LibGuides: Special Collections & Archives: Research Guide: General University History

Sources for Basic Information about Texas State University

Looking for basic information about campus? Start here! There are a wide variety of resources that provide information about overall University history - many of which are available online.

The links below provide an overview of the history and culture of Texas State University.

History & Traditions
Another page dedicated to links about campus history, including landmarks and traditions.
Fifty Years of Teacher Education: A Brief History of Southwest Texas State Teachers College, San Marcos, Texas, 1901-1951
The first of three official published histories about Texas State, written to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the date that the City of San Marcos donated the land upon which the school was built.

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This publication is also available in the Alkek Library (Floor 5) at AS36.T4 F54 1951, and in the University Archives.
Beacon on the Hill: Southwest Texas State University, 1903-1978
The second official history was written to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the opening of the school in the fall of 1903.

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This publication is also available in the Alkek Library (Floor 5) at AS36.T4 B76b, and in the University Archives.
Up the Hill, Down the Years: A Century in the Life of the College in San Marcos, Southwest Texas State University, 1899-1999
The third and most recent official history of the university was written to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Texas Legislature's Senate Bill 260 that allowed for the creation of the school. Links to most of the photos used in the book are also available at this site.

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This publication is also available in the Alkek Library (Oversize shelves, Floor 6) at LD5120.B76 1999, and in the University Archives.
Article on the history of Old Main
Originally published in Hillviews [alumni magazine], Vol. 25, no. 1, Winter 1995, pp. 8-9, & 24
Article focuses on the history of the university's first building and its importance to the campus.
Southwest Texas State Teachers College: A Documentary History, Volume 1
This is a 1939 thesis by Ruby Henderson. Topics include early history of teacher training in Texas, establishing the normal school, faculty listing, the laboratory school, management of the college, and matters regarding enrollment and graduates.
Our Texas State World (video)
View Margaret Vaverek's (Reference/Faculty Outreach Librarian and alumna) "Our Texas State World," a history of the University on the hill and how it relates to the very important topic of sustainability. (For a PDF transcript, see link at the bottom of this column.)

Our Texas State World transcript
PDF document

Things Other People Wrote About Texas State

The history and growth of the Southwest Texas State Teachers College.
A thesis done by University of Texas student John Marvin Smith, 1930.

Historical course descriptions

University course catalogs are available online through Digital Collections.

Other Historical Resources

There are a number of other historical resources available beyond the Texas State campus that may be useful when conducting research. This is a short list of select sites that have information related to Hays County, San Marcos, and our campus.