Austin Hall is the oldest building west of the Mississippi River to have been used continuously by an educational institution. It is the oldest structure on the Sam Houston campus, though first used as the original building of Austin College.
Pre-History: Capitol Hill
The Texas Constitution of 1845 identified Austin as the capital until 1850, after which the location would be chosen by a vote of the populace. Huntsville, like many other communities, had high hopes for such honor and action was taken to add Huntsville's name to the raffle. Many citizens even designated the five acres atop the highest point in the community as "Capitol Hill" in anticipation; however when the election was over, Austin again emerged triumphant, beating out Palestine, Tehuacana, Washington-On-The-Brazos, and, in fifth place, Huntsville.
Austin College
While disappointed with the outcome, Huntsville was optimistic that the hill would be a fitting place for a learning institution. Huntsville-area Presbyterians promptly secured the necessary money and land to establish Austin College in 1849.
The first building was constructed of soft sand-molded bricks forged at the state penitentiary, with the cornerstone laid on Saint John's Day, June 24, 1851. Inside were a copy of the United States Constitution, a list of the first trustees of Austin College, and specimens of currency of the 13 original colonies. Paul Culp, the university's Special Collections librarian notes in an 1989 article that:
It has been traditionally maintained that Austin College was designed by Abner Cook, the master builder who created the finest residences in Texas before the Civil War (notably the Governor's Mansion and a number of other beautiful house still standing in Austin), but evidence for this is largely circumstantial.
Attending the dedication ceremony was legislator Adolphus Sterne, who Culp identifies as writing, "a hotter day we certainly did not have this Summer." Culp adds that Sterne "does not report that Sam Houston held his umbrella over the head of [Austin College] President [Samuel] McKinney to shield him from the sun during his long oration, but that story has become a fixed piece of Houston lore." Sam Houston and Anson Jones, both presidents of the Republic of Texas, were charter members of the Austin College Board of Trustees.
Austin College historian P. E. Wallace said the building "was the pride of Huntsville, the delight of the Presbytery, and the wonders of visitors of that locality." During commencement exercises the brightly illuminated building could be seen eighteen miles away.
The Austin College Building was first occupied in October 1851 and completed the following year. In 1855 it housed the first law school in Texas. While successful, Austin College suffered during and following the Civil War and resulting Reconstruction. Economic declines and the 1867 yellow fever epidemic took its toll on the school, resulting in the relocation of Austin College to Sherman, Texas in 1876.
Mitchell College
The Methodist Church acquired the vacated Austin College Building in 1877 for $1,000, using it for a school for boys called Mitchell College. That effort failed within a year and the church sold the building back to the city of Huntsville for $346.
Sam Houston Normal Institute
On April 21, 1879, Sam Houston Normal Institute was authorized by the state legislature as the first tax-supported, teacher-training institution in Texas. With a $2 Million endowment from the Peabody Education Fund, money donated to states across the American South to develop and improve educational facilities following the Civil War, SHNI was able to open on October 10 with 110 students and four faculty members. The 28-year-old old Austin College Building was adopted for the new teaching institute.
In 1882, due to a leaking roof and badly needed classroom space, a third floor was added to the building. Though it fixed both problems, architecturally the French Modern roof clashed with the Greek Classical look of the original building. Also, the original copula and Sam Houston Bell were removed and shipped to Sherman. The third floor had various functions over the years, including school chapel and office space for the Houstonian and Alcalde.
During the first eleven years, the Austin College Building was the only building of SHNI and housed everything until the Main Building was completed in 1890. It served as the science building until 1910 with the creation of the Industrial Arts Building, a training school until the creation of the Education Building, and a dorm for the Student Army Training corps from September through December 1918. The building was dubbed the Social Center in 1919, making it the first student union with the YMCA on the first floor and literary societies and clubs on the second.
Another leaking roof led to more renovations and the removal of the third floor in 1927. Culp notes that because the campus had developed south along the quadrangle, a columned portico was added the south side of the building. The cupola was not returned at this time.
The Jewel Garden was added west of the building in 1948.
Austin Hall was first air-conditioned in 1952 and awarded a State Historical Survey Committee Seal in 1965.
Culp notes in his article that
the way in which the Main Building had been sited almost on top of Austin Hall would indicate that it was thought that the small older building would be demolished in the not-too-distant future. A 1913 master plan did not include it.
By 1982, alumni offices and a faculty reception area were located downstairs with the Department of Military Science and Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) occupying the second floor. However on the morning of February 12, 1982, Huntsville awoke to find Austin Hall ablaze. A fire had broken out in the Main Building overnight that quickly spread to the neighboring building. When it was announced only one building could be saved, attention was turned to salvaging the furniture of Austin Hall. Students formed lines to move items from Austin Hall to the Women's Gym and Industrial Arts building. By the end of the day, the Main Building was gone and Austin Hall had severe roof damage though fortunately still intact.
The fire destroyed a majority of the ROTC files, furniture, and equipment as well as wiping out almost all archival information. SHSU President Elliott Bowers transferred the Department of Military Science to Randel House, which also had rooms available for ROTC cadets [1].
Over the next few years Austin Hall was restored, complete with a new cupola and thus thousands of names carved into its bricks were saved. The building was rededicated in October 1986 and is today used for various special university functions.
