The 18th Texas Legislature established the school in 1887 and spent $50,000 to acquire the site and build the facility.
The school, originally named the Texas Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute for Colored Youth, opened on October 17, 1887.
In 1965, its name was changed to the Texas Blind and Deaf School, and it merged into TSD that year.
[4] The State of Texas had built 11 buildings at the site, formerly occupied by the Montopolis Drive-in Theater, for $1.5 million in 1961.
[1] After the 2000–2001 school year TSD sold this property to the City of Austin, and the two campuses were consolidated.