Places

Columbus was first settled in 1823 by members of Stephen Austin’s colony. It is located some fifty miles from the mouth of the Colorado River. The town was established at the site of an Indian village called Montezuma.The town, which is the county seat of Colorado County, became a cotton shipping point. It later developed … Read more

The University of Texas is a public university located in Austin, Texas. Founded in 1883, its campus is located just north of the Texas State Capitol. With over 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 16,500 faculty and staff, it currently has the largest enrollment of any college in Texas. In 1881, Austin was chosen as … Read more

The first classes at what is now the University of North Texas were held in 1890, on the second floor of the B. J. Wilson hardware store. The store was located on the northwest corner of the Denton county courthouse square in Denton, Texas. Over the intervening century and a quarter, the school has grown … Read more

The University of Houston began as Houston Junior College. On March 7, 1927, trustees of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Education unanimously passed a resolution that authorized the founding and operating of a junior college. The junior college was operated and controlled by HISD. Originally HJC was located in San Jacinto High … Read more

An act of the 27th Legislature in 1901 founded the Girls Industrial College as a public institution. Classes first started in 1903. The school’s name was changed to the College of Industrial Arts (CIA) in 1905. It became the Texas State College for Women in 1934, then Texas Woman’s University in 1957. Pictured above, “Old … Read more

Authorized by the Texas Legislature in 1899, Southwest Texas State Normal School opened its doors in 1903. Over the years, the Legislature broadened the institution’s scope and changed its name several times, then in 2003 to Texas State University-San Marcos. Built in 1903, Old Main was TSU’s first building, and continues as a central landmark … Read more

The call to open a college in West Texas began shortly after the arrival of settlers in the area in the 1880s. In 1917, the Texas legislature passed a bill creating a branch of Texas A&M to be located in Abilene. However, the bill was repealed two years later during the next session after it … Read more

Texas Christian University was founded by East Texas brothers Addison & Randolph Clark, together with the support of their father Joseph A. Clark. The Clarks were preachers and educators associated with the American Restoration Movement–the spiritual ancestor of the modern Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Following their return from service in the Civil War, brothers … Read more

Planning for a public institution for higher education in Texas can be traced back to the early days of the Republic of Texas and, more directly, to the Morrill Act, approved by the United States Congress on July 2, 1862. This act provided for donation of public land to the states to fund higher education, … Read more