Cooper in Delta County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Original Site of East Texas Normal College

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, October 12, 2025

1. Original Site of East Texas Normal College Marker

Inscription. Founded 1889 by W.L. Mayo (1861 - 1917), a teacher educated in Kentucky, Virginia and Indiana, who came to Pecan Gap, Texas in 1886. He was a native of Kentucky. He attracted a strong faculty to college on this site. A young teacher he soon married was a capable business manager. A high board fence enclosed campus here. The one building (T-shaped, 2-story, typical of its era, with porches upstairs and down), housed a dynamic school until razed by fire in 1894. Mayo was given aid to rebuild in Commerce; school survives as East Texas State University. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967

Erected 1967 by State Historical Survey Committee. (Marker Number 6935.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1889.

Location. 33° 22.181′ N, 95° 41.267′ W. Marker is in Cooper, Texas, in Delta County. It is on Southeast 1st Street south of E Sherman Ave, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 701 SE 1st St, Cooper TX 75432, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South

and in the Piney Woods.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: First National Bank (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Texas Livery Stable (approx. 0.3 miles away); Nathaniel L. Corbet

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(approx. 0.3 miles away); Cooper Rail Depot (approx. half a mile away); Yates and Methodist Protestant Cemeteries (approx. 0.6 miles away); Thomas A. Lambeth (approx. 1.1 miles away); Sam B. Turbeville (approx. 1.2 miles away); Oaklawn Cemetery (approx. 1.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cooper.

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, October 12, 2025

2. Original Site of East Texas Normal College Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on October 14, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 13, 2025, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. This page has been viewed 100 times since then and 38 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 13, 2025, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.