Founding Date

Jan 1st, 1880

Cumberland Presbyterians founded Trinity in 1869 in Tehuacana, Texas (40 miles northeast of Waco) from the remnants of three small Cumberland Presbyterian colleges that had lost significant enrollment during the Civil War. John Boyd, who had served in the Congress of the Republic of Texas from 1836 to 1845 and in the Texas Senate from 1862 t o 1863, donated 1,100 acres of land and financial assistance to establish the new university. Believing that the school needed the support of a larger community, the university moved in 1902 to Waxahachie, Texas. In 1906, the university, along with many Cumberland Presbyterian churches, affiliated with the United Presbyterian Church. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed Trinity's accreditation status on probation in 1936 due to financial problems caused by the 1929 Stock Market Crash. Once again, its leaders began to consider relocation to a larger community to improve the university's viability. Meanwhile, in 1942, the Methodist-affiliated University of San Antonio was failing. San Antonio community leaders, who wished to maintain a Protestant-affiliated college in the city, approached Trinity with a relocation offer. The university left Waxahachie and took over the campus and alumni of the University of San Antonio. George Banta, with members of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, assisted Delta Gamma and petitioners in establishing a chapter at Trinity. Trinity was the next group after Eta chapter to receive a charter. A Delta Gamma charter was given to the petitioners at Trinity in 1880. The founding members were: Jessie Beeson (Branch), Bettie Teague, Jennie Moffed (Templeton) and Sallie Young. Over the next year, the Delta chapter welcomed 13 women to the sisterhood: Mollie Foster, Roxie Boyd (Gilbough), Jennie Hefner (Gillispie), Millie Mason (Gosset), Annie Morgan (Hefner), Ida Patterson (Herring), Vera Johnson, Bertie Patterson (McCarty), Emma Moffed, Georgia Montgomery (Nicholson), Mary McGown (Plyler), Eva Foster (Ratcliff) and Mollie Kincaid (Yoakum). The charter, however, had to be returned within a year because the college forbade secret organizations.