Harley True Burton
Harley True Burton was a Texas historian, college president, and small-town mayor.Biographical sketch
Born in Decatur in Wise County, north of Fort Worth, Burton was the fifth of eight children of Charles Clark Burton and the former Missouri Jarrell, who are interred in Decatur at Sand Hill Cemetery.
In 1910, Burton graduated from Decatur College, the first two-year private junior college in the United States, a forerunner of Dallas Baptist University in Dallas, Texas. At Decatur, Burton played football and basketball and was the president of the Decatur Club. He then obtained two undergraduate degrees in 1913 and 1915 from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. At the University of Texas at Austin, he procured a Master of Arts degree in history, having studied under the well-known historian of Texas, Eugene C. Barker. Burton's thesis is entitled A History of the JA Ranch. The JA Ranch is a still-functioning cattle ranch in the Texas Panhandle originally owned by Charles Goodnight and John George Adair. The brand "JA" refers to "John Adair". Burton's work was considered especially significant in that the early records of the JA Ranch were destroyed by fire in 1890. The thesis was first published in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly in 1927-1928. It was then published in book form and republished in 1966. It is again an out-of-print, rare, and sought-after book.
In 1918, Burton accepted a position teaching science and coaching football at Clarendon College, a two-year junior college in Clarendon, the seat of Donley County. The institution was originally affiliated with the Methodist Church. When Burton became the college president, the school became nonsectarian and gained state funding. He served as president until his retirement in 1953.
In 1955, Burton was elected mayor of Clarendon and served until 1963.
He and his wife, Clara B. Burton, are interred at Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon.
