Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Oak Yearbook / INSTANO Yearbook (Indiana, PA)

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kA 1 f i nrTrifin ir ' il i 2L 3)u iRrmurtam J. THEODORE ARNJ Z, JR. J ' rojcssor of Forcii ii Luni tiuiics — at— Indisna State Normal School, 1916-1921 DIED MARCH 21. IQ l

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3u Urmortam GENERAL HARRY WHITE Born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, 1832 .-I founder of the School Mctnhcr of the Board of Trustees DIED JUNE 23, 1920

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HISTORY OF THE SCHOOL In 1834 in the Dutch colonies of eastern Pennsylvania there was a great prejudice against the idea of education. About this time George Wolf, the Governer, Thaddeus Stephens and Thomas H. Burroughs, Su- perintendent of Schools, set out to establish the Pennsylvania school system. The principal professions at that period were Law, Physics and Dixinity. In 1857 a system for the education of teachers was established. Normal schools in twelve different districts in the State were to be set up as [irivate corporations. The State legislature passed an act providing for the erection, at private expense, of the twelve buildings, each to be situated on at least ten acres, and to contain a lecture room with a seating ca])acity of not less than six hundred. The first normal school in Pennsylvania was Alillersville, from which the first ]irece]itress of Indiana is a gradu- ate. We owe thanks to General Harry ' hite, now deceased, for ]ireparing the bill for the founding of Indiana Normal. The bill which passed in 1871 under the name of Indiana Pennsylvania Normal School Sup- plement, gave $20,000 to aid in the construc- tion. General White headed the list of local subscriptions with $5,000. His con- tribution was followed with others from Wm. Ranks and John Sutton. There were nine original stockholders who met in May, 1872, to discuss ])Ians for this school. The Indiana State Normal met for the first time forty-six years ago last May. There were 225 students in the chapel that day. Mr. Wickersham, who was the Super- intendent of Public .Instruction declared it to be the finest normal school in the State and perhaps in the United States. h ' rom the beginning Indiana has been quite fortunate in having as her puides great and able men. The splendid, progressive character of her leaders may be seen in our material equipment and in our standard of scholarship and conduct. It is difficult today to jiicture the Indiana of the early days. At one time all the students, boys and girls, made their homes in the same building, John Sutton Hall, in which the classes were held. As the number of students increased each year it was necessary to build the dormitory for the boys known as Silas Clark Hall, to add to the original building three annexes to ac- commodate the girls, and to construct Jane Leonard Hall for the class work. After the introduction of the course for the train- ing of teachers the Model School was added. The Conservatory and Dining Room were added in 1903. .Several changes have been made within John Sutton Hall. How many of us know that Recreation Hall was once the dining room for the normal school students — and that the Blue Room adjoining Recrea- tion Hall was the students ' kitchen ? At