The University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, El Paso County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The University of Texas at El Paso traces its history to April 16, 1913, when the Texas Legislature approved the creation of a State School of Mines and Metallurgy. The board of regents of the University of Texas formally established the school one year later. The citizens of El Paso donated land east of Fort Bliss for the school. The site included buildings of the former El Paso Military Institute. Following a fire in October 1916, the college was moved to this location. By the end of 1918 five buildings had been completed in an architectural style imitating that of the Himalayan country of Bhutan. Designated a branch of the University of Texas in 1919, the College of Mines and Metallurgy added liberal arts courses and by 1931 offered a bachelor of arts degree. Further expansions led to a master of arts degree program in 1940 and a doctoral degree program in 1974. The name was changed to Texas Western College in 1949, and to the University of Texas at El Paso in 1967. The institution's campus, with its mountain setting and distinctive architecture, is unique among the state's colleges. (1989)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The University of Texas at El Paso began in 1913 as a State School of Mines and Metallurgy, founded to train engineers for the region's mining economy on land the citizens of El Paso donated near Fort Bliss. After a 1916 fire, it moved to its present site and rebuilt in a striking architectural style borrowed from Himalayan Bhutan. Over decades it grew from a mining college into Texas Western College and, by 1967, a full university offering doctoral degrees.
Why it matters
UTEP's evolution from a frontier mining school to a research university mirrors the maturing of the American Southwest and the enduring link between higher education and regional industry.
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Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Old Main
El Paso, TX
Completed in 1917, Old Main was the first building on the new campus of the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy, today the University of Texas at El Paso. Its striking Bhutanese architecture—sloped walls, decorative brickwork, and wide overhanging roofs—was inspired by a 1914 National Geographic feature on Bhutan, suggested by Kathleen Worrell, wife of the school's first dean. The style became the signature look of the entire university.
Early El Paso Water Systems
El Paso, TX
Before pipes and pumps, El Pasoans drew water from open acequias and bought it from aguadores who carried it door to door. In 1882 Sylvester Watts built the city's first waterworks, pumping from the Rio Grande into a reservoir on this site, and later a riverside well became the main supply. The city bought the system in 1910 and modernized it, and in 1952 the Public Service Board took over its stewardship.
1966 Texas Western Basketball National Champions
El Paso, TX
Texas Western College in El Paso — now UTEP — was the first college in a southern state to integrate, and under coach Don Haskins it recruited Black players when many southern schools still refused to. In the 1965-66 season the Miners went 23-1, battled through overtime thrillers in the NCAA tournament, and in the title game started five African American players against an all-white Kentucky team, winning 72-65. Haskins simply said he was playing his best players.
Wallace Apartments
El Paso, TX
Built in 1903 for owner George E. Wallace, these apartments were designed by Edward Kneezell, one of El Paso's earliest architects. The two-story stucco building shows off the Mission Revival style then in vogue in the Southwest — a sweeping circular two-story arcaded veranda at one end, and small mission parapets crowning its arched entryways — offering a glimpse of comfortable urban living in the booming border city.