Mansfield University - Carontawan Yearbook (Mansfield, PA)

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On December 12. 1862. the day alter a group ol examiners had met at Mansfield and reported favorably, the institution became the State Normal School of the Fifth District. The Normal School was officially opened as such in September. 1863. Although financial embarrassment was not immediately relieved, the first of many state ap- propriations, this one totaling five thousand dollars, was made in the winter of 1863. On July 13. 1864, Professor Fordyce A. Allen, for six years in charge of the Chester County. Pennsylvania. Normal School, became the principal of Mansfield State Normal School. (The first two principals of the Mansfield Normal School were the Reverend Edwin E. Wildman and the Reverend W. D. Tavlor. I To the efforts of Professor Allen, the school owes much for its growth and eventual prosperity. Simon B. Elliott, at that time president of the Board of Trustees, said this of Mr. Allen in an address delivered many years later in Alumni Hall: The deplorable condition of things was no terror to him. and in fact, rather suited him . . . Though not a college graduate, he was an educated man in the true and full sense of the word . . (He) lifted the school up to the place and horizon it has since maintained. One of Professor Allen ' s early accomplishments at the school was the planting of trees and shrubs around the now completed Normal building. Each of the early classes thenceforth planted a class tree, and many early teachers planted individual trees as memorials to their connections with the school. Most of the students in that early day. and for quite some time to come, took the Elementary Course, although the Scientific and Classical Courses were also offered. The Music Department, under Professor J. C. White, is mentioned in the first Normal School catalogue (1864-65). The Model School, offering facilities for practice teaching, was already in operation by 1866. Most of the teach- ing there was done by the graduating class of the Normal School. Eleven men and three women received diplomas at the first annual Normal School Commencement on June 28. 1866. Fordyce A. Allen, who had been in poor health, resigned as principal on February 16. 1869. He was. however, to return eight years later. What was life at the Normal School like in those early years? Joseph C. Doane. a member of the faculty from 1873 to 1881 and principal in 1880. gave his impressions many years later. Until 1874, he remembered, the entire school was located in the one building that was then known as the Normal building and was later called South Hall. (The evergreen trees around the building, a few of which remain today, were then no more than ten or twelve feet high. The space now occupied by Alumni Hall. North Hall, and the rest of the front campus was bare of trees and buildings. On the first floor of the Normal building was located the dining room. (Regarding this, the early catalogues note: The boarding hall is so arranged that students are grouped in families of ten or twelve at the tables . . . Each table has an equal number of each sex alternately seated around it. ) A rudimentary library and three or four classrooms were also on the first floor. The second floor housed the chapel, the principal ' s office, a few dormi- tory rooms, and most of the classrooms. The third and fourth floors consisted of dormitory rooms, the ladies occupying the southern half of the building and the gentlemen the northern half. On each of these floors, the rooms were heated by small wood stoves and lighted by kerosene. They opened into a central hall, heated by a large coal stove. Furniture was scanty and rude compared with that of a later day. Behind the Normal building was a rude wooden gymnasium, partially equipped with huge weights and other devices. Chapel exercises were held in the morning and evening for many years. Professor Doane recalled that interesting topics of the day were often discussed by faculty members or selected students. The presence and growth of the Normal School was a great stimulus to the life of the community. During Pro- fessor Allen ' s first five-year administration. Mansfield had increased in population from three hundred to six hundred. Although Professor J. T. Stret was chosen principal on May 20, 1869, his health never permitted him to assume the duties, and he died in November. Charles H. Verrill, who had been acting principal, was named principal in January, 1870. By 1872, D. C. Jewitt was principal of a State Normal Academy at Mansfield, divided into vocal, theoretical, in- strumental, and aesthetical departments.

