Texas A&M–Kingsville Campus Tour

Kingsville's civic leaders won a state normal school in 1917, but World War I delayed its opening until June 1925. Under first president R. B. Cousins the campus took on a Spanish Mission Revival look, with red tile roofs, towers, and curved parapets, and the school chose the javelina as its mascot. This walk covers the historical marker and the administration tower, a regional museum in the old dining hall, a 1930s home economics house, the library archives, and the stadium where the Javelinas built a small-college football dynasty.

Few South Texas campuses look as distinctive as Texas A&M-Kingsville, with red tile roofs, towers and curved parapets that echo the region's Spanish missions. The school was approved as a state normal school in 1917 with the backing of local leaders, including the Kleberg family, but World War I held up its opening until 1925. First president R. B. Cousins set the Mission Revival style that still ties the campus together.

College Hall, the administration building, has a landmark tower whose chimes first rang in 1998. Manning Hall, with towers meant to recall the missions, shows that design at its purest.

The John E. Conner Museum began with a history professor who collected artifacts local residents brought him. Since 1976 it has filled a 1935 former dining hall with exhibits on South Texas ranching, natural history, art and culture. Sports fans will want to see Javelina Stadium, where the team won seven small-college national championships between 1959 and 1979 and put together a 42-game run without a loss or tie in the 1970s. It's a rewarding visit to a campus with a strong sense of place.