Alton W. Birdwell

(1870-1954) Born near Elkhart in Anderson County, Alton W. Birdwell as reared in the Piney Woods of East Texas. His early education was provided through home schooling; he earned money for later study by hand-molding clay bricks and hewing railroad ties. Birdwell attended classes at the University of Texas, the University of Missouri, and the University of Chicago. His first teaching position was at Pleasant Retreat in Smith County in 1892.

Birdwell served as principal in Tyler, superintendent of schools in Troup, and superintendent of Smith County schools. He became a professor of history at Southwest Texas State University (SWT) in 1910, and married fellow teacher Maude Margaret Shipe in 1914. He took courses in normal school administration at Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was acclaimed for his work in education theory. He earned a master's degree from Peabody in 1916 and returned to SWT as dean of the faculty.

Birdwell was appointed president of the newly-created Stephen F. Austin State Normal School in 1917. Because World War I delayed the opening of the school, he remained at SWT, serving the war effort in various defense groups. In August 1922, Birdwell and his family arrived in Nacogdoches. Delays in construction of the Austin building forced him to postpone the opening of the college in 1923; he nevertheless opened the institution in borrowed facilities. Birdwell selected the faculty, taught history, and worked with area schools to support the college. He was equally resourceful in expanding the school in the 1920s and in protecting the college from collapsing enrollment and legislative cuts during the Great Depression. After his retirement in 1942, Birdwell remained on the faculty and served as president emeritus until his death. (1999).