The First Building of Texas Woman's University

The first women to sit on the governing board of a Texas university helped open this hall. The Handbook of Texas names Helen M. Stoddard, Mary Eleanor Brackenridge and Eliza S. R. Johnson among the original regents of the Girls' Industrial College. In 1927 the legislature went further and required that four of the nine regents be women. The school began classes in 1903 as essentially a junior college, with 186 students and fourteen faculty, years before it carried the name Texas Woman's University.

What the plaque says

The First Building of Texas Woman's University The Girls Industrial Institute and College of Texas was created in 1901. Fourteen cities offered sites. Denton was chosen February 5, 1902. The cornerstone of this building, the first on the campus, was laid on January 10, 1903. The architecture is neoclassical revival. Classes began on September 23, 1903, with 186 students and 14 faculty members. For years this was the only academic structure. Wings were added 1916. Used as administration building until 1956, this hall housed offices of presidents Cree T. Work, 1903-10; William B. Bizzell, 1910-14; Francis M. Bralley, 1914-24; Lindsey Blayney, 1925-26; Louis H. Hubbard, 1926-50; John A. Guinn, after 1950. By date this building was finished, "The Girls Industrial College" was official title of the school. Later (1905) it was renamed "The College of Industrial Arts"; "Texas State College for Women", 1934; "Texas Woman's University", 1957; and is the only university in the United States founded expressly for women. Enrollment on Denton, Dallas, and Houston campuses exceeded 6500 in 1973. This structure, central to life of the institution, now houses archives and documents of its history. (1974) Incise on back: Sponsored by the Past President's Council of the Texas Woman's University Alumnae Association

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Denton County Courthouse-on-the-Square — 0.7 mi
  An 1896 courthouse by W. C. Dodson in Denton limestone, pink granite and two sandstones, restored in 2004, now a free county museum on a lawn holding the grave of John B. Denton.
• Wise County Courthouse — 27 mi
  J. Riely Gordon's granite Romanesque courthouse of 1895-96 in Decatur, built after fire destroyed the Second Empire courthouse and set off a fight over the county seat.

More markers nearby

• University Gardens, Texas Woman's University — 0.3 mi
• Ford, O'Neil — 0.4 mi
• Quakertown — 0.5 mi
• Texas Normal College — 0.7 mi