did receive a concession of sorts in 1949 when its name was changed to Arlington State College . 25
Enrollment fell after a few years but reached the early post-war levels in the mid-1950s . This increase was partially attributed to the influx of Korean War veterans ( for the fall semester of 1955 , men outnumbered women nine to one ), interest in evening classes and the city ’ s growing population . According to local sources , this growth made the school the largest junior college in the Southwest . By the fall semester of 1956 , the enrollment had risen to 4,000 students . After achieving four-year status in 1959 , the school was ranked fifth in enrollment among statesupported schools . For the fall semester of 1960 , the first term that senior classes were offered , the student population rose to 7,750 . 26
Under the leadership of Dr . H . E . Hereford , the college ’ s president , several new buildings were added to the school ’ s inventory , including the following : Geology Building ( 1947 ), Pachal Hall ( 1949 ), Science Hall ( 1950 ), Engineering Building , President ’ s Residence and football stadium ( 1952 ), Student Center ( 1952 and additions in 1957-58 ), President ’ s Office ( purchase 1952 ), Lipscomb Hall ( 1957 ), and a new Engineering Building ( 1959-60 ). In 1960 , it was announced that ASC would undertake a nine-year $ 10,000,000 construction plan . To help guide this growth , the Texas A & M College System Board of Directors approved a master plan for the college later that fall . 27
Arlington became home to another college in the mid 1950s . In March 1954 , the Arlington Journal announced that the Bible Baptist Seminary of Fort Worth had purchased property in far west Arlington along Highway 80 . The property had formerly been the location for the Top O ’ Hill Terrace , an infamous gambling den shut down by the Texas Rangers in 1947 and the subject of the wrath of the seminary ’ s co-founder , Reverend J . Frank Norris . Norris had reportedly vowed to own the property one day . The school opened in 1956 and changed its name to Arlington Baptist College . 28
A growing population also brought about the need for more houses of worship to meet the city ’ s spiritual needs . Although a Sanborn Fire Insurance Map updated in 1949 did not cover all of Arlington proper , it gives a good indication of the number and types of churches located in Arlington . Fourteen churches and the campus of the Christian Missionary Alliance , Southwestern District , were depicted on the map . Long established churches such as First Christian , First Baptist , Church of Christ , First Presbyterian , and First Methodist were located on the periphery of the Central Business District . Two churches associated with the African American community of The Hill , Mt . Olive Baptist and Holiness Church of God in Christ , were also depicted , but The Hill ’ s third church , the African Methodist Episcopal Church ( now Armstrong AME ) was not
25 Saxon , Transitions , pp . 64-68 . 26 Arlington Journal , February 3 , 1955 , September 18 , 1955 , September 29 , 1955 , October 15 , 1959 and
September 15 , 1960 . 27 Ibid ., September 26 , 1947 , August 17 , 1950 , May 2 , 1952 , June 27 , 1952 , July 25 , 1952 , February 14 ,
1957 , October 6 , 1960 ; Fort Worth Star-Telegram , December 11 , 1949 ; Vertical File “ University Buildings ,” SCD , UTA ; “ Arlington State in 9-Year , $ 10 Million Construction Plan , Fort Worth Magazine 36 ( August 1960 ): 30 . 28 Arlington Journal , March 12 , 1954 ; Handbook of Texas Online , s . v . “ Arlington Baptist College ,”
http :// tsha . utexas . edu / handbook / online / articles / AA / kbach . html ( accessed November 26 , 12005 ); “ History of Arlington Baptist College ,” http :// www . abconline . edu / 33734ec4-3a90-4786-b87f-41d233477c44- 1033 . html ( accessed July 26 , 2006 ). College sources contend that the property was purchased in 1956 .
FINAL REPORT
ARLINGTON HISTORIC RESOURCES SURVEY UPDATE
SEPTEMBER 2007
15