The University Tradition in Nacogdoches

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the university tradition in Nacogdoches. Now settle in, because this is a story about a town that simply refused to give up on an idea. The Spanish friars who built the Mission of Our Lady of Nacogdoches left something behind when they went.

Not just walls and prayers, but a sense of scholarship and educational responsibility that passed right to the townspeople. And those townspeople, it turns out, were serious about it. Prominent citizens like Sam Houston and Thomas J.

Rusk were well known for their attention to education. So when the 1840s rolled around, the citizens of Nacogdoches started pushin for something bigger. Something permanent.

The Republic of Texas granted a charter for a school in February of 1845. Nacogdoches University. Now, it was a preparatory school with some college subjects included in the curriculum, which is to say it wasn't exactly a full university yet, but the people treated it like one.

They gave money, materials, land, and labor. They put their own backs into it. And in 1858, the school moved into its permanent home on Washington Square.

That felt like an arrival. Then hard times began with the Civil War. After that, the institution passed through several hands.

The Catholic church operated it for a time. Local Masons took a turn. Keachi College of Louisiana had a go at it.

And finally, in 1904, the trustees deeded the entire campus to the newly created public school district of Nacogdoches. You might think that was the end of the dream. You would be wrong.

By 1906, citizens were already organizing a movement to lobby for a brand new college. That effort culminated in 1915, in the first, although ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to establish an east Texas normal school. A setback, sure.

But Nacogdoches had been at this a long time. They knew how to wait and how to push. When legislation in 1917 called for a college east of the 96th meridian, the town organized a citizens' committee and got to work.

They put together a pamphlet, and I love this detail, it was entitled twenty-three reasons why Stephen F. Austin State Normal College ought to be located at Nacogdoches. Twenty-three reasons.

They weren't leavin anything to chance. As they had seventy years earlier, the people of Nacogdoches lobbied hard. This time they pledged 208 acres of land, 250 students, paved streets, and free electricity to the institution.

Free electricity. When the opening was postponed from the summer of 1923 to the fall, the town didn't fold. They recruited students from all of east Texas, and they supplied a temporary home for a year while things got sorted.

That temporary home? Washington Square. The same ground where Nacogdoches University had stood all those decades before.

Some places just keep calling a town back to its purpose.

What the marker says

The Spanish friars who built the Mission of Our Lady of Nacogdoches passed to the townspeople a sense of scholarship and educational responsibility. Prominent citizens such as Sam Houston and Thomas J. Rusk were well known for their attention to education. Town citizens pursued the establishment of a university in the 1840s. The Republic of Texas granted a charter for a school in February 1845. Nacogdoches University was a preparatory school with some college subjects included in the curriculum. Townspeople gave money, materials, land and labor to support the school and secure for their children the best education possible. The school moved into its permanent home on Washington Square in 1858. Hard times began with the Civil War; later, several entities operated the institution, including the Catholic church, local Masons, and Keachi College of Louisiana. In 1904, the trustees deeded the campus to the newly created public school district of Nacogdoches. Citizens began a movement in 1906 to lobby for the formation of a new college. This culminated in the first, although ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to establish an east Texas normal school in 1915. When legislation in 1917 called for a college "east of the 96th meridian," Nacogdoches organized a citizens' committee. A pamphlet entitled "twenty-three reasons why Stephen F. Austin State Normal College ought to be located at Nacogdoches..." stated their case. As they had 70 years earlier, the people of Nacogdoches lobbied heavily for the new college, pledging 208 acres of land, 250 students, paved streets, and free electricity to the institution. When the opening was postponed from the summer of 1923 to the fall, the two recruited students from all of east Texas and even supplied a temporary home for a year -- Washington Square. (1999)