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 Washington Square
N 31° 36.346 W 094° 39.135
15R E 343262 N 3497923
One of six historic markers at the former campus of the Old Nacogdoches University, this marker relates to the general history of Washington Square and its use as a school campus from the 1840s-today
Waymark Code: WMXER6
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/03/2018
Views: 4
The Old Nacogdoches University was chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas to fulfill settler's ideals and desires for higher education opportunities in East Texas.
Known as "The mother of education in Texas," the main building and other buildings around it were used for educational purposes until the 1930s.
The Old Nacogdoches University building has served as a museum since the 1960s, and is listed on the US National Register of Historic Places.
There are six historic markers on and close to the old Nacogdoches University building. The waymarked historic marker is the large black plate marker for Washington Square along Arnold Street on the south side of the Washington Square.
Marker Number: 12109
Marker Text:
When Nacogdoches University was chartered by the Republic of Texas in 1845, three early settlers --Haden Edwards, Charles S. Taylor, and J. R. Arnold -- donated 21.5 acres of land for the school. Known as Washington Square by 1848, the land was bounded by the present-day streets of Hughes, Mound, Edwards, and Fredonia.
University trustees erected a two-story red brick Greek Revival building on the square in 1858. During the Civil War it served as a Confederate Hospital, and following the war was the site of the U.S. Army's East Texas headquarters. Later tenants of the structure included a Masonic Lodge and a Louisiana college.
In 1889, in an effort to raise much-needed funds, University trustees sold the southern end of the square (between present Arnold and Edwards streets) for residential development. Christ Episcopal Church and the Old Stone Fort both stood on the square for a time.
The trustees transferred the campus to the Nacogdoches Independent School District in 1904. Its educational purposes have included public schools, the first site of Stephen F. Austin State University, and the present Thomas J. Rusk Middle School.
Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.
Incised on base:
Marker sponsors: Heritage Club of Nacogdoches
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