Arlington Baptist College
The Pursuit of Fundamental Christianity in Texas
In 1939, prominent fundamentalists Dr. J. Frank Norris and Dr. Louis Entzinger founded the Fundamental Baptist Institute in Fort Worth, Texas. The institution that would one day become Arlington Baptist College sought to train men and women in the strict literal translation of Biblical Scripture, a practice that has remained constant in the college's current mission. The following year, the institute graduated its first three students from classrooms at Norris' First Baptist Church.
The Fundamental Baptist Institute changed its name to the Bible Baptist Seminary in 1945. After the death of Dr. Norris in 1952, the school was left without a place to hold its classes. The school was able to quickly relocate, however, to the defunct campus of Brantley Draughon College on Main Street in downtown Fort Worth.
The following year, Dr. Earl K. Oldham was elected president of the Bible Baptist Seminary. During his tenure, the school witnessed advancements such as rising numbers of students and faculty, and an expansion of the college campus. Soon after Oldham's installment as president, the school lost its lease on its temporary home at Brantely Draughon. In haste, the school arranged for the purchase of the Elmo White property in Tarrant Count, Texas. As classes continued, plans were put in motion to begin a series of building projects to house the institution.
Two years later, however, the school moved yet again to its current residence at the former Top O' Hill Terrace in Arlington, a former casino that had welcomed such celebrities as Joe Louis, Humphrey Bogart, even Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. A spacious 46-acre patch of land, Top O' Hill Terrace was better suited to the seminary's immediate need for adequate facilities. Later that year, the Bible Baptist Seminary changed its name one last time to Arlington Baptist College.
In 1981, Arlington Baptist College was given full accreditation by the Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges. Although carried out under the supervision of President Dr. Wayne Martin, the process for accreditation had actually begun five years earlier with Dr. Oldham. Dr. Martin served the school until 1992, continuing the institute's long tradition of conservative Bible-based education.
In 1993, the College Board of Directors elected pastor and former student David B. Bryant as the college's current president. Arlington Baptist College now offers over a dozen different Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degrees, including a wide selection of online programs designed to help students earn their degrees away from campus. If you would like to learn more about Arlington Baptist College, please visit our beautiful campus or our Web site (www.abconline.edu). Allow us to show you around our school and welcome you to our family!