Kidd-Key College facts for kids

Kidd-Key College was a special school for young women in Sherman, Texas. It was a college and also a place to study music. It started way back in 1877. Back then, it was called the North Texas Female College. It was quite new to have a college just for women! The school closed in the 1920s. This was partly because of its very old-fashioned rules for students.

History

How It Started

In the 1860s, there was a high school in Sherman called the Sherman Male and Female High School. It started in a rented building. Later, land was bought, and a new two-story building was built for the school.

In 1877, something big happened. A church group, the North Texas Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, made a deal. They turned the high school into the North Texas Female College. The boys who went to the high school left for other schools. The new college was meant to support a "female college, a school of fine arts, and a conservatory of music."

A New Leader and Strict Rules

Lucy Ann Thornton Kidd, a teacher from Mississippi, became the first president of the college. She later married Bishop Joseph S. Key in 1892 and became Lucy Ann Kidd-Key.

During her time as president, the college had very strict rules. Mrs. Kidd-Key wanted to make sure the young women were well-behaved. Students could only have visitors on certain days and times. They had to go on walks with a chaperone, an adult who watched over them. All students also had to go to church every Sunday. The school focused a lot on arts like music.

Changes and Challenges

In 1912, Kidd-Key College joined the Founders Club of Southern Methodist University (SMU). They had a friendly relationship with SMU. The president of Kidd-Key College even gave SMU advice as a new school.

However, when Southern Methodist University opened in 1915, things changed. Kidd-Key College started to get less money from the church group. Because of less money and the very strict rules, fewer students wanted to enroll.

Lucy Ann Kidd-Key passed away in 1916. Her son, Edwin Kidd, took over as president of the college.

The College Closes

In 1919, the college changed its name to Kidd-Key College and Conservatory. This was done to honor its first president, Lucy Ann Kidd-Key.

Because fewer students were attending, Edwin Kidd tried to save the college. He worked with the president of Austin College to share buildings and programs. The classes offered at Kidd-Key College were also reduced to just a few main subjects. These efforts helped for a little while.

But in 1933, the church group decided to fully support Southern Methodist University. They no longer wanted to help Kidd-Key College. In June 1935, the last class graduated. The college campus then closed forever. None of the original buildings are still standing today.

Cool People from Kidd-Key

Here are some interesting people who were part of Kidd-Key College:

Teachers

• Harold von Mickwitz: A famous concert pianist who taught there.

Students

• Kate Moore Brown: A music teacher.
• Wynne Pyle: A concert pianist.
• Willie Cooper Hobby: She later became the First Lady of Texas!