 he story of how Texas A&M came to
be located in Brazos County is a wonderful mixture of both fact
and legend. To gain a little of a flavor for the events one
has to go back to post-Civil War Reconstruction Texas. It
was a time of graft, corruption, carpetbaggers and Radical Republican
rule. When combined with the trials and tribulations of frontier
Texas, it made for "interesting" times. It was amid this
political turmoil that Texas began its first adventure with public
higher education.
The passage of the organization bill by
the Texas House on April 17, 1871 assured the official
establishment of the school. Governor Edmund J. Davis appointed a
three-man commission to locate a site and construct the school by
July 23, 1871. Although they were armed with a $75, 000 appropriation,
there was no possible way in which they could accomplish the task
in the allotted time. In addition, Davis decreed that
the commission, ultimately made up of John G. Bell, F. E. Grothaus
and George B. Slaughter, serve without compensation. This
was not to be the case.
The commission first visited sites in
Grimes County (Kellum Springs and Piedmont Springs) and then, on
June 13, arrived near the small, rough and tumble, frontier town
of Bryan in Brazos County to inspect what would become the
location for the A&M College of Texas. The good citizens
of Bryan royally entertained the commission and intimated that as
much as $30,000 might be donated to the project. The
commission then moved on to Bellville in Austin County, the home
of commission member Bell. Surviving documentation indicates
that there was a vigorous political struggle going on behind the
scenes over the location of the new school. To some it
appeared as if a site near Bellville had been preordained and that
the other site visits were, at best, made for the sake of
appearances.
Documentation of the
competition for the college is almost non-existent, making Brazos County's
endeavor seem all the more organized. Brazos County
entrepreneur Harvey Mitchell led the citizen's effort Often referred
to as the "Father of Brazos County," Mitchell was
born at Cornersville, Tennessee in 1821. An adventurous
spirit brought him to Texas in 1839 where he got his start serving
with the frontier defense forces of the Republic of Texas.
In 1842 he moved to the newly organized Brazos County. He
taught school. served in numerous county offices, operated a
gristmill and acquired large land holdings. Perhaps the best
known man in the county, it is not surprising that he was named to
a committee, along with William A. Saylor and Judge Spencer Ford,
to follow the commission to Houston.
At this point, the actual events that led to
locating the school in Brazos County became so clouded that it is impossible
to tell what actually happened. What is known is that the commissioners
retired to Hutchins House in Houston. On June 20, 1871 the
bids were opened and the site was awarded to Brazos County, though
it was reportedly not the "best" of bids.
Since A&M's earliest beginnings it was
rumored that during the bitter wrangling in Houston over the
location of the school, a decision was made among the competitors
to play one hand of poker for the school. Whether true or
not, it certainly makes for a great Texas-style story.
Mitchell and Saylor traveled to Houston several days before the
formal opening of the bids. Saylor then left early, leaving
Mitchell to contend with powerful but unnamed competition.
It may have been an indication that the decision had already been
made. In any case, Mitchell has from the very beginning been
given the credit for securing Texas A&M for Brazos County, an
accomplishment in which he took great pride. He certainly
never denied being a good poker player.
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