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OUR HISTORY

On the campus stands the first dwelling erected in Terrell. This home, built by a man named Terrell, was constructed in an octagonal shape to give better protection against Indians. Today it remains as one of the twenty surviving Round Houses in the entire nation--listed by the Dallas Centennial as a place to visit. Even when it was built, the house was the object of interest as it contained the first glass windows in Kaufman County. The doors, however, were typical of the pioneer houses in that they were put together with wooden pegs. The original doors have long since been removed, and other rooms have been added at the back of the house, but the original logs used as supports in the house are still supporting the building. The local chapter of the Historical Society has placed a historical marker at the Round House site..

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1865

In the Fall of 1948, with some forty-five students attending, a small beginning was made in Fort Worth, Texas, under the name of Southern Bible Institute. George P. Bowser (1874-1950) played a significant role in this effort.

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1948

The Board intended to buy property in Fort Worth to erect a permanent school plant, but in the summer of 1949, an opportunity was afforded to purchase the school property formerly owned by the Texas Military College in Terrell. When the military school closed and the property was offered for sale, the Trustees purchased it. At this time the name was changed to Southwestern Christian College.

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1949

The administration building was built and used as a school fifty years ago. Mr. W.B. Toone, whose wife was born in the Round House to Mr. and Mrs. Terrell, operated a co-educational school from 1896 to 1904. He sold it to the Methodists who returned the property to Mr. Toone about 1908. It was then sold to Colonel Perry who operated it as a private military school. After Colonel Perry's death, the school was continued by his wife, daughter, and son-in-law, and later by the people of Terrell. The Trustees of SwCC bought the property from the Perry estate in 1949 and began operation the following Fall. In an horrific fire in the pre-dawn hours of January 27, 2008, the administration building and an adjacent building was destroyed and will be long remembered for its historical significance.

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2008

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