Austin High School, Rio Grande Campus - Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The beautiful school campus of the former John T. Allen High School and other associated, historical buildings is now used by the Austin Community College system. What had begun in 1839 as the City of Austin's plan to begin educating the children of Austin at a centralized location for various levels of schooling is still being used for essentially that same purpose today. Although it originally was a campus for elementary, junior high and high schools, the buildings have functioned as educational institutions of various levels ever since their beginnings.
This Rio Grande Campus was the second designated block of land set aside by Austin for educational purposes. The fact that this campus has continued to meet the needs of the Austin community speaks well of the original organizers and city planners.
This Texas historical marker is found at the corner of the intersection of Rio Grande Street and 12th Street. It is just past the sidewalk, behind the historical Moonlight Tower which used to provide street lighting for the neighborhood in the evenings.

Marker Number: 6416 Marker Text: In Edwin Waller's 1839 plan for the City of Austin, two blocks were set aside for schools at Rio Grande and 12th Street, then called College Avenue. The Austin School Board in 1881 authorized the use of existing school facilities on the south block to house the primary grades 1-4, grammar school classes 5-7, and high school grades 8-11. Due to increased enrollment, the school board in 1916 built the John T. Allan Junior High School on the north block. In 1925 the Austin High School was moved to this location from a campus on the corner of Trinity and 9th, where the junior high school was relocated. Additions to the complex here were completed later to accommodate the larger student body. The late 1920s was a time of increased student involvement for Austin High. During those years the Red Jackets Girls Organization and the Red Dragon Drama Club were formed and the student newspaper, the "Austin Maroon," began publication. In the 1930s the nearby House Park Athletic Fields were developed. The school name was changed to Stephen F. Austin in 1953. Used for high school classes until 1975, this site was later part of the Austin Community College system. (1981)

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