Western Maryland College - Aloha Yearbook (Westminster, MD)

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NVESTERN MARYLAND COLLEGE

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l SKETCI1 SF COLLEGE.

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esrenn nnvisnnn Qouaeee. A SKETCH. Ex arvis sae e ina naruin inoinenta rernin Jendcntf'-L1'zf f. l J the afternoon of Thursday, September 6th, 1866, the Master of Door-to-Virtue Lodge of Freemasons, assisted by his wardens, and surrounded by seventy live 5' V, of his brethren, laid the corner-stone of a building which, when Hnished, was X554 to be known as XVestern Maryland College. The crowd of citizens who were present had come together not merely to witness a novel ceremony and to listen to speeches, but to testify, by their presence, the interest felt in the inauguration of a great and beneticent enterprise. The hopes of the participants and spectators already high were lifted higher still by the breath of oratory. Prophecies of great things to come, of great works to be achieved, found ready credence, and Vfestminster already saw itself, as in a kind of beatific vision, the home of learning and the nursery of scholars. The very scene by its beauty, perhaps still more by its associations, lent encouragement to the most optimistic views Certainly the site chosen for the new college was one of unsurpassed loveliness. Itself one of the everlasting hills, lifted high above a surrounding country of rare beauty and fertility, with little Westminster nestling at its feet, while the majestic Blue Ridge loomed on the western horizon and freely gave its invigorating breezes, a spot retired yet accessible. it seemed the ideal location for a school. Then, too, the ground on which the corner-stone was laid possessed associations which seemed almost prophetic of the uses to which it was henceforth destined The old common at the west-end, the play-ground of the village children, the favorite resort of young men and maidens in search of the pictur- esque,-what more appropriate place could be selected as a scholastic home for youth? But the old common had been more than a play-ground. Here political meetings were 'wont to be held and the great questions ofifree-trade, protective tariff, internal improvements to be discussed for the enlightenment or confusion of citizens eager to learn their duties and their rights, here, annually, on Independence Day, the grove was vocal with patriotic oratory and music, while the struggles of the Republic were recounted and its future painted in glowing colors'-surely an educational work all this, even if intermittent and largely futile. Did not the ceremony of this sunny September day, twenty-seven years ago, seem to dedicate the hill, most fittingly, to the continuance, in a settled, solid way, of the work of training young people of botl1 sexes, in college walls, for the duties of citizenship which lay before them? ' . 2 5