Colby College - Oracle Yearbook (Waterville, ME)

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ic CL,l73Y1l,jQiW20lIO1N.l6kCI ,Fig Ellyn Qlnlhg Rlunmzr Assnriatiun MABEL DUNN LIBBY, ' President FLORENCE E. DUNN, '96 First Vice-President ETHEI.. MERRIAM VVEEKS, '14 Second Vice-President GRACE WARREN ATCHLEY, '03 Secretary MARY PHYLLIS ST. CLAIR, '13 T1'easzu'e'r JENNIE M. SMITH, '81 Emecutizze Committee 03 HARR CLARA P. MORRILL, '94 Necrologist HARRIET N. PARMENTER, '89 Colbfiana Alumnae Editor ETHEI. MAY RUSSELL, '00 Alumnae Connell IET VIGUE BESSEY, '97 LOUISE HELEN COBURN, '77 HARRIET VIGUE BESSEY, '97 ROSE ADELLE GILPATRICK, '92 EDITH WATKINS CHESTER, '04 EVA PRATT OWEN, '14 ETHEL KNOWLTON DEAN, '09 17 Centennial Number

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pcgiaifjsiijl IQKW 20 ,ll close II .lic Qlnlhg Glnllege 1820-1902 by EDWARD W. HALL, LL.D., Librarian and Registrar in 19025 1902-1920 by THE EDITOR Colby College originated with the Bowdoinham Baptist Association, which in 1810 appointed a committee to consider the propriety of peti- tioning the legislature of Massachusetts to incorporate an institution in the district of Maine for the purpose of promoting literary and theological knowledge. Similar action was taken in 1811 by the Lincoln and the Cumberland Associations, and a petition prepared by the joint committees was presented to the Senate of Massachusetts by Rev. Caleb Blood in 1812. This petition stated that although the Baptists were undoubtedly more numerous in the district than any other denomination, yet they had no Seminary over which they had any control, and in which their religious young men might be educated under the particular inspection of able men of the same sentiments. This first petition for incorporation was not successful. The follow- ing year Rev. Daniel Merrill of Sedgwick was appointed to present a second petition and succeeded in obtaining a charter, approved February 27, 1813, for establishing a Literary Institution for the purpose of educat- ing youth, to be called and known by the name of the Maine Literary and Theological Institution. The title given was at that time a favorite designation attached to many seminaries of learning in which collegiate and theological classes were united. The trustees named in the charter soon organized with Rev. Sylvanus Boardman as chairman and Rev. Otis .Briggs as secretary, and entered upon the preliminary work of securing a suitable location for the Institu- tion. By a resolve dated February 15, 1815, township No. 3, originally purchased from the Indians, and embracing the territory now occupied by the towns of Alton and Argyle on the west bank of the Penobscot river, was granted to the Institution. This township had been selected by the trustees as the best selection, in their opinion, that can be made from the unlocated lands of the commonwealth for the establishment of the Institu- tion. It yielded an excellent growth of timber, the sale of which main- tained the young seminary for many years. The plan of locating the Institution on the very township granted was found impracticable, and in 1816 the legislature granted permission to locate and establish the build- ings in any town within the counties of Kennebec and Somerset. The corporation appointed a committee in 1817 to visit Farmington, Bloomfield and Waterville, towns which had expressed a desire to have the school, and eventually decided in favor of Waterville. The town authorities pledged three thousand dollars and the citizens subscribed two thousand in aid of the enlerprise. A tract of land eighty-six rods wide, extending from the Kennebec to the Messalonskee, was purchased of R. H. Gardner in 1818 for iB1,797.50, which amount was contributed by citizens of Waterville. This lot, contain- ing 179 acres, was afterward increased by the purchase of the Briggs 1.9 Centennial Number