September 10, 1941

A liberal arts college, then known as Southern Baptist College, was opened in Pocahontas (Lawrence County) by the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. The college opened as a two-year institution whose students mostly became ministers or public school teachers. The school, renamed Williams Baptist College, later moved to Walnut Ridge (Lawrence County) and began offering baccalaureate programs in 1980. It was formally adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1968. The school, now called Williams Baptist University, enrolls over 500 students, the majority of whom are from Arkansas.