treasurer, trustee, and ruling elder of the Flourtown Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania. In 2014-205 the Chapel underwent a $2 million dollar renovation, funded mostly Mrs. Frances E. Wilson. The Chapel is now known as the Munger-Wilson Memorial Chapel. For more on the story behind the lovely windows in that Chapel, see the 2013 issue of the “Annual Proceedings” of the PHSSW.
The school itself has a fascinating story. In 1834 Cumberland Presbyterians established Cane Hill School in Cane Hill, Arkansas, about 20 miles southwest of Fayetteville. Originally intended to train young men for the ministry, in 1852 the school became Cane Hill College, based on an act of the state legislature. The college was closed in 1861 when the president, Rev. F. R. Earle, and much of the student body left to join the Confederate side of the Civil War. The school itself was heavily damaged by a fire set by occupying troops in 1864. The college was rebuilt and reopened in 1865. According to a paper presented by PHSSW board member Michael Qualls in 2019, “(i)n 1875 the Cane Hill Seminary for Women and Cane Hill College were merged making Cane Hill the first co-educational college west of the Mississippi River. In 1885 the campus was burned by an arsonist, then rebuilt and reopened the next year.”
In 1891 Cane Hill College closed its doors only to re-open them as Arkansas Cumberland College in Clarksville in September of the same year (Hope, Arkansas was the other possible site for relocation). F. R. Earle continued as president. By 1906 the school had a accumulated a healthy endowment. In 1906 many, though not all, Cumberland churches joined the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPUSA). In a close vote the Cumberland Presbyterian General Assembly transferred the college to the UPUSA. In 1921 the name of the school was changed to the College of the Oaarks, and in 1987 the school became the University of the Ozarks.
In the 1940s during the Second World War the college became a training center for the U.S. Navy and Army. During this time the college moved down the street to the First Presbyterian Church of Clarksville. Following the war the school established the state’s first fully accredited, four-year pharmacy school.
In 1975 Helen Walton was elected to serve on the school’s Board of Trustees. She served for more than 20 years. She and her husband, Sam Walton, established the Walton International Scholarship Program in 1985. They also contributed to the Walton Fine Arts Center and the Robson Library. In 2016 the Walton Family Foundation contributed a $10 million gift to establish “an endowed scholarship program to assist promising students from low and middle-income families” (from the University of the Ozarks website).
In the late 20th and early 21st century building programs began flourish on the campus – a new business building, the Robson Library, the Mabee Fitness Center and the Trustee Residence Hall. Today over 900 students are enrolled at the U of O coming from 25 countries. Richard L. Dunsworth is the current president of the University.
The Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest exists to “stimulate and encourage interest in the collection, preservation, and presentation of the Presbyterian and Reformed heritage” in the Southwest. If you are not a participating member of the Society and would like to become one, the annual dues are $20 per individual and $25 per couple. Annual institutional and church membership dues are $100. Checks may be made out to PHSSW and sent to:
PHSSW – 5525 Traviston Ct., Austin, TX 78738.
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