The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, July 1960 - April, 1961 Page: 3
574 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Cass Gilbert's Old Library Building
ment agent was charged with the procedure of surveying the
site and laying out the city.1 In the mandate given him, he was
instructed to reserve certain properties to public use. Upon the
plan of the city of Austin, prepared by Pilie and Schoolfield
under date of 1839,2 a square designated as site of the "Univer-
sity" is found south of College Avenue, between West Avenue
and Rio Grande Streets, and extending south to Mesquite. Im-
mediately to the north, in like boundary, is the square of ground
designated as site for the "Academy."
Thus, in the initial stage of the journey, the germ was planted,
and the lighted torch was held aloft.
Through the days of the Republic, the turbulence of local
strife and the poverty of funds deferred the provision of public
educational facilities in any grand manner. The entry into the
United States took place, followed by the hiatus of the War with
Mexico, and still the state had far to go to reach the financial
strength necessary to the building of a physical plant to house
its educational aims. Throughout these troublous years, how-
ever, Texans preserved the torch, and in 1858, it flared again to
burn brightly upon the face of a momentous proclamation:
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
Whereas, From the earliest times, it has been the cherished design
of the people of the Republic and of the State of Texas, that there
shall be established, within her limits, an Institution of learning, for
the instruction of the youths of the land in the higher branches of
learning, and in the liberal arts and sciences, and to be so endowed,
supported and maintained, as to place within the reach of our people,
whether rich or poor, the opportunity of conferring, upon the sons
of the State, a thorough education, and as a means whereby the
attachment of the young men of the State to the interest, the in-
stitution, the rights of the State, and the liberties of the people, might
be encouraged and increased, and, to this end, hitherto, liberal ap-
propriations of the public domain have been made;
Approved February 11, 1858.8
The Civil War was brooding on the horizon, however, and
1H. P. N. Gammel (comp.), The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897 (io vols.; Austin,
1898), II, 163-164.
2Plan of the City of Austin, 1839, prepared by L. J. Pilie and Charles Schoolfield
(Map, Archives, University of Texas Library).
8Gammel (comp.), Laws of Texas, IV, loso.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, July 1960 - April, 1961, periodical, 1961; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101190/m1/17/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.