From starting its first year with 26 students in the fall of 1927, to rising to 5,000 students in the fall of 1999, Jones College, previously known as Jones County Agricultural High School, has an interesting past to say the least.
“Jones College, founded in 1911, adopted a resolution to ‘hereafter be known as Jones County Agricultural High School and Junior College in the year 1927,’” stated the Spring 2023 Institutional Profile.
Millard Perry Bush, James Bonnard Young, Thomas Terrell Tisdale and Ronald Estes Whitehead were the four presidents that helped guide JCJC, sharing the same philosophy: If a student wanted to go to school and finances presented a problem, the JCJC administration would find a way for the student to pay for tuition and books. Some students found employment on campus as a way to help pay for their education. For instance, a hosiery mill was opened on campus, and students received both work-study pay and college credit hours.
Here are some other interesting facts about the college’s past:
- For years the high school and college shared the same campus. The college served its community in a variety of ways throughout its history. For example, during WWII, the college built a small airfield next to campus and established a naval flight training program.
- In 1955, the football team played the Compton Junior College Tartars in the Junior Rose Bowl in California. This was the first time a team from a Mississippi college would compete against an integrated team. Although there was some opposition from home regarding their participation, the Jones team chose to play. Forty years later, the two teams reunited on the Jones campus on the anniversary of the game. The Washington Post and ESPN’s SportsCenter were on campus to cover the reunion.
- By the mid 1950s, Jones was providing bus service to students in all eight counties of its district at no cost to the student. The service lasted for 40 years, ending in 1995.
- In 2005, some of the campus was damaged due to Hurricane Katrina. Although the college was closed, it served its community by allowing power companies to use the gym as sleeping quarters, and the cafeteria provided them food.
- In 2011, Jones celebrated its centennial year with several activities, including opening Anderson Hall and Jones Hall.
- The Typhoon Marching Band has performed nationally through the years, participating in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, the King Orange Jamboree Parade in Miami, the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, the Marshall Field’s Jingle Elf Parade in Chicago, the Cotton Bowl, and the Heart of Texas Bowl Parade.
- The college concert choir has performed in New York City’s Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall and with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra.
- Jones has had several national guests speak on campus, including Newt Gingrich, Dinesh D’Souza, Supreme Court Judge Antonin Scalia and Bill Clinton.
- Beginning in 1939, a sophomore breakfast was held each year, and students would dress up to dine with the faculty. That tradition has since morphed into a lunch held after graduation practice.
- The beginning of 1929, the college held graduation indoors on Thursday mornings. Due to the growth in enrollment, the college needed a larger venue and switched to an outdoor ceremony.
- The class curriculum and athletic expectations are very different from today’s. Girls that lived on campus were encouraged to attend a “girls play hour” to ensure proper exercise. When M.P. Bush established this in 1927, girls were quick with a response. One said, “Walking up and down these stairs is enough exercise,” and another said, “Running from class to another gives me enough play.”
- In 1922, a monthly publication named the Radionian was first published. This 100-year-old student newspaper continues until this day, moving from a printed version to an online version five years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The past of Jones College has proven to many just how far this agricultural high school has come, giving students the chance to be a part of this history as it continues to grow.
Sidney Patterson