Legacy of Learning
Tennessee College for Women (1907-1946)
Thirty years after Union University moved to Jackson, the Tennessee Baptist Convention breathed new life into local education and founded a female Baptist school on this site—the Tennessee College for Women. Chartered in 1905, the school opened in 1907 with an enrollment of 199. Although originally the curriculum was based in educating women enough to efficiently run a home and be a good wife and mother, by the 1930s, a world war and economic depression had encouraged women to leave traditional roles in the home for college or the workforce. The TCW curriculum reflected these societal changes by offering certificates in secretarial sciences and degrees in drama, health, biblical studies, economics, or education. Many students trained to be teachers, one of the few careers open to women at the time.
 May Day CourtCourtesy of Jim Laughlin |
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 May PoleCourtesy of Jim Laughlin |
 May Day CourtCourtesy of Jim Laughlin |
 May Day ParadeCourtesy of Jim Laughlin |
 May Day CourtCourtesy of Jim Laughlin |
All the town turned out to see the May Day. It was a festive occasion.
—Ida Read
May Day
A popular part of Tennessee College for Women tradition was the yearly May Day celebration. First held in 1910, the festival was held each year on May 1. The tradition celebrated the beginning of the warm season and was popular at women’s colleges in the 1800s and early 1900s. The students with the highest grades were allowed to be part of a May Day Court, with a senior elected to serve as the May Day Queen. Town-wide activities included a May Day procession and dancing around a May Pole.
Social Life
TCW students were always encouraged to exhibit proper behavior and manners, and although their interaction with young men was closely regulated, it did not keep the students from participating in a variety of activities and rituals on campus. One of these required new students to the school to wear silly hats to designate their status.
Photo courtesy of Jim Laughlin
Athletics
TCW required that all students participate in some athletic activity as they were considered part of the process to ensure the students were well rounded. Students could choose among softball, basketball, tennis, field hockey, hiking, or horseback riding. One particular feature, the TCW swimming pool, survived after the school itself closed, and it continued to be used by local white residents into the 1970s.
Photo courtesy of Albert Gore Research Center
TCW and Its Students
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Reunions
Like the graduates of Union University, former students of Tennessee College for Women continue to meet long after the closure of the university. The reunions serve not only as a way for these women to gather together and have the opportunity to talk about their time at TCW, but they also discuss ways in which they can support current students of Belmont University and continue the legacy of the university.
Program courtesy of Jim Laughlin
World War I, the Depression years and competition from the more modern coeducational institutions brought financial difficulties and decreased attendance for the Tennessee College for Women. Despite protest from the students, alumnae, and community, on December 11, 1945, the state Executive Board voted to merge TCW and all its assets with Cumberland University to create a co-educational college. Tennessee College for Women officially closed July 1, 1946. After merging with Cumberland University the school continued to have financial issues, which eventually led to a merger between Cumberland University and Ward-Belmont College. The merger with Cumberland failed and the Tennessee College for Women assets were transferred to a new co-educational institution called Belmont College.