Texas Hall (1871-1892)
Texas Hall nearing completion in 1872, courtesy of Elizabeth Huth Coates Library Special Collections & Archives, Trinity University.
Texas Hall is the surviving architectural legacy of Trinity University, founded in 1869 in Tehuacana, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Trinity board selected the highest point in the Tehuacana townsite for its construction, situated at the southeast corner of a four-block parcel that was the heart of the Trinity University and later Westminster College campus. On May 19, 1871, the cornerstone was laid for this original portion of this large, multi-story limestone building, which, upon opening to students in 1872, housed classrooms, administrative offices, laboratories, literary society rooms, a library, and an auditorium. Construction was supervised by Rev. Alpha Young (1814-1892) and carried out by stonemason William Rees (1845-1937).
In 1885, under the leadership of President Benjamin G. McLeskey, the board of Trinity University hired Dallas architect James E. Flanders (1849-1928) to design significant alterations to the structure. These changes, begun in 1886, included the addition of two three-story rusticated limestone block towers at the east end, as well as a full fourth-story mansard-roof addition with dormer windows. A belltower was also added to the east end of the building, offering sweeping panoramic views across four counties—Limestone, McLennan, Navarro, and Freestone. These additions were completed by 1892.
Above: Texas Hall circa 1900, courtesy of Elizabeth Huth Coates Library Special Collections & Archives, Trinity University.
For nearly 150 years, Texas Hall has housed classrooms, offices, libraries, and laboratories; it has featured history and art exhibits; it has hosted thousands of lectures, graduations, weddings, funerals, religious conferences, community gatherings, plays, concerts, and ceremonies. By the 1970s, the building had suffered from years of deferred maintenance, and its new owner, Austin book dealer and publisher John H. Jenkins III, invested in its stabilization and repair. While the building was not fully restored, it bought more time for the building during the last three decades of ownership by the nonprofit Trinity Institute. But in more recent years, the roof over the auditorium collapsed, and the building is no longer able to be used.
Above: The condition of Texas Hall in 2025.
The Westminster College Alumni Association sponsored the construction of a replica of the bell tower (pictured above), which will once again crown the building after Texas Hall is restored.
