Delta County has historically been advanced in education. Around the time that Cooper and the county were founded, nine churches were already in the county. By 1880, that number had increased to nearly 30. A combined 998 students attended those schools, which operated 4½ months a year. In 1889, East Texas Normal College was founded in Cooper. The school did very well while located in Cooper, but the college moved to Commerce after the campus was destroyed in a fire in 1894. The school was later renamed East Texas State University, then Texas A&M University–Commerce. In 1896, Cooper reported to have one successful school located within the city proper.