Debbie Spies

In 1926 James Knox Walker, staff civil engineer in charge of building at A&M, and his new bride moved onto the campus of what was then known as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. The greater community, of which this small on-campus neighborhood was a part, was known simply as “College.” There was no such place as College Station, and the city of Bryan stood six miles away.

James Knox Walker Jr., the couple’s oldest child, recollects the days when professors, staff members, and their children formed a small, closely knit society “over at College.” The campus served as the children’s playground and the scene of their adventures. It also served their educational needs at A&M Consolidated School, founded in 1920. This community flourished from its beginnings in the late 1890s until 1938, when the college informed residents that it would no longer provide on-campus housing.

Over at College is a charming stroll through the past that also captures fascinating glimpses of the social structures, institutions, mores, and daily lives on the A&M campus during the 1920s and 1930s.