Austin High School_Rio Grande Campus
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In Edwin Waller's 1839 plan for the city of Austin, two blocks were set aside for schools at Rio Grande and 12th Street, then called College Avenue. The Austin school board in 1881 authorized the use of existing school facilities on the south block to house the primary grades 1-4, grammar school classes 5-7, and high school grades 8-11. Due to increased enrollment, the school board in 1916 built the John T. Allan Junior High School on the north block. In 1925 the Austin High School was moved to this location from a campus on the corner of Trinity and 9th, where the junior high was relocated. Additions to the complex here were completed later to accommodate the larger student body. The late 1920s was a time of increased student involvement for Austin High. During those years the Red Jackets girls organization and the Red Dragon drama club were formed and the student newspaper, the "Austin Maroon", began publication. In the 1930s the nearby House Park athletic fields were developed. The school name was changed to Stephen F. Austin in 1953. Used for high school classes until 1975, this site was later part of the Austin Community College system. (1981)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Edwin Waller's 1839 plan for Austin set aside two blocks for schools at Rio Grande and 12th Street, and by 1881 the school board was teaching every grade there, from primary through high school. Austin High moved to this campus in 1925, and the late 1920s brought a burst of student life—the Red Jackets, the Red Dragon drama club, and the 'Austin Maroon' newspaper. Renamed for Stephen F. Austin in 1953, the school used the site until 1975, after which it joined the Austin Community College system.
Why it matters
The campus traces the growth of public education in a Texas capital from its founding vision through more than a century of use, a rare thread of continuity in a fast-changing city.
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Related people
- · Edwin Waller
Themes & tags
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