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story of Pfeuffer Hall, the first building constructed on the campus solely to
house students, mirrors both the early history and the practical nature of the
A&M College of Texas. To the casual observer, it was a fairly plain
two-story structure that had exhibited, as the late archivist and architect
Earnest Langford put it, "the character of domesticity so often found
throughout the South in antebellum days." The building was 112'8" by
48'2" constructed with solid masonry load bearing walls and wood framing.
It contained twenty-five 16-foot-square rooms. Bathroom facilities were not
added until much later.
"For sheer dignity and simplicity of design," said
Langford," Pfeuffer Hall was far and away the best of the smaller
buildings erected on the campus. Even though it was falling apart at the time
it was razed in 1954, more is the pity it was not restored to its pristine
beauty and saved to posterity."
This simple little building, located to the southeast of the
Academic Building, served for years as an example of, and monument to, the
type of "can do" spirit that grew up on the campus. From the very
beginning, the school had an enormous task and very little money. Limited
funding dictated the construction of multipurpose structures like Old Main and
Gathright Hall. Not surprisingly, students had to be housed in every available
space on campus.
This simple little building, located to the southeast of the
Academic Building, served for years as an example of, and monument to, the
type of "can do" spirit that grew up on the campus. From the very
beginning, the school had an enormous task and very little money. Limited
funding dictated the construction of multipurpose structures like Old Main and
Gathright Hall. Not surprisingly, students had to be housed in every available
space on campus.
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The story begins in 1884 or 1885 when George Pfeuffer,
president of the Texas A&M Board of Directors, reviewed the purchasing
practices of the mess hall. What he found convinced him that A&M was
paying too much for food. He vowed to take on the job and make a profit for
the school.
Pfeuffer, an eminently pragmatic man, was one of those rare
individuals who not only had unlimited confidence in his own abilities but
also the depth of experience to back up that confidence. He used his positions
on the Board (1879-1886) and in the State Senate (1882-1884) to improve
conditions at the school. In one short year, Pfeuffer's diligence in
overseeing the school's purchases produced a savings of more than $10,000 with
which he proposed to fund a new dormitory.
Pfeuffer was born in Obernbreit, Bavaria on October 17,
1830. In 1845, his father, in connection with the Society for the Promotion
and Protection of German Immigration, brought his wife and six children to
Texas. The Pfeuffer family, along with numerous other German immigrants,
landed in Galveston where they boarded a schooner for Indianola. Along the way
the small vessel was shipwrecked, dumping the family on the Texas coast with
little but the clothes on their backs.
This only seemed to invigorate them, spurring them on to an
enviable record of accomplishments in their adopted home of New Braunfels.
George became a well respected merchant and prominent member of the Democratic
Party in Texas. When someone was needed to fill a vacancy on the board of the
fledgling A&M College of Texas, his name quickly rose to the forefront.
Unfortunately for Texas A&M, Pfeuffer died suddenly of a
stroke on September 15, 1886, before he could see the project completed. It
was only fitting that A&M named the new dormitory for the man responsible
for its construction.
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