Mrs. Townsend died more than a half century ago, yet her name still evokes reverence on the campus of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, where she studiously performed her life's greatest work.
In September 1892, 12 young women moved into a small three bedroom home near campus that Mrs. Townsend paid for with her own money and with funds she had raised. That was the beginning of what eventually came to be known as the Cottage Home System, which at one point grew to seven such dwellings.
"Her idea was to build a home, have the girls live in the home and take care of themselves," Betty Sue Beebe, UMHB museum curator, said.
The cottages were available for young women with ability and ambition who came from humble circumstances where a higher education would be more of a dream than an expectation.
They were expected to take turns cooking meals and performing household chores. The conditions weren't ideal with four young women sleeping in each room, but for most the hope of an education helped them prevail.
The first group of 12 included orphans and daughters of ministers and girls from broken families, among others, according to Eleanor James, author of the book "Forth From Her Portals - The First 100 Years in Belton."
In addition to a secular education, Mrs. Townsend made sure the girls left with a spiritual foundation, too.
Regular Bible study was required. Strict Sabbath day observance was expected.
Mrs. Townsend wanted the girls staying at the cottage homes to live with love and respect toward each other. She hoped the setting would provide orphan girls or girls from broken homes with security they might have lacked in their formative years.
In addition, she wanted the cottage homes to serve as a model that the women could use when they eventually established families of their own, Mrs. James wrote.
"She definitely was a woman ahead of her time," Ms. Beebe said. "She believed in standing up for what was right and for the encouragement of others."
The cottage homes were eventually replaced by Ely-Pepper Hall, built in 1905 and used as a dormitory into the 1970s.
Mrs. Townsend undoubtedly would prefer to be remembered as a builder of women than a builder of wood or brick and mortar structures. While her influence was stamped on hundreds of young women who took advantage of the Cottage Home System, one person, Bess Whitehead Scott, stands out because she was a gifted writer who wrote several tributes to her mentor.
In 1908, Bess wanted to continue her education but knew her widowed mother could not pay. She said she began to have hope for an education when she stumbled upon a brochure advertising the cottage home, which could help a girl who worked two hours a day attend school for just $108 a year.
Bess's brother sold two mules to help send his younger sister to school in Belton.
During an orientation session Bess wrote about why she had come to college and her hopes and goals for the future. At a second meeting, without revealing names, Mrs. Townsend read aloud portions of the letters, including the one Bess penned.
Later, on a Saturday evening, Bess was asked to visit with Mrs. Townsend in her home about what she had written.
At 17, Bess wanted to be a writer and travel the world. Mrs. Townsend called her to her home to let her know that it was not only possible, but it would happen if she remained focused and talked with God about it everyday.
Bess eventually went on to a career as a journalist. She was the first female reporter on the city desk of the Houston Post.
In 1981, Bess wrote an article for the UMHB alumni magazine where she recounted some of her memories from her time on campus.
"In the years since Baylor I have not 'traveled all the world' as I had expected to at 17, but I have seen a fair part of it. But I have 'been a writer' for more than 60 years, not a famous one, perhaps, but it has been a real career, a practical one, as I 'made a living' for myself and two children for many years.
"It has been 70 years since I left Baylor Female College as a graduate … Those four years are among the happiest of my long life, and I recall them with deep gratitude to my teachers there, my beloved classmates, and to my God that He led me to this beloved Christian school and such friends as Elli Moore Townsend."
It was with a sense of pride that Mrs. Townsend helped "others find their God, their work, and their place in the world."
When she was 89 years old, Mrs. Townsend wrote an inscription in a book in which she said, "If we are permitted in Heaven to choose our work, I shall ask for the same blessed service."
promer@temple-telegram.com
