In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

27 When two students from the s, Rose McCann Hall and her sister, Serilia McCann Sanford, arrived on the campus at St. Philip’s, they described the campus as “just plenty of mud and rocks.” Many years later, Eddie Harris, a student from the s, also recalled that Walters Street on the northeast side of the campus was unpaved and remained unpaved for many years. “This location was before any streets were paved. I mean it was all graveled streets. We had only three streets that were paved: New Braunfels Avenue, Houston Street and Commerce Street. Walters was a little narrow, rocky, gravel road.”  It mattered not that conveniences were few and luxuries nonexistent, St. Philip’s successfully passed through a critical year. The  Annual Report of the Council noted “through her own strenuous efforts and by the generosity of interested church people from the extremes of our nation, West and East, North and South, Miss Bowden, has made possible the enlargement of the building on the new property and the securing of funds in payment upon the purchase of the property itself.” After modest improvements, the two-story brick house became an administration building with classrooms and dormitory accommodations for twenty-five students. One of the two small frame buildings became a cottage for the teachers, and the other a kitchen and dining room for students . The school then became known as St. Philip’s Normal and Industrial School, dropping “Grammar” from the title. This was the fifth name change in the school’s history , but it was not to be the last. Both Capers and Bowden hoped that with the move, St. Philip’s Normal, Grammar, and Industrial School In , following two downtown locations and four name changes, St. Philip’s moved to the city’s Eastside, where Bowden and Bishop Johnston had secured acreage. The word “Normal” was added to its title and St. Philip’s Grammar and Industrial School became St. Philip’s Normal , Grammar, and Industrial School. Three buildings on the property, humble though serviceable, provided space for expansion and growth. Both bishops, Capers and Johnston, were instrumental in assisting Bowden to purchase the Eastside property. When they first began seeking a location out of downtown , Johnston was still active in the position of bishop but around , he began asking to be relieved of his duties. Capers, appointed in his stead, came to San Antonio in  and, in , succeeded Johnston as bishop of the diocese. Johnston, however, maintained an interest in the school until his death. The new site comprised just over four acres of uncultivated land on which there was a run-down, two-story brick house, two smaller frame buildings (each in need of repair), no paved streets, and no streetlights or sidewalks. However, the acreage provided ample land to plant a garden, which provided practical training for the students . They planted the seeds during the spring, gathered their crops during the summer months, and stored them to be consumed during the winter by both teachers and the students.  Four Acres and a New Home On March 30, 1917, lots 1 through 9 at 2120 Dakota Street on the Eastside of San Antonio were sold to Miss Artemisia Bowden for the sum of $6,076 and the school moved to its new home. 28 • Chapter 5 sale. With St. Philip’s mounting indebtedness threatening to overwhelm the school, accepting the offer seemed to be the most expedient thing to do, particularly when the clergy added their recommendation to that of the standing committee. As difficult as the decision was, when both parties, the bishops and the standing committee, recommended the sale, the offer for the LaVillita Street property was accepted. At the Sixteenth Annual Council, held in , Capers reported that since neither the diocese nor the church-atlarge had given the financial support to the school that was needed, Bowden had to take advantage of the financial assistance that Brackenridge offered. He went on to note that while this assistance was only available upon the relinquishing of the school’s relationship with the diocese , Bowden continued to remain faithful in her selfsacrificing efforts to maintain the school as a diocesan institution. Not everyone was happy with the sale, however, for it appeared to some that the diocese support and concern favored the school over the church. Milbrew Davis visited the priest in charge of the church and Leon Wood, father of a student who attended St. Philip’s. The Woods family is the...

Share