The German American Ladies College was constructed in 1876 and functioned for a few years as a private all-girls day school from 1877 to 1881. The college represents a period when private colleges were widespread but opportunities for higher education was generally limited to those from wealthy and middle-class families. The college also serves as a reminder of the significance of German immigration into the region and the desire of recent immigrants to create the kinds of institutions that would preserve the traditions and culture of their homeland. The college was founded by Alice Nohl and Natalie Von Schenck, and when their school closed in 1881, Anna Von Schenck Ritz maintained the home and many of her family members worked as teachers, including her daughters Helene and Maria who taught music and language courses at Austin's Stuart Female Seminary.
The George Washington Carver Museum is the first neighborhood museum in Austin dedicated exclusively to African American history. The museum and center are located next to a public library that was created in 1926 to serve the African American community of Austin in the era of segregation. That library became home to a small museum in 1980. A 1998 bond initiative led to the construction of the expansive museum next to the original library. The museum offers exhibits that share the experiences and contributions of African American residents. The museum is housed in a 36,000-square-foot facility with four galleries, a conference room, a classroom, studio, 134-seat theater, and archival space. The galleries feature a core exhibit on Juneteenth, a permanent exhibit on Austin's African American families, an artists’ gallery, and a children’s exhibit on African-American scientists and inventors.
Denoting the final resting place of Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, this grave marker includes the word "Patriot" - a tribute to a teacher, lawyer, and civil rights leader. Barbara Johns's political career began in 1966, when she became the first Black female to serve in the Texas Senate. In 1979 she retired from politics and taught at the University of Texas at Austin Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. Jordan died from multiple sclerosis on January 17, 1996 at the age of 59.
Founded in 1984, the Texas Music Museum celebrates the state's rich musical heritage. Its collection is comprised of artifacts, photographs, documents, reference materials, and oral histories. Genres covered are: Texas Historic and Patriotic, Country, Gospel, Classical, Cowboy, Big Band, Western Swing, Blues, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Jazz, Ragtime and Barrelhouse, Soul, and Popular, as well as Texas ethnic music, including Tejano, Czech, African American, German, and Native American. The museum is housed in the Marvin C. Griffin Building.
Founded in 1984, the Mexic-Arte Museum is one of the few Mexican art museums in the country. It promotes and celebrates Mexican, Latino, and Latin American culture through art exhibitions and various educational programs. Since its inception it has grown to be an important part of Austin's thriving cultural scene. The museum's permanent collection is comprised of 1,500 historical and contemporary works, the majority of which are dance ceremonial masks from Mexico. Another large portion of the collection consists of prints, featuring artists such as Alejandro Colunga, Jose Luis Cuevas, and Ernest F. de Soto. The museum, which moved to this location in 1988, also features a library that holds 5,000 books. Programs include guided tours, family days (with free admission), and printmaking classes. Around 75,000 people visit the museum each year.
In 1970, the feminist Austin Women's Organization opened the Austin Women’s Center at 711 San Antonio Street. The Center was located across the street from the Austin Woman’s Club was referred to as “Everywoman’s Center” to reflect the inclusive orientation of the founders who sought to better understand the experiences of diverse women as they explored how social norms affected women. The Women’s Center also sponsored many different workshops on sexuality, career advising, and birth control. During meetings at the Women’s Center, many women realized for the first time that frustrations and anxieties they experienced daily were also shared by many other women. Women began to link personal problems with larger social and political issues, which they then worked together to change. The Center operated throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.
The Austin History Center, one of the foremost local history collections in Texas, was founded in 1955 as the Austin/Travis County Collection of the Austin Public Library. It houses thousands of documents, photographs, maps, artifacts, and personal histories of the city and region. It contains the Austin Public Library's local history collection as well as the city's historical archives. The building originally opened as the Austin Public Library in 1933 and served as the main library until 1979. The Italian Renaissance structure is considered to be the most prominent public work of Austin native Hugo Kuehne, founding dean of the University Of Texas School Of Architecture.
Bullock Texas State History Museum was founded in 2001 by the former Lieutenant Governor Robert “Bob” Douglas Bullock, Sr. (1929—1999). It is a dynamic institution that engages visitors in the exciting “Story of Texas” through a variety of exhibits, films, and programs. The museum features Austin’s premier IMAX Theatre and The Texas Spirit Theatre, which hosts a feature presentation entitled Star of Destiny (special effect/4D theatrical experience on Texas history and culture).
Founded in 1963, the Blanton Museum of Art is one of the largest university art museums in the United States and houses the most comprehensive collection of art in Central Texas. Home to some 17,000 works, the museum is recognized for its modern and contemporary American and Latin American art, Italian Renaissance and Baroque paintings, and also its encyclopedic collection of drawings and prints. The museum also serves as a research center of the University of Texas at Austin.
