Pioneering Higher Education in East Texas
Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The absence of an institution of higher learning to train teachers in East Texas became obvious in the early 20th century. "Normal institutes" or ad hoc college courses were important statewide attempts to supplement the educational level of the teachers in rural school systems. The Legislature's decision in 1909 to abolish the community school system in favor of public school systems further increased demand for trained teachers. To address the needs of the east Texas region, the Legislature in 1915 authorized the placement of a normal college east of the 96th meridian. Legislative, sectional, and political difficulties delayed the charters until 1917. By the time the schools were funded in 1921, the state had passed the compulsory education law for children and the certification law for teachers, creating a huge demand for educated instructors in Texas. In the rural districts of Texas, 24% of public school teachers had not completed high school, 22% had normal college training, and 13% were graduates of other college and university programs. Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College opened in 1923. The faculty consisted of 24 instructors selected by President Alton W. Birdwell. The majority of the educators' degrees came from Texas universities, but other major national institutions were represented. The vast majority of students came from east Texas, particularly the counties surrounding Nacogdoches. The early faculty, staff, and students of Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College transformed teaching into a profession in east Texas while making education an attainable goal in the region. These men and women laid the foundation for public education in east Texas. (1999)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the early 20th century, East Texas had no institution to train its teachers, and makeshift "normal institutes" struggled to lift the education of rural instructors—nearly a quarter of whom had not finished high school. As new state laws mandated compulsory schooling and teacher certification, demand for trained educators soared. After years of legislative and political delay, Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College opened in 1923 with 24 hand-picked faculty, drawing students overwhelmingly from the surrounding counties.
Why it matters
This marker records how a rural region built its own path to higher education, transforming teaching into a profession and making schooling attainable across East Texas.
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Related people
- · Alton W. Birdwell
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Paul Lewis Boynton
Nacogdoches, TX
Paul Lewis Boynton, a Texas-born psychologist trained at Peabody College, became president of Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College in 1942 just as World War II drained its male students away. To keep the school alive he persuaded the federal government to open a Women's Army Corps training school on campus in 1943 and secured surplus buildings and land that launched a forestry department in 1945, then guided a surge of postwar enrollment until his sudden death in 1958.
The University Tradition in Nacogdoches
Nacogdoches, TX
Nacogdoches inherited a sense of scholarly duty from the Spanish friars of its mission, and prominent citizens like Sam Houston and Thomas J. Rusk championed learning. The Republic of Texas chartered Nacogdoches University in 1845, and townspeople gave money, land, and labor to build it, moving the school to Washington Square in 1858. Through Civil War hardship and changing hands among churches and colleges, the town's devotion to education persisted—culminating decades later in its successful campaign to win Stephen F. Austin State Normal College.
Alton W. Birdwell
Nacogdoches, TX
Born in the Piney Woods in 1870, Alton W. Birdwell rose from home schooling and brick-molding labor to become one of East Texas's foremost educators, studying at several universities and teaching across the region. Appointed founding president of Stephen F. Austin State Normal School in 1917, he opened the college in borrowed facilities when construction lagged, personally chose its faculty, and guided it through the lean years of the Great Depression. He remained tied to the institution as president emeritus until his death in 1954.
Rusk Building
Nacogdoches, TX
Rising on land once part of statesman Thomas Jefferson Rusk's homestead, the Rusk Building was completed in 1926 to serve the fast-growing Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College. Designed by architect W. E. Ketchum in a dignified classical revival style—Doric columns, a grand staircase, and a pedimented entry—it first housed the library, the education and business departments, and a demonstration school for training teachers. Over the decades it sheltered a shifting mix of academic programs and administrative offices, and a 1987 renovation restored its original grandeur.