Auburn University - Glomerata Yearbook (Auburn, AL)

Page 11 text:

SDF.. ,AND ONSTRUCTIQN of the East Alabama Male College i , was begun in May, 1856. On October 1, 1859, the college 1 opened under the presidency of the Reverend William Jere- miah Sasmett. There were five members on the original gifs- A faculty. The college enrollment was 80 and 113 pupils at- tended the preparatory department. College life was made up of a liberal arts curriculum heavy on Latin and the classics, with social life centering around the literary societies. These organizations fulfilled the function of fraternities, student activities, student competition, and every phase of extra-curricular activities. At that time there were two literary societies, the Witt Society and the Websterian Society. Each had a suite of rooms on the third floor of College Building. Almost everyone belonged to one of the societies, which stayed in existence until the 192O's. The college had barely begun when the Civil War started. Except for the preparatory department, the college suspended in 1861. Although Auburn was visited twice by raiding parties, the college building was never touched. From 1864 to 1866 this building was used as a hospital where sick and wounded soldiers were nursed by the women of Auburn. .'fff'fV-, ., .KW . '.'- ,7, sw lj X S I 0 .T ' Ag .l 1, 'HM I ex X XX' 7X SA SN E TT 1856-1866 East Alabama Mole College becomes the first scloool in Auburn . X f f K fl f , 'NN, ax f - X ,V I i I or N, N X 1 1 . f , -.f-.f X 1 Original college building constructed in 1859. Burned 1887, re- l:uilt1888. Now named Samford Hall. I I ll .

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An early view of the Thomas Hotel and the jones Hotel on North College, as taken from the Water tower. A town is oundeo' . LTHOUGI-I little record exists of the early days, we know Auburn was founded in 1836 by judge John T. Harper. As he and his son, Tom, were returning to Harris County, Cy-f j,4ac.9A Georgia to bring their family and possessions, they chanced to stop for the night at the home of a Mr. Taylor. While a tentative name of Geneva had been proposed for the new settlement, no decision had been made as yet. Tom spoke of the matter to Lizzie, the fifteen year old daughter who was later to become his wife. Won,t you propose a namew, Tom asked. Auburn!',, she exclaimed, Name it Auburn! 'Sweet Auburn, Loveliest Village of the Plain'! As the story has been handed down, straws were drawn for Geneva and Auburn, and Auburn was selected. Because the state University of La Grange- College was located in north- west Alabama, the people of this area began at First dreaming and then plan- ning a male college for men to be built in East Alabama. In December, 1854, a delegation from Auburn presented to the Methodist Conference in Talla- dega a memorandum asking that body to consider the advisability of establish- ing a college for men in this part of the state. There was a definite need, so the conference approved the idea. Auburn was chosen as the site of the new college because the railroad ex- tending from Atlanta by way of Montgomery to Pensacola ran through the town. This site was also selected because there were no saloons in the town and this area was not served by a college.

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M College offllellmmel ouneleez' under Land-Grant Act . raii' 39-'W LJ im'f'.5 We I N DO W D E L L 1866-1870 mf lbgfisil, ff HE war over, the college reopened with great urgency and - carried on without adequate funds. The Conference's vari- , ous plans to raise funds and increase enrollments were with- ' out success. For six years, under the presidency of Dr. James D Ferguson Dowell, faculty and students sacrificed and car- ried on. During this time events were pointing toward a solution to the collegeis di- lemma. In 1868 the Alabama Legislature accepted the provisions of the Mor- rill Act, which provided a federal grant for support of a land-grant college in Alabama. The State had funds for support of a college, but none ofa build- ing, the Conference had a college, but no funds to support it. This Auburn transfered to the state as a land-grant college. When the college opened in the fall of 1872, it was in its new role as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama. In this new role Auburn strived to be of service to the people of Alabama by helping them find better ways of living and working. The central purpose of the land-grant college act was: higher education for the industrial classes. This new type of education was not vocational training. It was academic and cultural. The new curricula included many subjects which emphasized good citizenship and the good life. Coordination of the old liberal arts curricula with the new technical scien- tific aims was difficult. It proved an impossible task converting a college of the classical tradition into a genuine agricultural and mechanical college. To dem- onstrate the best methods in agriculture, farms were established at Auburn and in the Tennessee Valley. Dr. William L. Broun was made president in 1882 on the resignation of Dr. Isaac T. Tichenor. His first year showed the difficulty that faced the college in trying to coordinate the old liberal arts and its new scientific-vocational aims.