Galveston Medical College

First medical college in Texas and predecessor of the University of Texas Medical Branch, the school opened in 1865 as a branch of Soule University at Chappell Hill. Although equipment during the first session consisted of one skeleton, one obstetrical dummy, and three anatomy charts, the teaching level was high -- equal to that in most medical schools in the United States at the time. The college moved three times in eight years, but enrollment increased to 46 by 1873 and students were authorized to attend patients in the Island City Hospital. In obedience to law, all corpses were buried, but the bodies of some indigents were later disinterred by students for dissecting purposes. In 1873, the school was reorganized as the "Texas Medical College and Hospital" under the guidance of Dr. Ashbel Smith, brilliant, fiery-tempered surgeon who was also famed as a Texas statesman. In 1891, the medical branch of the University of Texas was established here with Sealy Hospital as the college teaching hospital. The red Brick building at this site originally housed the entire school. Today the medical branch has an annual enrollment of 900 and is one of Texas' leading medical colleges.

Galveston Medical College is a historical marker in Galveston, Galveston County, dedicated in 1968. It is one of 283 historical markers documented in Galveston County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 373 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.3114, -94.7790 near Galveston. The nearest cataloged historic site is Old Red, Ashbel Smith Building (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), St. Mary's Hospital, and Davidson-Penland House.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5167007471. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.