St. Mary's College

(1852 – 1966) Established in 1852 in frontier San Antonio by 4 members of the Society of Mary: Brothers Andrew Edel, John Baptist Laignous, Nicholas Koening, and Xavier Mauclerc--all natives of France. Construction of this building began in fall, 1852, and its doors opened March 1, 1853, to more than 100 students of all creeds. Structure then had 4 rooms. Late in 1854 brothers Eligius Beyerer and Charles Francis joined the faculty. Francis, known as "The great builder", devoted 54 years of his life to San Antonio and finished the building of the college. By 1870 it was a well-proportioned structure of rough limestone, typically Eropean in Style. Once the largest building complex in San Antonio, St. Mary's College educated many prominent south Texans, including 8 mayors of San Antonio. From 1934 to 1966 the buildings housed St. Mary's University School of law, which,under Dean Ernest A. Raba, became a leading legal institution of the southwest. St. Mary's is the only college to have served the city for 113 consecutive years. After 1966, when the building was acquired by La Posada Motor Motels, a 6-story addition was built at the rear and the exterior made Spanish in style.

St. Mary's College is a historical marker in San Antonio, Bexar County, dedicated in 1969. It is one of 239 historical markers documented in Bexar County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 542 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.4256, -98.4904 near San Antonio. The nearest cataloged historic site is Brady Building--Empire Theater (historic place), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Majestic Theatre, San Antonio Loan and Trust Building, and City Public Service Company Building.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5029003819. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.