East Stroudsburg University - Stroud Yearbook (East Stroudsburg, PA)

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Seeley Rosenkrans piece of land consisting of eleven acres more or less in the Borough of East Stroudsburg in the said County of Mone roe. 3. The place where the business of the said Corporation is to be transacted is the Borr ough of East Stroudsburg in the County of Monroe in the State of Pennsylvania. 4. The Corporation is to exist perpetuallyfi N0 dividends were ever paid to the stockholders of the Corporation. To the money invested by the local business men was added a donation of a tract of land covering a little more than eleven acres. This tract of land, which became the original campus of the school, was donated by Albert W. Knapp and his Wife. An excerpt from the original deed, recorded at the Monroe County Court House July 22, 1893, follows: ikAll that certain lot or piece of land situated in the borough of East Stroudsburg, County of Monroe and State of Pennsylvania, bounded and described as follows to Wit: Beginning at a post on the east side of a proposed street to be known as Campus Street, thence along the east side of said Campus Street North eight and one'quarter degrees West four hundred feet to a post; then along a proposed street to Dr. George P. Bible

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HISTORY Millions of years ago there were no men, no women, no children, n0 schools. Ice had the lead ing role. The ice floe, moving southward, finally collapsed, leaving Monroe County covered with glacier deposits. It gradually melted away, leaving its remnants strewn across the countryside. The scarred rock which now stands on the front campus near the auditorium is visible evidence of Naturels defeat of the glacier. The first scene of our past has been played. Years go by, the stage is set, and Indians assume the lead. They move quietly across the scene, leaving behind them their homes along the Dela! ware and in the surrounding hills. A white man follows. He stops and, seeming satisfied, settles down to make his home. Others follow; among them is Daniel Broadhead, who, in 1737, buys a section of land east of the creek which now bears his name. He builds his home on a knoll rising from swampland, at approximately the present site of the General Hospital of Monroe County. His Stockade was later attacked by Indians who camped near by. But the cause of the Redman was lost, and we move on. Years pass. Now we see two adjoining towns developing economically and culturally. A few local people felt the need of an institution for advanced work beyond the schools of that time. The Reverend Chandler A. Oakes, pastor of pa pd the East Stroudsburg Presbyterian Church, enI Visioned a state normal school, which would raise the standard and character of our public schools. Late in 1891 he conferred with Mr. Seeley Rosen' krans, father of Dr. Edna L. Rosenkrans, and convinced him of the possibilities of establishing a state normal school in East Stroudsburg. T0, gether, the two men interested a small group of people. However, with few exceptions, it was very difficult to sell the idea to others of the community. In time there were enough interested people to invest money in a stock company to found the school. In all there were one hundred and ten subscribers, and the number of shares sold was three hundred and fifteen and oneehalf. The original charter reads as follows: ill. The name of the Corporation shall be the East Stroudsburg State Normal School. 2. The purpose for which the Corporation is formed is to erect a Normal School for the professional training of young men and women as teachers for the Common Schools of the State in accordance with the provisions of an act of Assembly, ap proved the 20th day of May, A.D. 1857, and its supplements in the Fourth Normal School District composed of the counties of Luzerne, Northampton, Pike, Monroe, Carbon, Lackawanna, and Wayne on a

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EARLY BICYCLISTS ON FRONT CAMPUS be known as Normal Avenue fifty feet wide, North seventy three degrees East, ten hundred and one feet to a stone, thence North seventy three degrees East, sixty two feet eight inches to a stone; then along a proposed street to be known as Ridgeway Avenue South seventy four degrees West, twelve hundred and thirty one feet to place of beginning covering eleven 51 acres. Workwas begun on the buildings in 1892, and on July 4th of that year the cornerstone was laid. According to the original charter the school was to be built in the Fourth Normal School District of Pennsylvania. Since Scranton is also located in the Fourth District, 8. group of Scrantonians de sired to have the school in that city. Much rivalry was shown between the two sections, and a com, mittee from Scranton was invited to East Strouds' burg to View the progress made in the erection of the buildings. The committee was headed by Mayor Fellows and other high ofhcials of Scran' ton. Upon returning to Scranton the committee gave a report of the visit at a meeting which was attended by interested people, including Lieu; tenant Governor Watres. Several items from the report were : b1. The location of the school was a fair one, but there was swampy land on each side of the site chosen and it was felt that more favorable grounds could have been found in Scranton. .. M 'HIW. Jrs-idb 'x? a