Colby College - Oracle Yearbook (Waterville, ME)

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Iiiem nf the Qlullrge in 13911

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ir: 01 ,DYHIQQQE 20Qlo1Q4xc:I.,1:-:jf Ten years passed in comparative quiet. The small income of the College was yet suflicient to meet its wants. In 1853 Dr. Sheldon retired to resume the work of the ministry, and Dr. Pattison, the beloved president of the College in 1836-1839, was recalled to the direction of its affairs. His second term of three years was marked by the intellectual vigor and devotedness of a Christian character of rare excellence. Prof. James T. Champlin, whose textbooks on the Orations of Demos- thenes were for thirty years in general use in American colleges, was pro- moted to the presidency of the College in 1857. Some efforts were made to solicit endowment funds. The classes entering in 1858 and 1859 were unusually large, but before graduation the outbreak of the War of the Rebellion had called many into the service of the nation. Only sixty-two students remained in 1864-65. Professors Smith, Lyford, Foster and Hamlin constituted the faculty of instruction. With the invested funds reduced to 315,000 and rapidly growing less, the outlook was indeed dark. The dawn of brighter days, however, was approaching. Mr. Gardner Colby of Boston, part of whose childhood had been spent in Waterville, came forward with an offer of 350,000 on condi- tion that the friends of the College raise 3100,000. Much enthusiasm was awakened by this generous offer, and Dr. Champlin, aided by members of the faculty, canvassed the state vigorously, completing the required sub- scription in about two years. In recognition of Mr. Colby's munificent gift, the trustees obtained from the legislature in 1867 an act changing the name of the College to Colby University. Mr. Colby's gift called forth other considerable gifts. Aided by the alumni, a memorial building was built of stone in 1869 at a cost of 8,550,000 Here the library found a home especially designed for its use, though its 9,000 volumes seemed lost on the spacious shelves built to contain 30,000 in the far-distant future. The new chapel accommodations wrought a marked change in the daily' services, now held at eight o'clock instead of at six in the morning and live in the afternoon. In the Memorial Hall was placed by the alumni a marble tablet inscribed with the names of twenty College men who had laid down their lives for the Union. The commencement dinner in 1870 was marked by great enthusiasm, culminating in pledges of 350,000 for a building for the department of natural sciences, then directed by Prof. Charles E. Hamlin. The building was finished in 1872 and styled Coburn Hall. The old chapel was remod- eled into convenient lecture rooms and named Champlin Hall. The early six-o'clock recitations were abandoned. Steam heating was introduced into the renovated North College now called Champlin Hall. These improvements were made under the direct supervision of President Champ- lin and paid for by subscriptions solicited mainly by him, and yet the invested funds had increased to 3S200,000. The semi-centennial of the College in 1870 was the occasion of an address by Dr. Champlin, in which he reviewed the early history of the College and its prospective and advancement. Hon. D. L. Milliken of Waterville, a trustee and benefactor of the College, was instrumental in 23 Centennial N nmbei'

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fc CDLEYEQKQQ Qoilolqaxcl .EE obtaining from the State in 1864 a grant of two half-townships of land, the last gift from that source. In July, 1.872, Dr. Champlin tendered his resignation but remained in office at the request of the trustees one year longer, when he retired 'to devotehimself to literary pursuits. Rev. Henry E. Robins, D.D., of Rochester, N. Y., came to the presi- dency in 1873. He aroused new interest in the College. New courses of instruction were added and those long established infused with new life. The South College was renovated, the gymnasium made an important factor in college training, and the library, in the year of the great awaken- ing of library interest, was placed in charge of a paid librarian. The collection of the two literary societies, the Literary Fraternity, which was maintained from 1824 to 1878, and the Erosophian Adelphi from 1836 to 1876, were united with the College library. A gratifying increase in at- tendance followed, the highest number being 157 in 1879. On the death of Mr. Colby in 1879 the College received a bequest of EB120,000. The arduous labors of President Robins so undermined his health that he was obliged to spend the year 1880-81 in foreign travel, leaving Prof. S. K. Smith, D.D., as acting president, and in 1882 he resigned his position. Rev. George D. B. Pepper, D.D., succeeded President Robins in 1882 and administered the affairs of the College with great fidelity until failing health compelled him to resign in 1889. The average attendance during this period was about 120. Dr. Pepper developed measures for the im- provement of the work and finances of the College and advanced its repu- tation. Hon. Richard C. Shannon, who was graduated in 1862, erected in 1889 the brick building called the Shannon Observatory and Physical Lab- oratory, for the department then in charge of the eminent astronomer, Dr. William A. Rogers. President Pepper, in 1885, obtained the establish- ment of a new professorship of geology and mineralogy, to which Dr. W. S. Bayley of the U. S. Geological Survey was called. The professor of his- tory, Dr. A. W. Small, devoted a year's leave of absence to university study in Baltimore, supplementing an earlier course in Berlin. At Dr. Pepper's retirement the endowment funds had risen to S5505,767. His unexpected resignation was accompanied by a strong recommendation that Prof. Albion W. Small, Ph.D., be appointed his successor. The suggestion was at once ratified by the board of trustees and President Small, the first graduate of the College to be chosen to that oiiice, assumed his duties in August, 1889. His intimate knowledge of the conditions and limitations of the College enabled him to devise measures for improving its educational facilities and exerting a wider influence. To meet the growing demand for the higher education of young women Dr. Small conceived the plan which was at once put into successful operation of arranging for the instruction of the young women in separate classes, thus forming a co-ordinate college system. The plan of giving to the students some participation in the government of the collegiate body, proposed by Dr. Pepper, was developed and set in operation by President Small. In 1891 the number of students was 184. 25 Centennial Number