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The St. John Regular Missionary Baptist Association, founded by Rev. Jacob Fontaine, was a conference of historically African American Baptist congregations in Central Texas. Under the leadership of the Rev. Lee Lewis Campbell, the association bought 306 acres of land four miles north of downtown Austin and established an orphans home and school. Construction of the main building was finished in 1909. Around the time of its opening, the building burned down. The orphanage building was reconstructed by Austin architect John Andrewartha and completed in 1910. By 1915, five additional buildings were constructed to accommodate the growing number of students.
At that time, the Industrial Institute served first grade through the senior year of college. The curriculum included academic subjects such as math, English and chemistry. The institute also taught industrial, domestic and agricultural classes. In 1915, the St. John Industrial Institute held its annual summer school program with 2,000 students. The institute also held mass lectures and gatherings during annual summer encampments with as many as 15,000 people in attendance on the grounds. These sessions covered topics such as farming techniques, Bible and sociology with guest lecturers, including Booker T. Washington in 1911.
The orphanage and school began to decline with the onset of the Great Depression. Since they were supported by the sale of crops grown on the land, a decline in agricultural prices and families leaving to find work in cities led to the eventual closure of the institute and orphanage in 1942. In 1956, the main building burned down in a mysterious fire, and the land was sold to developers for construction of homes and commercial buildings. In 1971, Highland Mall opened at this site. In 2011, the Austin Community College District purchased the property for its Highland Campus, returning the land to its original educational and community purposes. (2019) |
