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Spirit® is published three times per year by the Texas A&M Foundation, which manages major gifts and endowments for the benefit of academic programs, scholarships and student activities at Texas A&M University.

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Also In This Issue

Final Review

What's in a Name?

The origins of College Station date from 1860, when the Houston and Central Texas Railway began laying track through the region. Eleven years later, the site was chosen as the location for the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, a land-grant school. During the administration of President Hardaway Hunt Dinwiddie (July 23, 1883 to Dec. 11, 1885), who is pictured on the cover, the railroad built its first depot in College Station and began to make regular stops. Above is a route and timetable schedule for the Houston and Central Texas Railway through Texas, published in 1885 by Rand McNally and Co., listing Wellborn, College and Bryan as stops. In 1887, the area was officially designated “College Station, Texas” by the U.S. Postal Service.