Austin Female Collegiate Institute
Louise Kelly
General Entry
Austin Female Collegiate Institute, established by Rev. B. J. Smith, was opened in Austin in 1852. Classes met in the Presbyterian church until 1855, when the school moved to a building previously used by the Austin Female Academy at the corner of Pecan (later Sixth) and Guadalupe streets. By 1856 the school employed seven teachers and had boarding students as well as day students; 125 students enrolled in 1857. The school had chiefly Presbyterian patronage but received state funds from 1858 through 1862. The institute continued to operate throughout the Civil War and Reconstruction, although enrollment fell and the faculty declined from seven to five between 1860 and 1869. The school probably closed in the early 1870s.
