December 26, 1946

The principal building of Southern Baptist College burned. The college, which offered a two-year fine arts curriculum, was able to relocate to the recently decommissioned Walnut Ridge Flying School and was eventually able to buy partial ownership of the property from the U.S. government. Later, the college was renamed Williams Baptist College, honoring the pivotal role played in the development of the college by its first president, H. E. Williams. It began offering a four-year curriculum in 1980. It is now known as Williams Baptist University.