The Founding of BJC and BJA
       Florida - 1927-1933

- Why Found a School?
- Florida Finances
- Losing College Point
- Return to College Point 

Why Found a School?

In the early part of the 1900s, the teaching of evolution was flourishing in American colleges and creeping into high school curricula.  This was true not only of state schools but also of church-founded and -supported colleges. Evolutionary and theologically liberal instruction was influencing many young people, causing them to reject the Bible and God. 

Christian leaders of the day recognized the problem.  At a Bible conference in 1924, William Jennings Bryan, a well-known Christian statesman, commented to Bob Jones, Sr., “If schools and colleges do not quit teaching evolution as a fact, we are going to become a nation of atheists.”  A year later Bryan was the prosecuting attorney in the Scopes “Monkey” Trial, where evolution and biblical creation became national front-page news.  He died shortly after the trial, leaving a portion of his estate to found a school where evolution would not be taught as fact.  William Jennings Bryan University did not open until 1930.
​
In his popular Chautauqua lecture, Jones, Sr. stated, “The educational institutions in America are sleeping over atheistic volcanoes. . . . Is this Old Book, written with the finger of inspiration . . . to flee the stage because Mr. Darwin guessed about how everything was made?”  In a pamphlet, Three College Shipwrecks, Jones, Sr. described how the teaching and lifestyle of colleges had ruined the lives of promising Christians. ​

Jones family passport photo - Bob Jones, Jr. (12 years old) wears his Starke’s Military Academy uniform.

From Three College Shipwrecks – Between my evangelistic campaigns I went . . . up and down the country giving a [Chautauqua lecture] on “Perils of America–Where Is This Nation Headed?”  I saw the trend.  I knew we were going to have broken homes and juvenile criminals and that a wave of moral looseness would sweep over this country.  I not only felt it was my duty to found an educational institution that would have high academic standards and that would have emphasis upon culture and down-to-the-earth, practical, Christian philosophy of self-control, but I also realized that if God was going to use the institution for the carrying out of His purpose in the school, it would have to be made a base not just of fighting [for] orthodoxy but also of sane, fervent evangelism.  I knew what I was up against.  I had counted the cost, but I made up my mind that whatever it might cost it was worth the effort.  

​For Jones, Sr., concern about higher education was also personal.  While their only son, Bob Jones, Jr., was attending Starke’s Military Academy in Montgomery, Alabama, Mrs. Jones, Sr. recalls asking, “Where will we send Bob to [college]?”  ​​​​​​​Many Christian schools of that era had denominational quirks or were weak in their liberal arts offerings.  Some that had a good curriculum were leaning toward Modernism in their theology and evolution in their instruction.   Neither would do for their artistically and intellectually gifted son. 

In an article he wrote, “I am tired of leading boys and girls to Jesus Christ and then seeing these boys and girls attend institutions which shake their faith in the deity of the Christ whom they trust and in the Word of God which they have been taught to believe.”  Jones easily convinced his friends and others of the need of a school “that stood for the old-time religion, emphasized evangelism, had high academic standards—where students could go and not have evolution rammed down their throats.” 

In April 1925, the school was incorporated in Panama City, Florida.  Although Jones, Sr. objected, it was named Bob Jones College because the board felt that using his name would immediately tell people what the school stood for.  On St. Andrew Bay, 9 miles from Panama City, a 470-acre site was selected for the campus, and in December 1926, the ground-breaking ceremony was held.
​
​On September 14, 1927, the school opened with six main buildings: a women’s dormitory, two men’s dormitories, a faculty apartment building, an administration-classroom building, and a dining hall.   Starting a tradition that became a trademark of the school, 88 college and 47 high school students attended the first opening evangelistic service.  Over 40 students came forward for salvation or to deal with spiritual matters on the opening night.

THREE COLLEGE SHIPWRECKS

BJA PROFILE - BOB JONES, SR.

College Point groundbreaking

Mrs. Jones Sr. describes the founding
of BJC in a 1970s interview.  3 min.  

The planned BJC campus in Florida - Buildings were placed according to this plan, but the plan was never realized.

Except for the location, the predictions of the opening statement of the 1927 Announcement of Bob Jones College can arguably be considered accurate.  The location, climate, facilities, educational advantages, discipline, social life, and recreations basically happened as described.  The Creed set forth the school’s “religious position,” which is still the spiritual cornerstone of the institution.

