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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA&M Article-1TEXAS BEFORE dawn on the morning of October 4, 1876, three forlorn figures groped their way about in the inky blackness of what appeared to be a wilderness. A few minutes before, they had alighted from a train which had made a brief pause at a little flag station, and its departure had left them in darkness. Suddenly the three-they dared not separate-bumped into another wanderer. "Hey, there," one of the trio cried out. "We're students looking for that college." "Thank God," the new voice exclaimed. "I'm the presi- dent. I was looking for some students." That morning the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas opened its doors for the first time. Six students enrolled. Six faculty members were on hand to instruct them in agriculture, mechanics and military science. The opening of the college was not an auspicious occasion. The State of Texas was worrying with bigger problems. In 1876, when many firms in the East were celebrating their fiftieth anniversaries, Texas was hardly dry behind the ears. Only four years before, the railroads had gone as far north as Dallas, a trading post on the Trinity River. Dallas, the center of the new industrial Southwest today, at the time the A. and M. College opened its doors was the world's largest market for buffalo meats and hides, and hunting buffalo on the northwestern plains of the state was con- sidered one of the professions. But what Texas lacked in antiquity in 1876, it made up for in the blood that had been shed during its travail under six flags. It is the boast of a native Texan today that this state was never bought or sold, that its allegiances and its independence were earned on the battle fields by the sword and trusty muzzle-loader. Book learning had played no part in the rise of the state. A good eye at the trigger, a hardy constitution, a little natural agility and a woodman's and ear for strange noises, which was found convenient in keep- ing one's scalp attached to a skull instead of a wampum belt, were all that had been necessary to enable. the home town bov to make good in the great open spaces. The Texas A. and M. College was a gift to the state from the United States government, proffered before the scrap of the sixties. When the state finally agreed to accept it, Jefferson Davis of Confederate fame was asked to become its first president. He declined, as they knew he would, but it had been one of those never subtle rebel gestures. Under the existing circumstances, no one understands By VIOLET SHORT just why there were as many as six students matriculating in the first session. But those first six were workers. Wearing their im- pressive uniforms with miles of gold braid and flocks of brass buttons, they went out each week-end from the college doing mis- sionary work for the school, telling the peo- ple of the advantages of education. Before the year was over the enrolment had in- creased to a hundred and six. The greater number of the students were enrolled in the mechanical courses because that department had such novel and in- tricate equipment. Besides, studying agri- culture was considered rather foolish since anyone could plow, plant seeds and pick cotton. Over the state, however, there was considerable misunderstanding of that word "military". Parents of sons who were fit candidates for the penitentiary saw in the military clause a suggestion that discipline was one of the strong points of the college. During those first years, besides drawing many of the men who have been empire builders, the college drew many of the in- corrigibles of the state. The Old Boys tell tales galore of the hardships of those early days. Wild deer roamed the campus and the yell of a puma often disturbed study hours. During the first session, the commandant was shocker] to see one of the sergeants of the cadet corps, whose duty it was to bring up the rear in the march to the mess hall, suddenly sprint past the whole company at high speed. Back of him was a wolf which cold and hunger had driven to the campus in search of food. A glimpse of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas today belies its meager beginning. One has only to look at the tremendous college plant to realize that it is Final Dress Parade marks the end of four years at A. and M. Down the cheeks of the senior officers tears stream. and for manv vears has been the favorer] and favorite child of the Texas Legislature. The aggregate buildings of the three other state supported institutions-Texas University, '`hest Texas Technological and the College of Industrial Arts-do not equal in number and value those on the A. and Al. campus. When our dearest rival, the University, was housing many of her major departments in shacks, on the campus of A. and M. dormitories and administration buildings were under construction-a partiality which even the favored college was not blinded to. The college plant and equipment of the Texas A. and M. College is valued at nearly seven million dollars. It is the town of College Station, Texas. During the school terms the population of this village approaches seven thousand, and every person who lives there is either an employee or a student of the college. Militarv Walk is the Main Street of the village. Down it the feet of cadets for more than a half century have marched to their meals; tip it, they have marched to chapel. A bugle stand, midway, announces reveille, soupy, call to classes, call from classes, taps and at times silver taps. There are nearly a score of dormitories, ranging from Pheiffer and Austin halls, which date back to the seventies and which boast of "running wood and running water" (freshmen run and carry both for the upper classmen), to Puryear Hall, a recently built home for graduate students. Two structures house the State Chemist and his department. Another houses the Administration [Continued on page 1141 50 51 Guinn Hall, the chapel, welcomes rab- bis, riests, circuit rid ng Methodists, radipcals and conservatives alike. Jefferson Davis declined to be the first president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas.