The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 93, July 1989 - April, 1990 Page: 70
598 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historzcal Quarterly
One curiosity I encountered was the old stone fort. I first saw it from
a distance, in a field near the college buildings. Only the topmost por-
tion showed, the tall grasses nearly obscuring it. What was it? I looked
and wondered and planned for an opportunity to satisfy my curiosity.
One day another girl and I pushed our way through the brush and
went to see what it might be. We were fascinated by a building that ap-
peared to be old and abandoned, made of gigantic stones with rough-
hewn doors and windows that were barred with wood. We could glimpse
through some slits pieces of what we guessed were old furnishings.
I visited there several more times, alone and with another inter-
ested friend, not realizing (city girls that we were) that insects and
snakes abounded. We were fortunate not to meet up with the snakes,
but we met up with the insects! Inquiries netted the following infor-
mation: the fort was built in 1779, was converted to a home in 1828
and subsequently to a trading post, courthouse, saloon, church, gen-
eral store, and fort, and in addition had been moved from its original
site in town.
As my worldly education continued, I discovered Stephen Austin
State Teachers College was not a girls school, but was coeducational. It
was in the center of the state near the eastern border, halfway between
Dallas in the north and Houston in the south, and the town was not
newly settled by far!
My impression of Nacogdoches as a latterday boomtown was amended
after my arrival when I learned that buildings just stayed where they
were until they crumbled with the passage of time; thus the old Main
Street was a part of history that no one considered modernizing. I was
educated about living legends and towns that grew out-not up-from
their beginnings and were not torn down to make way for the new.
Thus Nacogdoches showed its age, from the Caddo Indian Mound dat-
ing to A.D. 128o, through early Spanish mission days of 1716, to the
rambling suburban homes of the pre-World War II period.
Nacogdoches's citizens had lived under nine flags-the tri-color of
France, the flags of Spain and Mexico, the Lone Star, the Confederate
flag, and the Stars and Stripes were some of the banners that had alter-
nated and waved in the gentle breezes here. The town is the second
oldest in Texas and one of the main streets, North Street, the oldest
street north of Mexico.
So much for "boomtowns"!
Time flew by. Studying, concerns about grades, marching, strolling
through town, baseball games, swimming, socializing, and shoe polish-
ing came to an end for us after six weeks when we prepared to finish and
move on. Some days previous, rehearsals were added for the WAAC
entertainment customarily presented the evening before promotion
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 93, July 1989 - April, 1990, periodical, 1990; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101213/m1/96/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.