First chartered in 1888, the school was founded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was opened as the St. Joseph Stake Academy on December 18, 1890, making it Arizona’s oldest community college. It initially had 17 students.
The first classes were held in a church building in Central, Arizona. But most of the students had to travel from Thatcher. So, the school relocated to an adobe building in Thatcher. It moved several times after this, outgrowing each of the structures.
In 1895, the school suffered from serious debt. That same year, an epidemic of diphtheria and membranous croup claimed many children’s lives and forced the closing of the school for three weeks. When classes resumed, so few students showed up that the school closed for four years.
It did reopen and has continued to grow. It had a lot of success with sports, drama and music during the 1920s. Then, in 1932, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave control of the school to the community. It was then renamed Eastern Arizona College.
Historical Marker Inscription
First home of the present
Eastern Arizona College was
Central’s red-brick churchhouse
located just north of this marker.
Founded December 1890
The many-named school moved
the next year to Thatcher.
Historical Markers of the World 