Washington Square (1986)

When Nacogdoches University was chartered by the Republic of Texas in 1845, three early settlers --Haden Edwards, Charles S. Taylor, and J. R. Arnold -- donated 21.5 acres of land for the school. Known as Washington Square by 1848, the land was bounded by the present-day streets of Hughes, Mound, Edwards, and Fredonia. University trustees erected a two-story red brick Greek Revival building on the square in 1858. During the Civil War it served as a Confederate Hospital, and following the war was the site of the U.S. Army's East Texas headquarters. Later tenants of the structure included a Masonic Lodge and a Louisiana college. In 1889, in an effort to raise much-needed funds, University trustees sold the southern end of the square (between present Arnold and Edwards streets) for residential development. Christ Episcopal Church and the Old Stone Fort both stood on the square for a time. The trustees transferred the campus to the Nacogdoches Independent School District in 1904. Its educational purposes have included public schools, the first site of Stephen F. Austin State University, and the present Thomas J. Rusk Middle School. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.

Washington Square is a historical marker in Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, dedicated in 1986. It is one of 94 historical markers documented in Nacogdoches County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 232 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.6057, -94.6523 near Nacogdoches. The nearest cataloged historic site is Old Red House (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Jones, Roland, Nacogdoches University, and Blount, Stephen William and Mary Price, House.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5347012109. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.