Andrew Female College was founded in 1852 and chartered in early 1853. It was named for Bishop James Osgood Andrew and sponsored by the Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Couth, although its charter allowed no religious tests for faculty or students. The institution's first five-month session began in may 1853 in an old Huntsville College building known as "The Brick Academy." At a time when there were few educational opportunities for women, enrollment was high and classes soon outgrew the academy. Citizens of Huntsville supported education for women by contributing funds for a larger, 2-story building completed in 1855. Eighty students, primarily from Walker and surrounding counties, were enrolled in the Andrew Female College in the 1856-1857 school year. Course work included requirements for a classical education as well as moral instruction and classes in music, drawing, painting and embroidery.
The college operated without interruption through the Civil War. The 1867 epidemic of yellow fever claimed the lives of the college president, several members of the faculty and a number of students. The fall term was delayed until the first frost, which killed the mosquitoes carrying the disease.
Andrew Female College suffered from competition as other institutions such as the Sam Houston Normal Institute opened their doors to women. Enrollment declined steadily after 1872; the school was closed in 1880. The college property was conveyed to the city of Huntsville and reopened later that year as the community's first public school. The structure eventually was relocated and became a public school for African American children.
(1999)