Illinois Wesleyan University - Wesleyana Yearbook (Bloomington, IL)

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if 5,335 5 t - 'M Duration Ql.A.A.J basement once had an imposing brick superstructure known as 'lMain Hall. Its towers were modified about 1900 Ccf. p. 175 after a severe storm blew down the center one. The name of the building was changed to uHedding Hall in March, 1931, in honor of Hedding College, Abingdon, Illinois, which transferred its endowment and annuities to this university in December, 1950, after Wes- leyan's trustees had formally adopted its alumni in June, 1928. The courageous and irrepressible Rev. Peter Cart- wright, pioneer Methodist circuit rider and saddle- bagger, was no doubt the most picturesque of the Wfesleyan founders. He seems to have been largely responsible for bringing the embryo institution, at first a community proposition, under the patronage of the church. A man of little formal training, he worked tirelessly and gave considerable money to aid the cause of Christian education in or at the edge of the wilderness. He served as a trustee for 17 twenty-one years, till 1871. In other words, he almost died in office. His defeat of Abraham Lin- coln as one of a group of candidates for a seat in the state legislature puts a political halo on this very individualistic worker in the moral vineyard. The aftermath, however, came when Lincoln de- feated him for Congress by a vote of 6,540 to 4,827 Starting with an enrollment of seven on October 28, 1850, the institution grew to 45, all of prepara- tory grade, in january, 1851. In the second school

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Dream Campus. This drawing envisions a campus that was not to be-with one style of architecture. It was proposed about the time of the great building program that brought the library and gymnasium to the campus. Note the ordered walks, rows of poplars, and the mall. December 2, 1850-These thirty founders, who constituted the first board of trustees, met and formed a temporary organization. Decemlaer 3, 1850-The articles of agreement were officially filed in the Circuit Court. December 11, 1850-The trustees met, formally organized, elected officers, and divided themselves into three groups. December 18, 1850-The trustees met and adopted a constitution. Febfmziy' 12 1853-The University was incorpo- rated under the laws of Illinois and a charter was granted. By this time the number of trustees had been reduced from thirty to twenty-four. These twenty-four were those who names appear on the West Gate of the campus. fLZ72Zl6l1'y 50, 1857-The charter was amended to show that the University was now under the joint patronage of the Illinois Conference and the Peoria Conference of the Methodist Church. The names of the original thirty founders should have some attraction for us, printed here in the order of signing. Twelve of them were Methodist preachers and eighteen were laymen. Of the latter, five were merchants, three were farmers, three were lawyers, two were blacksmiths, two were doctors of medicine, one was a dentist, one was a newspaper man, and one was a brick mason. One was a native of Eng- land and one was a native of Ireland. One had been educated as a Catholic in Georgetown, D.C., and one had attended a Catholic college in Canada. Peter Cartwright C. W. Lewis j. C. Finley john S. Barger .lames Leaton Iohn Van Cleve james F. jaquess William Rutledge C. M. Holliday W. D. R. Trotter W. H. Allin XV. C. Hobbs J. E. McClun john Magoun Thomas Magee William Wallace Charles P. Merriman james Miller William H. Holmes Linus Graves Thomas P. Rogers John W. Ewing Lewis Bunn E. Thomas Isaac Funk james Allin D. Trimmer Kersey H. Fell Silas Watters Reuben Andrus ll

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year 155 students were admitted. There was some talk in the early years of including young women, but this radical idea was soon abandoned as inex- pedient. So Illinois Wesleyaiu continued to admit young men only. The hrst teachers were Rev. Reuben Andrus and Rev, Williain Goodfellow--a faculty of two! An- drus was in charge of mathematics and natural phi- losophy, and Goodfellow of natural science. To- gether they handled the Latin and Greek. Andrus thus described their heavy load: The work of teach- ing went on all day, having classes in both depart- ments in nearly a full collegiate coursef, If the original choice of location for building the new university had been retained, various classes inside academic walls would have had their physical quiet and peace of mind often interrupted by the puffing and snorting of the Iron Horse, the new steam locomotive of the Alton and Sangamon Rail- road. Materials were already being unloaded on a ten-acre lot along the track on the west side of town when the founding fathers revised their judgment and began to seek a better place to build. Yet the proposed location gave Bloomington a College Street, now strangely inappropriate in that vicinity. Kappa Kappa Gamma, the oldest sorority on campus, in 1896. If you look closely, you may be able to see the key in some of the strangest places. In some of those sleeves there may have been enough fabric for a 1960 dress. No comment on the hair styles. Before the turn of the century, studied informality was in vogue for group pictures as in this 1895 football team shot. In 1910, under the leadership of Coach Fred Muhl, Wesleyan was to have l'The football team that beat Northwestern. Football was Wesleyan's first real sport. i , 5 g .Tamfefg Jaw? iii-wi--ge? LIITIIIIX .JBQ IKIHVK Jann Q hmm: