DUANE
Duane's take
Now, the official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the voice carryin' it down the road. Back in 1904, representatives of the Augustana Lutheran Synod were out looking for a place to plant a college. Could've been anywhere in Texas.
But Round Rock made them an offer that was hard to walk away from — a well, fourteen city lots, and freight concessions on building materials hauled by the International and Great Northern Railroad. You put that kind of deal on the table, and folks tend to sit down. So they sat down.
And on July 13, 1905, the cornerstone was laid for a three-story native stone school building. That stone didn't come easy, but it came. And on October 2, 1906, with Dr.
J. A. Stamline serving as president, the first session of Trinity Lutheran College opened its doors.
Now, it wasn't a sprawling operation at the start. Four faculty members. Forty-eight academic students.
Eleven more enrolled in the music department. But that first year, total enrollment climbed to 96. Something was taking root.
Presidents came and went as the years rolled on. Alfred Anderson carried it from 1909 to 1914. Theodore Seashore took the reins from 1914 to 1921.
Then Dr. J. A.
Stamline — yes, the founding president himself — returned alongside Oscar Nelson, serving ad interim from 1921 to 1923. Harry A. Alden followed, holding the post from 1923 to 1929.
And here's where the story takes a turn, the kind that tends to sneak up on institutions that thought they'd weathered the worst. The college earned state accreditation in 1920 — real recognition, hard won. But recognition and solvency, well, those aren't always traveling companions.
Despite everything, the school failed financially. In 1929, Trinity Lutheran College merged with Evangelical Lutheran College — a school that had been founded way back in 1891 at Brenham, had moved to Seguin in 1912, and with this merger became Texas Lutheran College. The Round Rock chapter was closed.
But those grounds didn't stay quiet for long. On October 9, 1929 — the same year as the merger — the Lutheran Welfare Society opened Trinity Lutheran Homes on that vacated campus, dedicated to caring for children and aged persons. Something enduring rose up in the space where the college had stood.
By 1972, only one of the former college buildings still survived. One building, standing in the place of all that ambition, all those students, all those years. Sometimes one is enough to remember the whole story.
What the marker says
Founded by the Augustana Lutheran Synod, in 1904 synod representatives, seeking a location, selected Round Rock because of an offer of a well, 14 city lots, and freight concessions on building materials hauled by International & Great Northern Railroad. Cornerstone was laid on July 13, 1905, for a three-story native stone school building. With Dr. J. A. Stamline serving as president, first session opened Oct. 2, 1906. There were four faculty members, 48 academic students, and 11 enrolled in the music department. Total enrollment rose to 96 during the first year. Successive presidents were Alfred Anderson, 1909-1914; Theodore Seashore, 1914-1921; Dr. J. A. Stamline and Oscar Nelson, ad interim, 1921-1923; and Harry A. Alden, 1923-1929. Despite such recognition as state accreditation (achieved 1920), school failed financially. In 1929 it merged with Evangelical Lutheran College, which was founded in 1891 at Brenham, moved to Seguin 1912, and with this merger became Texas Lutheran College. On the vacated Round Rock campus, Lutheran Welfare Society on Oct. 9, 1929, opened Trinity Lutheran Homes, to care for children and aged persons. In 1972 only one of the former college buildings still survives.