First University Building
Denton, Denton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On this site in 1891, the city of Denton erected a building to be leased to President Joshua C. Chilton, for the use of the privately owned Texas Normal College and Teacher Training Institute, which he had opened the year before in a business building downtown. The 10-acre campus became state property in 1901. President Chilton's college thus was forerunner of North Texas State University. The old Normal building was struck by lightning and burned, 1907. This marker is dedicated on the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the university.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1891 the city of Denton erected a building on this site and leased it to President Joshua C. Chilton for his privately owned Texas Normal College and Teacher Training Institute, which he had opened a year earlier downtown. The 10-acre campus passed into state hands in 1901, and the little normal school grew into what became North Texas State University. The original building was struck by lightning and burned in 1907, but its brief life launched an enduring institution.
Why it matters
This modest leased building was the seed of a major public university, part of the late-19th-century American push to train teachers and expand access to higher education.
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Related people
- · Joshua C. Chilton
Themes & tags
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