Stone Gardens: Founder of Hendrix College found his eternal resting place in the Altus City Cemetery
- Dennis McCaslin
- Feb 18
- 2 min read
Rev. Isham Lafayette Burrow was born on December 7, 1833, in Carroll County, Tennessee, to Rev. Hiram T. Burrow (1808–1873) and Lydia House Burrow (1811–1874).
He studied at Bethel Seminary, a Cumberland Presbyterian school in McLemoresville, Tennessee, and earned his A.B. degree from Andrew College in Trenton, Tennessee, in 1858.
He received his license to preach in 1857 and began his work as a minister and educator back in Tennessee .In 1869, after a visit to Lewisburg (near presnt day Morrilton)), he moved his family to Arkansas. There he joined the Arkansas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and served as pastor of the local church.
In 1871 he started a seminary that eventually became the high school for the Morrilton District of the Arkansas Conference. By 1873 he was pastoring in Clarksville, and the next year the conference appointed him principal of the Clarksville District high school--a role he managed alongside his preaching.
In 1875 Burrow purchased 320 acres of land in the small community of Altus, about five miles east of Ozark and 25 miles west of Clarksville. He founded Central Institute on that site in 1876, opening with just 20 students as a primary school.
The school grew over time, adding secondary and collegiate programs, and in 1881 it was renamed Central Collegiate Institute to reflect those changes. Facing financial pressures, Burrow turned to the Methodist Church for support in 1884.
The following year the church conferences purchased the institution, retained Burrow as president, and continued its development. The first four-year college degrees were awarded in 1885. Burrow led the school as president until 1887, then served as its financial agent until 1889.
.In 1889 the name changed again, this time to Hendrix College in honor of Bishop Eugene Russell Hendrix. The following year, in 1890, the board decided to relocate the college to Conway, where it officially opened on September 18.
Burrow married Elizabeth Rebecca Burrow in 1859. She was born in 1837 and lived until 1931. Their children were Banks Mechium Burrow (1860–1923), Elizabeth A. "Lizzie" Burrow Johnston (1862–1889), Luke Hiram Burrow (1863–1937), Green Hill Burrow (1867–1891), Reuben Harris Burrow (1870–1948), and Mary H. Burrow (born 1876).
Burrow passed away on June 20, 1913, in Altus, Franklin County, Arkansas, and is buried in Altus City Cemetery.
His vision for education in frontier Arkansas laid the groundwork for what became a lasting liberal arts institution.