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c v Unfortunately, the building cost more than had been anticipated, and a debt was incurred to raise the extra money. The building was finally completed. On January 7, 1857, this institution opened its doors for the first time. One hundred and five students were enrolled at the new seminary. The second term began in April with an enrollment of one hundred and fifty students. Then, disaster struck. On April 22. the building caught fire and burned to the ground. The founders were determined, however, to start anew. That same night, while the tragic blaze was still in progress, the school ' s promoters pledged four thousand dollars toward the erection of a new building. Simon B. Elliott, who was to serve the school for many years, drew the plans for a four-story brick building and construction began. Most of the building ' s first story had been completed by September. This, however, was the year of the Panic of 1857, and economic conditions grew unfavorable. One insurance company in which the seminary had invested collapsed, while another refused to pay. Because the trustees were unable to pay the contractors, con- struction ceased. There was no more construction until August of the following year. It was thought that the East Genesee Conference might help the school. The members were invited to a free dinner on August 20, 1858, on the Island (now Smythe Park I. Crowds of people came to the event on special trains, but only three members of the conference appeared. They told the school leaders that the seminary could not expect aid from the conference. Help would have to come, it was realized, from the people of Mansfield itself. When the sun set that evening, those at the dinner had subscribed over four thousand dollars to be paid in labor, board, grain, provisions, saw- ing, lumber and cattle. Construction of the building resumed immediately. The first and second stories, and a good portion of the third, were completed by the time cold weather set it. Yet, there was no money on hand; debts still totaled eight thousand dollars, and from three to four thousand dollars were needed to complete the building. Work, however, was resumed in April, 1859. It was even possible to reopen the seminary in the partially com- pleted north wing on November 23. Only thirty students enrolled. Then arrived the period in the history of the seminary when it came under the domination of men who were less concerned about the school ' s welfare than about their own monetary interests. All but four of the old officers were retired at the annual election and a new building committee was appointed. To the new general agent and manager of the institution, all assets, debts, and subscriptions were assigned. Repeatedly during the next months, the school almost came up for sheriff ' s sale. In April, 1861, however, the incumbent principal, who had been in office for nine months, resigned, and was succeeded by the Reverend Edwin E. Wildman. Most of the old officers were restored in November. Unfortunately, some of their predecessors had been financially ruined by their venture and held a number of judgments against the institution. Because of this it seemed certain that the seminary would pass into the hands of receivers. SIXTY-FOUR YEARS OF THE NORMAL SCHOOL Fordyce A. Allen was not the first principal of the Normal School, but it was he who really put the institution on a firm basis. Here he is, shown with his faculty members. At this time, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was launching a teacher-training program in accordance with the Public School Act. Two state normal schools had already been established, at Millersville and Edinboro. This promoted the idea of having the institution at Mansfield also recognized as a state normal school. Simon B. Elliott worked hard in the state legislature for the attainment of this goal during the winter of 1861- 62. On July 6, 1862, the trustees at Mansfield unanimously voted to apply to the state for normal school recognition. 1 1

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Sl Mj Dr. Samuel H. Albro became principal in 1892, at a time when the Normal School was undergoing a rapid expansion. By September, 1873, when the Reverend Dr. Jason N. Fradenburgh succeeded Professor Verrill, Mansfield ' s population had reached one thousand. The rhost important event to occur during Dr. Fraden- burgh ' s administration was the erection, in 1874, of the second brick building on the campus. The dining hall was transferred to this new four-story building, which also became the women ' s dormitory and was the fore- runner of today ' s North Hall. The old Normal building continued to house the men. I In the photograph shown inside the front cover, the new building is shown at the left, the old building at the right. The picture was taken before the balcony had yet been built onto the new women ' s dormitory. The white schoolhouse, built in 1838, is still standing.) Charles H. Verrill was elected principal for a second time in September, 1875. Then, in September, 1877, Fordyce A. Allen returned to the principalship. When the new women ' s dormitory was finished in 1874, the Model School, open to a limited number of children under fourteen, took a suite of rooms in the building. In 1877, it was announced that the school would be com- pletely reconstructed, no pupil to be received for less than one year. During his administration, Professor Allen succeeded in having a law passed in the state legislature that no intoxicating liquors could be sold, or billiard tables kept, within two miles of the Normal School. At this time, all prospective graduates took what were called the State Board Examinations, which were given orally and covered a student ' s entire work at Mansfield. The earliest Normal School Commencements were held in the school chapel. After the completion of the present Methodist Church building in 1872, they were usually held there until Alumni Hall was built. In the early days, each member of the class wrote and delivered an original oration or essay. Fordyce A. Allen died an untimely death on February 11, 1880. Because of his work, the school had been placed on a firm foundation. As a result, it was now ready for the tremendous expansion that it was about to undergo. Professor Joseph C. Doane served as principal during the remainder of the 1879-80 school year. In September, 1880, the principalship was assumed by Dennison C. Thomas, who was recognized as an executive, financier, and scholar. At that time, there were still only two good buildings on the Mansfield Campus, the old and yet unremodeled South Hall and the original North Hall. During the administration of Dr. Thomas, however, a tremendous construc- tion program was launched. When Dr. Thomas left in 1892, after twelve years as principal, the face of this campus had been almost completely changed and it had begun to take on the appearance of modern Mansfield. The first of these chan ges was the erection of Alumni Hall, begun about 1884 and completed in the spring of 1886. The building, named after the Alumni Association, which donated the bell, was to house for the next forty- three years the school auditorium. It was here that the Normal School commencements were held. Over the years, Alumni Hall also served as a building for college classes, for the Model School, and for a time, the junior high school. With its high towers overlooking the college and the town, the new building presented a striking appearance, practically unchanged down to the present day. In 1888, the old Gymnasium was built. Its principle feature was its large drill hall, in which the ladies were drilled in light training and the gentlemen in military discipline and tactics. After half a century as the Gymnasium, this building is still in active use as the Student Center. 13