Ursuline in San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Old Ursuline Academy
Photographed by James Hulse, December 30, 2022
1. Old Ursuline Academy Marker
Erected 1962 by State Historical Survey Committee. (Marker Number 3828.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Education • Religion & Religious Structures • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1851.
Location. 29° 25.865′ N, 98° 29.556′ W. Marker is in San Antonio, Texas, in Bexar County. It is in Ursuline. It is at the intersection of Augusta Street and Giraud Street, on the left when traveling south on Augusta Street. The marker is located on the west section of the college campus and on the right side of the entrance to the chapel. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1851 Augusta Street, San Antonio TX 78205, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in South Texas. It is also in the American South. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Republic of Texas, and one of the Confederate States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker
this page online
Another marker is no longer nearby. Site of Rincon/Douglass School (was about 600 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
More about this marker. The round Texas State medallion that is suppose to be above the text plaque is missing.
Also see . . . Ursuline Academy, San Antonio. Texas State Historical Association
Seven Ursuline Sisters from New Orleans and Galveston, headed by Sister St. Marie Trouard, arrived in San Antonio on September 14, 1851, to start a girls' school at Bishop Jean M. Odin's request. On November 3 Ursuline Academy opened classes. It was then the second oldest school in Texas. The original convent, built in 1851 on the San Antonio River(Submitted on January 6, 2023, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)at Augusta Street, is believed to be the oldest surviving example of pisι de terre work in Texas and is attributed to architect Jules Poinsard. The first native of San Antonio to become a professed member of the Ursuline community was Sister Magdalen de la Garza, descendant of original Canary Islanders who settled in San Antonio and daughter of Josι Antonio de la Garza. Sister Magdalen became an early director of the school. According to a nineteenth-century history, by 1887 Ursuline Academy drew students "from all parts of western Texas and Mexico" to its "accommodations for seventy to eighty boarders . . . with the unqualified endorsement of the parents and guardians," who found "the facilities, equipment, site, buildings and instruction first class."Photographed by James Hulse, December 30, 20222. The Old Ursuline Academy Marker on the chapel
Photographed by James Hulse, December 30, 2022
3. The view of the Old Ursuline Academy Marker and the chapel
The marker is located on the chapel just to the left of the gate.
Courtesy of University of Texas San Antonio Libraries Special Collections, circa 1877
4. Ursuline Academy, San Antonio, Texas, ca. 1877
Photograph shows looking east on dirt street (later Giraud Street) towards chapel at Ursuline Academy on Second Street (later Augusta Street)
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Unmounted print made for stereograph. - UTSA Libraries Special Collections
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 6, 2023, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 975 times since then and 71 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 6, 2023, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. 4. submitted on January 7, 2023.
