The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1881-08-18
WHAT AN OLD TIME RESIDENT SAYS
ABOUT THAT UNIVERSITY RESER-
yATION.

| WHAT AN OLD TIME RESIDENT SAYS
ABOUT THAT UNIVERSITY RESER-
yATION.
Rev. Edward Fontaine, who was
here when the frontier village of
Waterloo was selected as the site for
the capital city of Texas, was init
mately associated with all the early
plans of Texas III providing forpublic
free education, and for establishing
state institutions of learning. He was
an officer of the congress that made
the first provision for the university,
as well as, for time, President
Lamar's secretary, and his utter
ances upon the points pertaining to
reserving a site for, and providing
for, the university ought to set
tie the discussion attached there
to. Mr.. Fontaine, who is now
at Sewanee, Tennessee. has written
a letter to Mr.. Peter G. Rucker, of
Bolton, which has found its way into
the Houston Post. He says:
L regret to learn from you that
the fact is denied by some of the op-
ponents of the location of the uni
versity of Texas in Austin, upon the
forty acres reserved in that city for
that purpose, that any such reserva-
ton was made by the state in the
survey of this site for the capitol of
the republic.
Here, in Sewanee, without my
Journals and unable to refer to the
archives of Texas, | can not give you
reliable dates and the details of the
survey and founding of Austin by
General Lamar, in 1889. The selec-
tion of the city site, the lots for the
presidents house, capitol, and for
the first system of colleges to form
the nucleus of the state university
was made by him, and the map of
the survey was executed under his
direction. am not certain who the
surveyors and topographers were,
but L saw at the time many of them.
L think the neatest were made by a
Mr.. Sandusky for the president. He
sometime acted as his private secre-
tary when L was absent. l suppose
the original map and numerous
copies of it are in Austin.
The first public buildings were
erected that year by Judge Edwin
Waller. ..'.N.
AS the locality was far beyond the
frontier and in the Indian range,
the president, and the commission
ers appointed by him to aid him in
selecting the site for the capitol, had
to be guarded by company of
picked men from Galveston and
Harris counties, belonging to Col.
Karnes' regiment, and commanded
capitol was fortified with ditch, para
pet, wooden pickets, bastions and
cannon. 1t was not erected on the
site selected for the permanent state
house now occupied, but it was sit
uated on spot suitable for the con-
venience of the citizens whose edI-
fees were grouped around it, and
who could retreat into its fortifica-
tions for safety if the city was in
vaded by the Indians, Some of
Judge Walters operatives were
killed by the savages in spite of
Captain Wilson's precautions. When
moved with my wife into the
presidents house, as late as 1841, no
fence had been built around it, and
we never lighted candle or lamp |
before closing the window blinds |
for fear of being shot by the stealthy |
"braves" who crept down into the |
city from the mountains above il |
l.lIo1 - -
that year, among the rest three of |
them who were iudges-two of them |
Judge Smith and Judge Jayne.
An avenue 800 feet wide and a |
mile long was surveyed from the |
capitol to the university site, called |
College Hill because the first colleges |
belonging to it were intended to be |
bnilt upon this spot. The object of |
this avenue was to enable grand |
professions to march from the capi-
tol during the annual commence
ment days, as was the case i'll Colum-
bia, South Carolina, to the universi-
ty,..composed of the governor, legis-
lature, judges, military companies,
societies and orders, and private
citizens. 1t was located at the seat
of government in order that it might
be a matter of state pride; that all
the people might take an interest in
it, and if anything was wrong in its
arrangements or management it
might be promptly rectified by reso-
lutions of the committees on educa-
tion of the legislature. There were
other lots for colleges for females,
both great departments belonging
to one central university, and made
one to unity in mind and heart the
whole great state, and to preserve it
inseparable and invinci-
BILE through all time. The whole
state should unite in making Austin
the pure casket intended for this
mighty heart of the educational
system of the republic by the states
men and heroes who founded it to ,
enlighten and arm with wisdom and
virtue the future generations of the
brave and free.
May God bless all those who Ia
Dor to accomplish their wise, patri-
otic and holy design. But what
shall say of those who are trying
to make believe that these lots Of
forty acres and the first land ever
appropriated to the university do
not belong to it?
Let all land thieves place max
srs,' salary grabbers' and educa-
tional phllanthropists who are en-
1eavoring to pull to pieces, mislo- ]
,ate and misappropriate this uni I
Versity and its magnificent funds of
and and money be swept from
Texas to heaven is my prayer.
Ameni {