June 5, 2012

Pastor Robert Graham of the Disciples of Christ founded Arkansas College in Fayetteville (Washington County) in the 1850s. It was the first degree-conferring institution chartered by the state to open. The college awarded its first bachelor’s degrees in 1854 and, at its height, enrolled about 200 students. In 1859, when Graham accepted a position at Newton College in Mississippi, William Baxter was hired as his replacement. In March 1862, the school buildings were burned by Confederate forces, closing the school’s doors forever.