FREDERICKSBURG COLLEGE. Fredericksburg College was founded in 1876 by the German Methodist Church of Fredericksburg. Its original purpose was to teach adult students, but financial difficulties soon forced the college to admit students of all ages. Total enrollment at the college was about 150, including some boarding students from Houston, Galveston, Llano, and Mason. W. J. R. Thoenssen, the first principal, was succeeded by Charles F. Tansill. Courses were offered in the arts and sciences, with emphasis on foreign languages. When the college was discontinued in 1884, the building and property were sold to the Fredericksburg Independent School District.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ella Amanda Gold, The History of Education in Gillespie County (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, 1945).

Clinton P. Hartmann