DUANE
Duane's take
The way the old marker tells it, here's what happened on this piece of Galveston ground. Now, every institution has to start somewhere. But most of them don't start with one skeleton, one obstetrical dummy, and three anatomy charts.
That was the full inventory — the complete and total equipment — when the first medical college in Texas opened its doors in 1865. A branch of Soule University up at Chappell Hill, the school swung open for its very first session with those three humble items and a faculty that apparently refused to let that stop them. And here's the thing — it worked.
The teaching level was judged equal to that of most medical schools in the United States at the time. One skeleton. Equal to most schools in the country.
You can't help but tip your hat to that. The college moved three times in eight years, which tells you something about either the ambition of the place or the patience of its landlords. But enrollment climbed — up to 46 students by 1873 — and those students were authorized to attend patients at the Island City Hospital.
That's real medicine, real responsibility. Now. The marker does not flinch on the next part, and neither will I.
In obedience to law, all corpses were buried. But the bodies of some indigents were later disinterred by students for dissecting purposes. That's the record.
That's what happened. And it sits in the story with the weight it deserves. Also in 1873, the school was reorganized — new name, new chapter — as the Texas Medical College and Hospital, guided by Dr.
Ashbel Smith. The marker calls him a brilliant, fiery-tempered surgeon who was also famed as a Texas statesman. Brilliant and fiery-tempered.
The kind of man who probably made the equipment shortage feel like somebody else's problem. Then came 1891. The medical branch of the University of Texas was established right here on this site, with Sealy Hospital as the college teaching hospital.
The red brick building standing at this location originally housed the entire school — every classroom, every lecture, every late-night study session inside those walls. Today, the annual enrollment stands at 900. From one skeleton and three charts to 900 students, one of Texas' leading medical colleges — all of it tracing a straight line back to 1865, to Chappell Hill, to the gutsy notion that you can teach good medicine with almost nothing at all, as long as the teaching is good.
What the marker says
First medical college in Texas and predecessor of the University of Texas Medical Branch, the school opened in 1865 as a branch of Soule University at Chappell Hill. Although equipment during the first session consisted of one skeleton, one obstetrical dummy, and three anatomy charts, the teaching level was high -- equal to that in most medical schools in the United States at the time. The college moved three times in eight years, but enrollment increased to 46 by 1873 and students were authorized to attend patients in the Island City Hospital. In obedience to law, all corpses were buried, but the bodies of some indigents were later disinterred by students for dissecting purposes. In 1873, the school was reorganized as the "Texas Medical College and Hospital" under the guidance of Dr. Ashbel Smith, brilliant, fiery-tempered surgeon who was also famed as a Texas statesman. In 1891, the medical branch of the University of Texas was established here with Sealy Hospital as the college teaching hospital. The red Brick building at this site originally housed the entire school. Today the medical branch has an annual enrollment of 900 and is one of Texas' leading medical colleges.