Early Texas A&M Campus Housing

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Early Texas A&M Campus Housing, out there in Brazos County. When Texas A&M University opened in 1876, it sat four miles from Bryan, the nearest town. Four miles doesn't sound like much today, but back then it might as well have been the far side of the moon for anyone who needed a place to sleep.

So the need for campus housing for faculty and staff arose, and the university got to work. The first of the campus houses were five brick homes built that same year, 1876, lined up along the east side of Throckmorton Street. Five homes.

That's where it all started. Now here's where the story gets interesting. Those five homes were just the beginning.

By 1938, there were more than one hundred homes on campus. More than one hundred. The types varied considerably, ranging from large Queen Anne style homes all the way down to small bungalows and cottages, spread throughout the campus grounds.

It was a little world unto itself. Then 1938 brought a turning point. The City of College Station was incorporated that year, and with a real town now available, housing outside campus became an option.

The decision was made to remove the faculty housing. Now, some folks didn't go quietly into that good night. Many residents expressed a desire to buy their homes, and the college listened.

Beginning in 1941, the college started accepting bids. One third of the houses were soon sold, with prices ranging from two hundred to eight hundred dollars. Another third were sold and moved over the next twenty years.

Picked up and carried off to new lots, new lives. The rest, well, the rest of the original structures were burned or razed. Gone for good.

None remain on campus today. But here's the part of this story that has a little redemption in it. Forty-one of the original homes have been located.

Thirty-eight of them are in College Station. Two are over in Bryan. And one sits about two miles north of Bryan, still standing, still out there.

Those five brick homes on Throckmorton Street grew into a whole community, and that community scattered to the wind. But forty-one pieces of it, somebody found.

What the marker says

When Texas A&M University opened in 1876, it was four miles from Bryan, the nearest town, and the need for campus housing for faculty and staff arose. The first of the campus houses, five brick homes along the east side of Throckmorton Street, were built in 1876. By 1938, there were more than one hundred homes on campus. The types of houses varied, ranging from large Queen Anne style homes to small bungalows and cottages. The homes were located throughout the campus. When the City of College Station was incorporated in 1938, housing in town became available, and the decision was made to remove the faculty housing. Many residents expressed a desire to buy their homes, and the college began accepting bids in 1941. One third of the houses were soon sold, with prices ranging from $200-$800. Another third were sold and moved over the next twenty years. The rest of the original structures were burned or razed. None remain on campus. Forty-one of the original homes have been located. Thirty-eight are in College Station, two are in Bryan, and one is about two miles north of Bryan.