Schreiner University Campus Tour

Hill Country rancher, merchant, and former Texas Ranger Charles Schreiner gave land and money to found a Presbyterian school for boys at Kerrville, and the Schreiner Institute opened in September 1923 with 95 students. For decades it was a military school; drills became optional in 1957 and ended in 1971, and the school grew into a four-year college in the 1980s and a university in 2001. This short loop visits the three buildings that opened the campus, the fountain at the center of student lore, and the memorial to alumni who died in uniform.

Schreiner University owes its existence to Charles Schreiner, a Kerrville rancher, merchant and former Texas Ranger who gave 140 acres and $100,000 to start a Presbyterian boys' school. It opened in 1923 with 95 students. For almost 50 years it operated as a military institute, and that heritage is still visible on campus.

A few of the original 1920s buildings survive, designed to feel homey against the rough Hill Country. The Weir Academic Building, first known simply as the Main Building, has held the administration for a century, and a state historical marker there recounts the founding. Dickey Hall was the school's very first dormitory.

Student life shows up too, from a long-running prank tradition to a traditions council founded in 1926. The university's war memorial lists former students who died in military service, and companion monuments stand beside it. Together these sites trace how a cadet academy turned into a small liberal arts university, and the visit fits easily into a day around Kerrville and the Guadalupe River.