Colorado College - Nugget Yearbook (Colorado Springs, CO)

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Historical ££ HEN the City of Colorado Springs was laid out by the Colorado Springs AJJ Town Company, a plot of ground containing about fifty-six acres, then far to the north of the center of the city, but now surrounded by its best residences, was reserved for a college. In 1874 Colorado College was organized and the property passed into its hands. In the same year it was opened for students under the executive direction of Rev. Jonathan Edwards. He remained with it for only one year, and was succeeded by Rev. J. G. Dougherty, who was the first to receive the title of President. He in turn was succeeded, after one year, by Rev. E. P. Penney, who occupied the office of President for nine years. During his term the first permanent building was constructed and named Palmer Hall in honor of Gen. W. J. Palmer, the President of the Colorado Springs Company, who has always been one of the most generous friends of the institution. In 1885 the office of president again became vacant and was not filled for three years. This was the darkest period in the history of the institution. Had it not been for the steadfastness and energy of a few persons who had the prophet ' s vision, the college would now be dead and forgotten. A vigorous campaign was begun in New England under the leadership of Prof. G. N. Marden ; the money necessary to pay the debts of the institution was secured ; and in 1888 Re,v. William F. Slocum, then of Baltimore, was called to the presidency. Since that time the progress of the college has been steady, and for the last few years, rapid. In 1888 the stone building now occupied as the President ' s residence was purchased. Hagerman Hall, for young men, was completed in 1889; Montgomery Hall, for young women, in 1891 ; the gym- 9

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Officers. Classes. Tine Jlrts. JHumni, Organizations. Events. Jltbletics. Publications. Literary. Calendar. Grinds. Advertisements.

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nasium, in 1891 ; the Coburn Library, the gift of the late N. P. Coburn, of Newton, Mass., and the Wolcott Observatory, in 1894 ; Ticknor Hall, for young women, in 1897, and the Perkins Fine Arts Building during the present college year. In the purchase, or the building, of these and one or two other smaller structures, about $160,000 has been expended. In addition, about $400,000 has been added to the endowment funds. About $65,000 more is now in hand with which a Science and Administration Building is to be begun as soon as the architect ' s plans can be prepared. This material growth has been paralleled by the internal development. In 1888, when President Slocum came, there were seven instructors, now there are thirty-five. Then there were twenty-five students in the college and the academy, and not one regular college student. Before the present year closes there will have been enrolled in all departments nearly five hundred. There will be granted this year thirty diplomas as against five in 1894 and eighteen last year. The class which is just completing its Freshman year numbers about sixty. But the growth in numbers has not been more marked than the growth in college spirit. Five or six years ago there was a college here only in the sense that professors heard the recitations of students in college work. But all is now changed. Every class is organized, and class spirit and rivalrv are a healthful influence. The college has taken a prominent place in inter- collegiate athletics during the last year, having won the State Championship in base-ball and foot-ball. Last spring it defeated the University of Nebraska in an intercollegiate debate. It has one of the finest glee-clubs in the West. There could not be found a college where the students are more loyal to their institution than are the students of Colorado College. The college stands above all for the pre-eminence of the religious spirit. It seeks to see the meaning of life through the eyes of Christ, to judge all things by his standards, to infuse into all human relations his spirit. In the first circular issued by the institution were these words : The character which is most desired for this college is that of thorough scholarship and fervent piety, each assisting the other, and neither ever offered as a compensation for the defects of the other. From the beginning, this has been the ambition of those who have directed its affairs, and it has always sought to accomplish this result without appealing to sectarianism. Members of the leading denominations are among its trustees and faculty. Hardly a denomination is unrepresented in its student body. Every one of the past twelve years of the history of the college has been a marked advance upon its predecessor. The year which is just closing has been in all respects the best. Never before has it had such a sentiment of loyalty behind it in the city and in the Stat e. Never before have so many W