DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — and friends, this one's worth your full attention. Now, when folks talk about the oldest college in Texas still operating under its original charter, they're talking about Austin College. Named for Stephen F.
Austin, the father of Texas himself. And that right there sets the tone for everything that follows. It was founded in 1849 — let that sink in, 1849 — by the Presbytery of Brazos, under the leadership of a man named Daniel Baker.
They opened the doors in Huntsville, and if you're wondering whether this was a serious institution from day one, consider who they put on the board of original trustees: Sam Houston. Anson Jones. Henderson Yoakum.
Texas statesmen, every one of them. This wasn't some rough-hewn frontier schoolhouse. This was an institution with ambitions.
Sam Houston donated a bell to the college, and here's the part that'll stop you — that bell still hangs in the present chapel. Survived everything that came after. And a lot came after.
For years, if you wanted to walk through the doors of Austin College, you had better know your Greek and your Latin. Not as a suggestion. As a requirement.
These people were not messin' around with admissions standards. And then came the firsts. In 1855, Austin College opened the first law school in the entire state of Texas.
The following year, 1856, it became the first college in Texas to award graduate degrees. It also had the first chapter in Texas of any national fraternity — Phi Delta Theta. First, first, first.
Sherman, Texas was not yet even in the picture — this was all happening down in Huntsville. Then the Civil War came. Most colleges shuttered.
Austin College stayed open. Most of its students joined the Confederate army, but the institution held on. That's a quiet kind of stubborn courage, and it deserves a moment of recognition.
But the war ending didn't mean the hard times were over. Post-war problems set in. Epidemics followed.
And in 1876, the college packed up and moved north to Sherman, in Grayson County, where it sits to this day. The oldest building on that Sherman campus is Luckett Hall, which went up in 1908. And why is it still the oldest?
Because the very first building on that campus was destroyed by arson in 1913. That's not a footnote — that's a fire deliberately set against a place of learning. The marker notes it plainly, and so do I.
In 1911, Austin College erected the first college Y.M.C.A. building west of the Mississippi River. Then came World War I, and the college cooperated with the Student Army Training Corps — and in doing so, admitted its first coeds. Then World War II, and the college aided the Army Air Training Corps.
Founded, the marker tells us, to serve the youth of pioneer families, Austin College now enrolls students from all over the world, carrying forward what it calls a creative Christian liberal arts education. A bell from Sam Houston. The state's first law school.
A building burned, and another raised in its place. Still standing, still open, still the oldest college in Texas under its original charter. Some institutions just refuse to be anything other than what they were built to be.
What the marker says
Oldest college in Texas operating under original charter. Founded in 1849 by the Presbytery of Brazos under leadership of Daniel Baker. Named for Stephen F. Austin, father of Texas. Opened in Huntsville with Sam Houston, Anson Jones, and Henderson Yoakum-- Texas statesmen-- among original trustees. Bell donated by Houston hangs in present chapel. For years competence in Greek and Latin was required for admittance. In 1855 opened the first law school in state, and became the first college in Texas to award graduate degrees in 1856. Had the first chapter in Texas of any national fraternity (Phi Delta Theta). Remained open during Civil War although most students joined Confederate army. Post-war problems and epidemics caused move to Sherman in 1876. Oldest building is Luckett Hall (1908), the first building on this campus having been destroyed by arson in 1913. Erected first college Y. M. C. A. building west of the Mississippi River, 1911. In World War I, cooperated with the Student Army Training Corps and admitted first coeds. In World War II, aided Army Air Training Corps. Founded to serve youth of pioneer families, college now enrolls students from all over the world and is a leader in creative Christian liberal arts education. Incise on back: This marker made possible by Austin College Circle, 1970.