Pennington

PENNINGTON COLLEGE . Pennington College, in Pennington, Trinity County, was established in 1866. It was subsequently renamed Pennington Academy, Pennington Institute, Male and Female School of Pennington, and Steele High School. It operated as a private Christian school from 1866 until 1876 with no official ties to any denomination; however it was strongly endorsed by area Baptists. In 1870 Pennington College was formally chartered by the state. For many years local Baptists had examined the possibility of opening a school in the area. In 1874 or 1875 the educational committee of the Neches River Baptist Association conferred with the trustees of the Pennington school about engrafting a Baptist school upon it. On August 19, 1876, the school trustees voted to turn the institution over to the association. As part of the agreement, the association pledged to raise $3,000 to help support the school. The school may have ceased operations as a college at this time, for it is only referred to as Pennington Academy from 1876 to 1878.