Carroll College - Hilltopper Yearbook (Helena, MT)

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City of Helena in 1886. Arrow points to site of future Carroll College. 20 Chemistry lab and students in the teens.

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GENESIS The pioneer facility and students, 1910-1911. On September 27, 1909 on an empty Capitol Hill in Helena, Montana, the corner-stone of St. Charles Hall was laid and Mount. St. Charles College began to take shape. Bishop John Patrick Carroll and President William Howard Taft presided at the exercises. Bishop Carroll brought to reality the dream of his predecessor. Bishop John Baptist Brondel. On this September day Bishop Carroll expressed the aim of this college in the following words: To give young men (and women) of Montana a thorough and liberal education which will fit them for leadership in any vocation they may choose, and at the same time surround them with a religious atmosphere that they may ever follow conscience as their king. Knowledge and virtue are the armor with which Capital Hill College shall strive to equip its students. A year later on September 22, 1910 Mount Saint Charles College opened its doors for classes. Initially the school served mainly as a high school. In September, 1912, however, Patrick F. McVeigh enrolled and in 1916 he became this school's first college graduate. Also, in 1916 the college was incorporated under the laws of the state of Montana. With this act the school grew and more courses and facilities were demanded. In 1917, pre-professional courses were added to the liberal arts curriculum. 1917 also marked the schools first expansion of facilities. A gymnasium with chemistry laboratories was erected. 1918 found Carroll serving as a camp for the training of young men for the army. These men attended college and at the same time they were receiving military training in case they were drafted. With the termination of the war Carroll returned to the regular education of young men. 19

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World War I saw more than the football team on the athletic field. ROARING 20’S—TIME OF PROSPERITY With the advent of the 1920s there existed a need for more room. The South Wing of Saint Charles Hall was added in 1923. The new addition served as a residence hall and library. Fourth and Fifth South would not be finished until 1948 and Third South was the only residence area. Saint Charles Chapel was built on Second South. The twenties also found Mt. Saint Charles gaining more recognition for her academic achievement. In 1924, the College was approved and registered by the Board of Regents of the University of New York. The College's fame and respectability was growing. The era was aiso marked by sadness and great loss to the Montana Catholic Community. On September 3, 1925, Bishop Carroll, founder of Mount Saint Charles College passed away. His fame was noted throughout the state as he had firmly established the institutions of the Catholic Church not only throughout Western Montana, but erected the great Cathedral of Saint Helena and the college in a predominately Masonic area. The presence of the church could not be ignored. The college lost a great friend, but his contributions will always be remembered. After long somber funeral rites in the Cathedral that he built, the remains of Bishop Carroll were laid to rest in Resurrection Cemetery next to Bishop Brondel. Seven years following his death, in 1932 the name of Mount Saint Charles College was changed to Carroll College in honor of John Patrick Carroll, second bishop of Helena. The college continued to prosper through the twenties, but hard times rapidly approached, culminating in the stock market crash of 1929. The following decade would determine the survival of Carroll College. 21