The 1927-28 Announcement of Bob Jones College

Postcards of Brandenburg Hall (women's dorm, left) and the Dining Hall (right) from the scrapbook of BJC student, Lillian Lee, a future BJA principal

Some of the items in the Announcement can be questioned.   The proposed Sunday activities include an on-campus, non-sectarian Sunday School required of all students.  Students were then to attend a morning service at a Panama City or Lynn Haven church of their choice.   In the evening a required “union” service was held on campus.   The “union” service was soon replaced by the afternoon Twilight Musicals, which were later called Vespers.
​
​The Preparatory Department (which became Bob Jones Academy) section of the Announcement lists J. F. Collins as principal and instructor of Latin, English, and history.  There are blanks for a proposed teacher of mathematics and science and a teacher of English, history, and French.  It appears that the high school was to have its own faculty.  That did not materialize.

BJA PROFILE - J. F. COLLINS

Final two pages of the 1927-28 Announcement - Information regarding expenses and the application blank applied to both BJC and BJA.

​“Ever since, as a boy, he went to college on borrowed money, it has been in the heart of [Bob Jones, Sr.] . . . to establish near his native community a great educational institution.  The Bob Jones College is the realization of this dream. . . . Many believe that this is destined to become the greatest inter-denominational orthodox Christian educational center in the world.”  
​                   Announcement, 1927

​The Napkin Saga  - Under "Practical Suggestions" the 1927 Announcement  informs students to bring a pillow, blankets, bed linens, towels, table napkins, and a napkin ring.  As part of their social training, students were to have a table napkin at all dining hall meals.  In a home it was customary for the table napkin to be left in a napkin ring at one’s table position and used at the next meal.  Fresh table napkins were only needed when a napkin was soiled. When the demerit system was introduced, not having a table napkin for a meal was a one-demerit offense. 
​
Paper table napkins were introduced in the United States about the time BJA opened.  They soon found their way to campus.  The 1931 opening-of-school letter sent to all students included, "Last year the students voted to use paper napkins instead of letting each student furnish his own napkins.  This cost each student only one dollar a year.  The plan was so satisfactory that we have decided to do the same thing this year."

The campus was constructed on a wooded bluff projecting into St. Andrew Bay of the Gulf of Mexico.  Young men were permitted to swim in a certain area near the campus whenever they wished.  Young ladies were not to visit that area and were restricted to swimming in another area only when a lifeguard was on duty.  When the demerit system was first instituted, one of the offenses was wearing a swimsuit on campus—5 demerits. ​

Photos of campus used in BJC promotions

Florida Finances

Schools do not exist on tuition alone.  While some may be able to meet operational expenses with tuition, buildings and facilities require additional income.  State schools receive taxpayer money, and denomination- or church- sponsored schools receive money from those sources.  Some schools rely on endowments (money given to the school that was invested and the interest used to maintain the school).  Some schools have businesses or services which supply needed income.  Some use contributions to meet expenses.  Many schools use a combination of these sources.  Starting a school from scratch requires a significant investment, and keeping it running and growing will be a significant expense. 

A northern land developer held over 2500 acres near Panama City, Florida and was developing a major golf course and luxury hotels on one section.  The company agreed to give 470 acres on the tip of a peninsula and 20% of the proceeds of the sale of 300 acres of lots at the base of the peninsula to BJC in exchange for Jones, Sr. lending his name and influence to selling the land.  The name of the peninsula was changed to College Point.  To make the lots desirable, the developer began laying out roads and power poles were positioned.
​
In 1926, Jones, Sr. scheduled many short meetings in nearby states encouraging people to “make a safe investment, line your pockets with profits, boost your community, and endow a college.”  This and other publicity methods resulted in over 350 lots (ranging from $1000 to $2000) being sold by late June.  BJC felt able to begin building a campus.   

The Florida land boom collapsed in late 1926, and a general economic depression in Florida followed.  Most of the mortgages in College Point were forced into foreclosure, additional lots were not being purchased, and the land developer stopped selling property and pulled out of Florida.  This left the College to pave roads and run power lines to meet the conditions Jones, Sr. had promised to those who purchased the land. 

​​​​​​​To complete campus construction and hire a faculty and staff, the college board decided to issue $500,000 worth of Bob Jones College Development Bonds.  To assure people their investment was secure, Jones, Sr. took out a $500,000 life insurance policy.  The bonds were offered for public sale, and some readily purchased them. 

The land developer agreed to give the school $500,000 worth of mortgages (some good, some foreclosed, some unsold) in exchange for $80,000 worth of the BJC bonds with the agreement that the school would not have to repay the bonds on those mortgages that were not made good.  This agreement, however, was verbal—probably only sealed with a handshake.

