The two major university systems in Texas had slow and shaky
beginnings. The Congress of the Republic of Texas, on Jan. 14,
1839, provided for the selection of a site for the seat of
government, to be named Austin. Included in the legislation were
provisions for sites for a capitol, an arsenal, a magazine, an
academy, churches, a common school, a hospital, a penitentiary
and “all other necessary public buildings and purposes.” A
40-acre site named College Hill was also set aside for a
university, but no plans for construction were made at the time.
Congress also set aside 50 square leagues of land, approximately
221,420 acres, to endow two universities. . . . Public education
was one of the primary goals of the early settlers of Texas, who
listed the failure to provide education as one of their
grievances in the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico.
As early as 1838, President Mirabeau B. Lamar’s message to the
Republic of Texas Congress advocated setting aside public domain
for public schools. His i