Texas's oldest two-year college, a Methodist-affiliated liberal arts junior college that closed in 2012.
Lon Morris College was an accredited two-year institution offering a core curriculum emphasizing liberal arts and sciences. The college offered over 40 programs of study and awarded Associate degrees in Fine Arts, Arts, and Science. In 2010, the college introduced new agriculture and hospitality administration programs. The college maintained a 10:1 student-teacher ratio and emphasized personalized instruction and individual attention in a Christian educational environment.
The 112-acre campus in Jacksonville featured 17 buildings and multiple residence halls including Brown Hall, Clark Hall, Craven-Wilson Hall, Fair Hall, Cooper House, and The Lodge. The college offered student housing with 95% of students living on campus. Athletics included men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, golf, volleyball, cheerleading, and dance; football was added in 2009 but discontinued in 2012. The campus included the A. Frank Smith Fine Arts Building, Cecil E. Peeples Academic Center, E. C. Scurlock Student Center, and a chapel. In 2009, the city of Jacksonville gifted a municipal activity center and rodeo arena to the college.
Founded in 1854 as the New Danville Masonic Female Academy near Kilgore, the institution moved to Jacksonville in 1894 and adopted the name Lon Morris College in 1924 after receiving an estate gift from R.A. 'Lon' Morris of Pittsburg, Texas. At closure, it was the only two-year Methodist college west of the Mississippi River and the only surviving pre-Civil War school in East Texas. The college filed for bankruptcy on July 2, 2012, after missing multiple payroll periods. The 112-acre campus was auctioned on January 14, 2013, with primary purchasers being a local school district and an office supply company.
The college produced notable alumni in theatre and entertainment including Sandy Duncan, Margo Martindale, Tommy Tune, Alan Tudyk, and K.T. Oslin. Other distinguished graduates include country music artists Johnny Horton and Neal McCoy, major league baseball players Carl Reynolds and Chris Sampson, and military officer Dee Ann McWilliams (Major General, US Army). The theatre arts program was particularly renowned for developing performing talent.