{"nrhp_refnum":"12001134","name":"Austin Hall","other_names":["Austin College, Austin College Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1741 University Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Huntsville","county":"Walker County","state":"TX","lat":30.717421785000056,"lon":-95.55027340199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2013-01-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Austin Hall is a two-story Greek Revival brick college building at 1741 University Avenue in Huntsville, Walker County, Texas, designed in 1852 and completed in 1853 by Huntsville builder W.M. Barrett. It is the oldest building on the Sam Houston State University campus.","why_significant":"The nomination argues it is significant under Criterion A for its long association with higher and public education in Texas, including the state's first law school and the first tax-supported teacher training institution. It is also significant under Criterion C as a good example of Greek Revival architecture. It is described as the oldest extant college building in Texas.","narrative":"Austin Hall is a two-story red-orange brick building crowned with an onion-domed cupola and fronted by four white Tuscan columns, standing on a hilltop at the north end of the Sam Houston State University quad in Huntsville, Texas. Designed in 1852 and finished in 1853 by builder W.M. Barrett, it first housed Austin College, a Presbyterian school, and hosted the first law school in Texas in 1855. In 1879 it became the home of Sam Houston Normal Institute, the state's first tax-supported teacher training institution, and it has served the same university lineage since. The building changed over time: a third floor with a mansard roof was added in 1882 and removed in 1927, when the south columns were added, and a 1982 fire at neighboring Old Main damaged it before a restoration finished in 1985. Students have carved their names into its soft lower bricks for generations. It was listed for its role in Texas education and as a Greek Revival example.","period_of_significance":"1852 - 1962","architect_builder":"Barrett, William M. (Builder)","architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century: Greek Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Currently used for education/college; described as in very good condition with a high degree of integrity, and undergoing a restoration in 2012 that would not change the exterior.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.970031-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/0/9739/40973900/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/12001134.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12001134/98a3746d42-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12001134/98a3746d42-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Austin_hall_huntsville_tx_2014.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Larry D. Moore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Austin_hall_huntsville_tx_2014.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973900","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110002735"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/walker-county/austin-hall-12001134/"}