History
The following biography of Cameron University's namesake, the Rev. E.D. Cameron, is excerpted from a story that appeared in the "Heroes of the Faith" series of the Oklahoma Baptist Messenger. This article is reproduced by permission of the author Dr. J. M. Gaskin and the Baptist Messenger.
Evan Dhu Cameron was born February 26, 1862, on his father's plantation in Richmond County, North Carolina. He was the youngest of seven children. His birth place was located seven miles from Rockingham, N.C. His parents were John Worth and Caroline (Crawford) Cameron. Both were native North Carolinians and were of Scottish ancestry.
John Worth Cameron was a prominent lawyer, editor and military officer, which allowed Evan Dhu to grow up in an advantaged environment. Evan Dhu was an avid reader, a fact likely fueled by the fact his father owned a vast library that included the classics and many rare volumes.
Cameron attended Trinity College, which is now Duke University. In 1881, he graduated from Dick and Dillard Law School in Greensboro, N.C. From the time of his early youth, Cameron had felt the call to preach, and responded to that call and was licensed in the Methodist Church in 1888. In 1889, Cameron moved to Texas where he became a member of the North Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. After he served churches at Archer and Dublin, he returned to Oklahoma in 1891. In 1890, he married Clara Williams at Henrietta, Texas. She was the daughter of Judge and Mrs. B. F. Williams.
In 1891, Cameron was transferred to the Indian Mission Conference in Oklahoma and was assigned to be pastor at St. Luke's Methodist Church, Oklahoma City. Later he served at El Reno, Muskogee, Chickasha and Norman. While pastor in Norman, the University of Oklahoma was founded. He turned the first spade of dirt for the foundation of OU's first building.
In 1894-97, Cameron was superintendent of public instruction for Oklahoma Territory. In 1901, Cameron became impressed with Baptist doctrine and joined that church the same year. His first Baptist pastorate was First Church, McAlester.
He was president of the Baptist General Convention of Indian Territory in 1904-05. He held a number of places of trust and leadership in the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma and the Southern Baptist Convention. He was one of the founders of Oklahoma Baptist University at Shawnee. The school honored him with the D.D. degree in 1915. He was the first to receive that degree from OBU.
Cameron was pastor of Baptist churches at Muskogee (Central Church), Guthrie, Claremore, Checotah, Okmulgee, Henryetta and Tahlequah.
In school circles, Cameron was known as the "father of education in Oklahoma." In 1907, he was elected superintendent of public instruction for the state of public instruction for the state of Oklahoma. This means he was Oklahoma's first person in that office after statehood. He lost in the primary election of 1910.
During his administration he led in founding Normal Schools (colleges), including the College for Women at Chickasha and Cameron College at Lawton. The latter was named in his honor in 1908 when it opened. When Oklahoma Baptists were searching for a permanent location for OBU, several cities submitted offers for its location. Lawton was among them. When the Baptists did not accept the Lawton offer, the land was given to the state which occasioned the naming of the school at Lawton in honor of E. D. Cameron, a co-founder of the institution.
In 1911, he returned to the pastoral ministry. He died of a stroke on Sunday morning, July 29, 1923, at Tahlequah. He was buried in the family plot of the Okmulgee cemetery.
Evan Dhu Cameron was born February 26, 1862, on his father's plantation in Richmond County, North Carolina. He was the youngest of seven children. His birth place was located seven miles from Rockingham, N.C. His parents were John Worth and Caroline (Crawford) Cameron. Both were native North Carolinians and were of Scottish ancestry.
John Worth Cameron was a prominent lawyer, editor and military officer, which allowed Evan Dhu to grow up in an advantaged environment. Evan Dhu was an avid reader, a fact likely fueled by the fact his father owned a vast library that included the classics and many rare volumes.
Cameron attended Trinity College, which is now Duke University. In 1881, he graduated from Dick and Dillard Law School in Greensboro, N.C. From the time of his early youth, Cameron had felt the call to preach, and responded to that call and was licensed in the Methodist Church in 1888. In 1889, Cameron moved to Texas where he became a member of the North Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. After he served churches at Archer and Dublin, he returned to Oklahoma in 1891. In 1890, he married Clara Williams at Henrietta, Texas. She was the daughter of Judge and Mrs. B. F. Williams.
In 1891, Cameron was transferred to the Indian Mission Conference in Oklahoma and was assigned to be pastor at St. Luke's Methodist Church, Oklahoma City. Later he served at El Reno, Muskogee, Chickasha and Norman. While pastor in Norman, the University of Oklahoma was founded. He turned the first spade of dirt for the foundation of OU's first building.
In 1894-97, Cameron was superintendent of public instruction for Oklahoma Territory. In 1901, Cameron became impressed with Baptist doctrine and joined that church the same year. His first Baptist pastorate was First Church, McAlester.
He was president of the Baptist General Convention of Indian Territory in 1904-05. He held a number of places of trust and leadership in the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma and the Southern Baptist Convention. He was one of the founders of Oklahoma Baptist University at Shawnee. The school honored him with the D.D. degree in 1915. He was the first to receive that degree from OBU.
Cameron was pastor of Baptist churches at Muskogee (Central Church), Guthrie, Claremore, Checotah, Okmulgee, Henryetta and Tahlequah.
In school circles, Cameron was known as the "father of education in Oklahoma." In 1907, he was elected superintendent of public instruction for the state of public instruction for the state of Oklahoma. This means he was Oklahoma's first person in that office after statehood. He lost in the primary election of 1910.
During his administration he led in founding Normal Schools (colleges), including the College for Women at Chickasha and Cameron College at Lawton. The latter was named in his honor in 1908 when it opened. When Oklahoma Baptists were searching for a permanent location for OBU, several cities submitted offers for its location. Lawton was among them. When the Baptists did not accept the Lawton offer, the land was given to the state which occasioned the naming of the school at Lawton in honor of E. D. Cameron, a co-founder of the institution.
In 1911, he returned to the pastoral ministry. He died of a stroke on Sunday morning, July 29, 1923, at Tahlequah. He was buried in the family plot of the Okmulgee cemetery.
DID YOU KNOW?
- The first classes at Cameron were held on Statehood Day, 1909 in the basement of a bank building.
- The institution is named for Evan Dhu Cameron, Oklahoma's first State Superintendent of Schools.
- Cameron began as an agricultural high school, became a junior college, then expanded to the baccalaureate level, and added graduate programs in the 1980s.
- Cameron is the second most affordable regional university in the state of Oklahoma.
- Cameron experienced historic enrollment growth in 2009-10, serving more than 6,000 students, and recording the university's largest full-time equivalent enrollment ever. CU's enrollment rose by 13 percent in Fall 2009, the largest of any Oklahoma college.
- According to America's Best Colleges 2010, a report issued by U.S. News and World Report, graduates of Cameron carry the third-lowest debt load of graduates of 572 like institutions surveyed.
- Cameron University-Duncan became an official campus in 2004. CU-Duncan's student population has more than doubled in recent years and the explosive growth promises to escalate.
This information and more can be found at www.cameron.edu/info