The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History is one of the premier centers for Texas history and US History. The Center collects and preserves documents and artifacts of key themes in Texas and United States history and makes the items available to researchers. The Center also has permanent, touring, and online exhibits available to the public.
“More is required of public officials than slogans and handshakes and press releases. More is required. We must hold ourselves strictly accountable. We must provide the people with a vision of the future." Barbara Jordan The glass ceiling cracked in 1966 when Barbara Jordan “the voice that stirred the nation” was elected the first Black women to the Texas State Senate. In 1972, the ceiling was smashed when Jordan fought to represent Texas in the United States House of Representatives. Barbara Jordan pursued to better the lives of citizens in Texas by helping begin the first law on minimum wage. She, also, developed the Texas Employment Practices Commission; a state agency has given the task to manage and deliver the workforce development services to employers and people in search of jobs in Texas. “Their major functions of the commission include: implementing child care amenities, training and adult education, literacy services, equipping tax programs, maintaining services for people with disabilities to gain training and employment opportunities, and moreover strive for eliminating discrimination in the workplace.” Barbara Jordan also made a big leap in her career by joining the House Judiciary Committee, and developing “a national spotlight on the Watergate scandal”. In 1974, she gave a significant speech for Nixon’s impeachment for her illegal political initiatives. Jordan refused to “sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution” under Nixon’s command as President. She gave a clear definition of the role of impeachment and the importance of the check and balance system between the branches of government. In addition, Jordan stated her points about the debate of Pres. Nixon’s relation to the break-in. The nation had questions, “Did Nixon commit this crime, and will he be impeached?” Barbara Jordan gave her view in the matter, ending her televised speech with, “We know this question…”, “We should now forthwith proceed to answer the question. It is a reason, and not passion, which must guide our deliberations, guide our debate, and guide our decision.”
Located outside the Texas Federation of Women’s Clubs, this historical marker commemorates the life of Clara Driscoll, a leading donor of this organization who is best known for saving historic structures around the Alamo by purchasing and gifting land and buildings to prevent developers from building in the area. Driscoll was a woman of many talents and was a descendant of the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle fought on April 21, 1836, in which General Sam Houston’s Texian Army defeated General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s Mexican Army during the Texas Revolution. Driscoll was a businesswoman, philanthropist, and historic preservationist who served as the President of Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Jane Yelvington McCallum was one of the most prominent leaders of the women’s suffrage movement in Texas. Jane McCallum lived in this house with her husband and their five children. As a member of the Texas Joint Legislative Council, nicknamed the Petticoat Lobby, she worked for political and social reform through the Texas legislature. She was appointed to the office of Secretary of State in 1927 by Governor Dan Moody and was reappointed in 1931 by Governor Ross Sterling. While in office she discovered and had preserved an original signed copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence.
This historic house was built by Elvira T. Manor Davis (1841-1918), the widow of Blackstone H. Davis, whose family owned a prominent area quarry responsible for supplying the stone for the 1853 Texas Capitol. She purchased the land surrounding the house in 1896 and the house was completed by 1904. Design features of the house, such as the porch columnns, balustrade, and bay windows exhibit a transition from Victorian-era to classical revival design.
This museum honors the life and work of its namesake, Elisabet Ney (1833-1907), a sculptor of world renown who lived and worked in Texas for thirty-five years. Born in Muenster, Westphalia, Germany, She began working with stone at an early age; her father was a stonecutter and she helped him growing up. At the age of nineteen, she began studying at the Academy of the Arts in Munich, where she was the first female sculpture student. She was an accomplished artist before the age of thirty, having already created statues of German royalty and European statesmen. Ney bought the property in 1892 and built the studio shortly thereafter. Her friends established the museum after she passed away in 1907. The studio was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Annie Webb Blanton was a suffragist, educator, and author from Texas. She wrote a series of grammar textbooks including Review Outline and Exercises in English Grammar (1903), Advanced English Grammar (1928), and The Child of the Texas One-Teacher School (1936). She was the first woman in Texas elected to statewide office as the Superintendent of Texas Public Instruction in 1918. This historical marker was placed in her honor for her contributions to education in Texas.
This Tour is a Thematic Tour or Heritage Trail.
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This trail includes historical landmarks and museums that preserve and share the historical experience of women in Austin. The tour also includes historical markers and other landmarks related to some of the prominent women who called Austin home. The map is designed for ease of travel and does not include several landmarks beyond the selected route that are listed in Clio.
