Old Nacogdoches University
Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Chartered by the Republic of Texas in 1845 to fulfill settlers' ideals for higher education. Financed by public subscriptions. Housed first in military quarters, erected this modified Grecian structure 1858. Occupied by troops in Civil War, it was used by schools until 1930s. Restored in 1960s by friends in Nacogdoches. (1966)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Chartered by the Republic of Texas in 1845 and financed by public subscription, Nacogdoches University embodied frontier settlers' hopes for higher learning. First housed in military quarters, it gained a modified Grecian building in 1858 that troops occupied during the Civil War. Schools used the structure until the 1930s, and Nacogdoches friends restored it in the 1960s.
Why it matters
It stands among the earliest institutions of higher education in Texas, a testament to how even a raw republic prized schooling as a foundation of self-government.
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Nearby & related markers
Washington Square
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When the Republic of Texas chartered Nacogdoches University in 1845, three settlers donated 21.5 acres that came to be called Washington Square. A two-story Greek Revival building rose here in 1858, and during the Civil War it served as a Confederate hospital, then afterward as the U.S. Army's East Texas headquarters. Over the decades the square hosted churches, a Masonic lodge, and a succession of schools, including the first site of what is now Stephen F. Austin State University.
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When the railroad reached Nacogdoches in 1883, the Baptist General Association sent missionary Luther Rice Scruggs to organize a church, and by 1885 he and thirteen charter members had done so. The congregation raised successive sanctuaries—one designed by noted local architect Diedrich Rulfs—as it grew with the town, and it planted several daughter churches over the decades. Members long shaped community life, from closing saloons to supporting a Baptist ministry at Stephen F. Austin University from 1923 onward.
Milam Lodge #2, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Texas
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Chartered in 1837, this is the oldest Masonic lodge in Texas still meeting in its original town, founded when the republic was barely a year old. Named for revolutionary hero Ben Milam, it counted among its early members signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence and statesmen like Thomas J. Rusk, and it joined two sister lodges to form the Grand Lodge of Texas. True to Masonic tradition, it helped found Nacogdoches University in 1845 and long championed education and charity.
Westminster Presbyterian Church
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Presbyterians shaped Nacogdoches from the 1830s onward, and in 1893 Rev. B. A. Hodges and twelve members founded what became Westminster Presbyterian Church under the Cumberland denomination. An early wood-frame sanctuary by noted architect D. A. W. Rulfs gave way to a 1930 sanctuary and manse, and the congregation grew into a hub of community service, from a World War I savings-stamp drive to helping launch the local Head Start program.