As one would expect to be the case, Sul Ross State University, named for General Lawrence Ross, is the site of this statue. It stands at the intersection of five walkways, just west of a parking lot near the southern end of the campus.
Sul Ross's family relocated from Iowa to Texas when he was only one year old, settling first in Milam County, moving on to Austin and finally settling in Waco. Experiencing his first Indian fight at a young age, he went on to join the United States Army as an Indian fighter, but not before earning a degree at Baylor and Wesleyan University. He later joined the Texas Rangers, only to resign with the coming of the Civil War.
In mid–1861 Ross enlisted in the Confederate Army as a Major, being promoted to colonel then to brigadier general in December 1863. Taking part in many campaigns, General Ross happened to be on furlough in Texas when his men surrendered. Following the war Ross farmed for eight years then became, first, McLennan County sheriff, then a state Senator for a short term, his political career culminating in his being elected Governor in 1886. During his two terms, which ended in 1891, the new state capitol was completed and the state "
attained new heights of industrial, agricultural, and commercial growth".
After stepping down as Governor Ross immediately became president of Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University). Again, under his leadership the university flourished.
Sullivan Ross died suddenly at his home in College Station on January 3, 1898. As an editorial written after his death stated, "
It has been the lot of few men to be of such great service to Texas as Sul Ross." Sul Ross State University, in Alpine, is named in his honour.
Following is the text from a plaque mounted on a boulder nearby.
Lawrence Sullivan "Sul" Ross
1838-1898
Born in Iowa on September 27, 1838, Lawrence Sullivan Ross came with his family to the frontier of the Republic of Texas in 1839. In his teens and early twenties, he was involved in frontier defense. Recognizing the importance of education, Ross attended Baylor University and received an A.B. degree from the Wesleyan University in Florence, Alabama, in 1859. From October 1859 to February 1860 Sul Ross was a Captain in the Mounted Texas Rangers and took part in the Pease River campaign. He served in the 6th Texas Cavalry during the Civil War, ending the war as a Brigadier General and commander of the Texas Cavalry Brigade. After the war Sul Ross raised cattle and farmed for several years, was elected Sheriff of McLennan County (1873-1875), was a member of the 1876 Texas Constitutional Convention and served as a state senator (1881-1883).
In 1886 he was elected Governor of Texas and, during his two terms, he championed public education and oversaw the construction of the new capitol building. In 1891 he became president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas and under his leadership that troubled institution flourished and gained respect throughout the state. When he died on January 3, 1898, Texans mourned and extolled him for his courage, his dedication to the state and his public spirit. The Dallas Morning News on January 4, 1898, wrote: "It has been the lot of few men to be of such great service to Texas as Sul Ross. . . he has. . . discharged every duty imposed upon him with diligence, ability, honesty, and patriotism." In 1917 the Texas Legislature named a newly created Normal School in Alpine, Texas, in his honor — Sul Ross Normal College which became Sul Ross State University in 1969.