Salado college professor and principal James Lowry Smith was a progressive leader in education. He received degrees at Baylor and served in the Civil War before beginning his tenure at Salado College in 1863. Despite challenges, including low enrollment during the Civil War and the financial panic of 1873, Salado College achieved high standards during Smith’s tenure. He first served until 1874, and then again from 1879-80 in the college’s final year of operation. Married to Julia Catherine (McDowell) and father to seven children, James Lowry Smith, in words carved at his grave monument, is remembered as “an epitome of those blessed humanities of life, virtue, honor, and truth.”