Sam Houston was born in Virginia and spent much of his youth in the mountains of Tennessee, living with the Cherokees and earning the name "
Co-lo-neh", or the Raven, from his adoptive father,
Chief Oolooteka.
Houston served under Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812, later serving as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1822) and then Governor of Tennessee (1827-1829).
Moving to Texas in 1832, Houston was elected the first President of the Republic of Texas. After statehood in 1845, Houston was elected Senator from Texas to the Congress of the United States. Houston was then elected to serve as Governor of the State of Texas (1859-1861), famously removed from office for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederate States of America.
He married Margaret Lea in 1840, with whom he had eight children.
Retiring to Huntsville, he died in the Steamboat House in 1863.
Items on and around campus honoring Sam Houston include:
