Old Dougherty House
San Patricio, San Patricio County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Location of noted St. Paul's Academy for Boys. Home of school owner Robert Dougherty (1827-1881), a refugee from 1840s Irish famine. Educated at St. Mary's College, Kentucky, Dougherty worked as a journalist and merchant before settling in Texas, here marrying Rachel Sullivan. In 1867-1874, he was principal, Hidalgo Seminary, Corpus Christi. Built his school here on Round Lake, near wife's family, 1876. He taught geography, history, mathematics, Latin, Greek, classical literature and Gaelic--subjects rare in that era. His seven children all began their careers as teachers. (1970)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Robert Dougherty, a refugee from the Irish famine of the 1840s, built this house on Round Lake in 1876 to open St. Paul's Academy for Boys. Educated in Kentucky and seasoned as a journalist, merchant, and seminary principal in Corpus Christi, he taught an unusually broad curriculum for the era—geography, history, mathematics, Latin, Greek, classical literature, and even Gaelic. His commitment to learning ran so deep that all seven of his children began their working lives as teachers.
Why it matters
The house and its academy show how immigrant educators carried Old World classical learning to the Texas frontier, planting schools where formal education was still rare.
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Related people
- · Robert Dougherty
- · Rachel Sullivan Dougherty
Themes & tags
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