Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

Page 16 text:

Hardy pioneers and buffalo traders first set- tled Manhattan in 1855. It is a tribute to the character of these men that only three years later work began on a school to be known as Bluemont College. k Marching in full uniform down Poynt2 Avenue, the K-State band joins a large number of floats and other bands in commemorating the school ' s Centennial Home- coming. Modern structures contrast vividly with the old. 12

Page 15 text:

HENRY JACKSON WATERS 1909-1917 WILLIAM M. JARDINE 1918-1925 FRANCIS D. FARRELL 1925-1943 hanging Ideas of Times with one exception, among the quietest in the school ' s history. This exception was the attempt to transfer part or all of Kansas State to KU. This move was defeated through the combined effort of administra- tion and students. Financial aid was then increased. President Henry Jackson Waters brought to Kansas State renewed leadership in agriculture, as he was an expert in the field. Student enrollment during his administration jumped 50 per cent and admission requirements were continually being raised. The greatest contribution of the seventh president, William Jardine, was to bring Kansas State into national recognition. The leadership which Jardine exhibited placed him on Coolidge ' s cabinet in 1925. Enjoying the longest tenure of any president, Francis David Farrell brought many improvements to the campus, in physical and instructional areas. His term was difficult, having to contend with both the depression and the opening of World War II, which brings additional tribute to his effective lead- ership and excellent administration. The ninth president, Milton Eisenhower, was the first Kansas State graduate to hold the position. His administration was tested with the problem of meeting the rapid expansion after the war. His han- dling of this crisis deserves much credit. The present president, James A. McCain, has held the post since 1950. These thirteen years have been ones of monumental progress. This is con- tinuing under his leadership, which is discussed later. MILTON EISENHOWER 1943-1950 JAMES A. MCCAIN 1950-

Page 17 text:

Promoters of Bluemont Central College are Washing- ton Marlatt, Robert Harford, Joseph Denison, J. G. Schnebly, Isaac Goodnow. Founders Act Early To Create Bluemont The rapid establishment of a school after the founding of Manhattan speaks well for the stock of people which settled here. The inconspicuous inci- dent, recognized as the beginning of KSU, was a note in the April 18, 1855, minutes of a company of Manhattan colonizers. Voted that Mr. Park (who had for s ome time been eager to initiate work on a college) be invited to address the trustees in reference to an agricultural school. Park responded to the invitation. On Feb. 9, 1858, nine men obtained a charter for the Bluemont Central College Association from the legislative assembly of the Territory of Kansas. Contributions for the establishment of a school came from interested parties in the East and local settlers. Enough money was raised for the first building by May 10, 1859- Although established with classes beginning January, I860, Bluemont offered no college work until it came under the Morrill Act. Historical Kansas of the frontier days in the mid 1800 ' s was criss-crossed with trails and rivers, which marked the paths by which the founders of Kansas State and the city of Manhattan were led to this fertile land, then unsettled. KANSAS 13