Eunice Hutto purchased this BJC bond. She never cashed in coupons or the bond.

Jones, Sr, outside dining hall

The 1932 entire campus population

A Florida dormitory room

Losing College Point 

In October 1929, the third year of BJC and BJA, the Stock Market crashed and the U.S. entered The Great Depression. Many well-to-do people became penniless.  Vast numbers of the working class became jobless and homeless.   The value of real estate plummeted.  BJC was doing well to merely survive—and it was doing that by cutting back and sacrificing.

The school had on-campus farms which supplied much of the needed food and work for some students, enabling them to stay in school.   Some students paid their school bill in commodities.  One student paid his entire year’s bill in collard greens, which became such a dining hall menu staple that some students claimed that BJC stood for Big Juicy Collards.

At one point Jones, Sr. asked the faculty to take a 10 percent pay cut.  As the situation worsened, he again addressed the faculty: “We are broke, and we can’t continue to pay the large salaries we’ve been paying.  We will give you a place to live and something to eat for all members of the family, plus a little cash.”  

​One faculty member responded, “I have never been any better off than that.  I will take it.”  The rest of the faculty agreed, starting an employment system that would basically continue until the 2000s.

Through similar belt tightening and Jones, Sr. pouring virtually all of his speaking income into the school, BJC was able to continue operating through 1932.  Since income from the sale of College Point land was non-existent, payment of interest due on the Bob Jones College Development Bonds was beyond the school’s resources.  Jones, Sr. cashed in his life insurance policy and sold the land of his boyhood home to pay the school’s debts.  He appealed to the bondholders to sell the bonds back at face value.  Some did.  Others were willing to put off claiming their payments.  

Some of BJC’s creditors were not so cooperative.  The property developer had verbally agreed that if the College Point land did not sell, it would not collect on their $80,000 worth of bonds.   The developer died.  Under the urging of a former faculty member (let go for teaching Modernism) and several disgruntled bondholders, the development company reneged on the agreement.   They took BJC to court, and the college was forced into bankruptcy.  

​January 26, 1933, Jones, Sr. signed the papers transferring the school’s assets to the court for liquidation.  In May 1933, the court sold BJC’s campus for $3,100.  Later it was sold to a turpentine company for back taxes.  The furnishings and land was eventually auctioned off for $7,800.   ​​​​​​​

Last graduation in Florida 1933 - BJA graduates are in front, followed by college graduates, and then faculty.

Farms on the Florida campus supplied food and employment for students.

By the sixth year the campus had added a thousand-seat auditorium and a campus store with both a post office and clubhouse.  There was a 20-acre farm, a dairy barn, and a canning plant on the campus.  Despite the Great Depression, enrollment in BJC and BJA grew. 

Permission to complete the school year on the campus was part of the foreclosure arrangements. Immediately following graduation, the campus was vacated, and many of its files and records were burned rather than being transported.

There had been growing pains, but the spiritual and academic foundations had been well laid.  From external appearances the school was ready to expand the Florida campus and become the bastion of Christian education envisioned by the founder.  The growth would happen, but it would not be in Florida.

Return to College Point 

In 1977, 50 years after the opening of BJC and BJA in Florida, about 200 people assembled on the campus site.   Only the end of Brandenburg Hall, the women’s dormitory, remained, and it was in ruins.  The gathering included the Jones family, several University officials, and friends of the school.  Those who had been associated with the school in Florida were invited, and many attended. 

The purpose of the meeting was to unveil a monument, which reads:  

This was the original site of Bob Jones College (1927-1933)
 now Bob Jones University, located in Greenville, South Carolina,
“The World’s Most Unusual University.”
non-denominational, co-educational, Biblical, orthodox
“I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it:
for thou hast . . . kept my word, and hast not denied my name.”  Revelation 3:8

​The monument is on a small plot of land owned and maintained by BJU.  It is surrounded by houses in the College Point subdivision of Lynn Haven, Florida. It was visited by BJU President, Steve Pettit, in 2020. 

Jones, Sr. speaks in chapel about closing the school.  

To go to the next article about BJA's history in Florida, click here. 

For information about the founding of Bob Jones College/University see:
·   Fortress of Faith: The Story of Bob Jones University.  Melton Wright
·   Standing Without Apology: The History of Bob Jones University. Daniel L. Turner
·   Bob Jones University—50 Years Under God. Margaret Beall Tice
·   Reflecting God's Light—Facets of a Miracle. Daniel L. Turner
·   The Campus History Series: Bob Jones University.  Bob A. Nestor