Macalester College - Quid Nunc Yearbook (St Paul, MN)

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The M'acaIcstc1'lllfic-Mac. A HISTORY OF MACALESTER. The Present is the living sum-total of the Past. Compara- tively speaking Macalester College is a young institution, and, in consequence, is not surrounded by all the fascination and dignity which age alone can give. ft has a history, however, which, in the manifold elements that combined to create it, in its fortunes and misfortunes, is of unusual interest. It is a history whose pages are indelibly stamped with the sacrifices of men whose souls were filled with zealous devotion to the cause of Christian education and who have overcome almost insurmountable difficulties with loyal determination and at last brought Macalester to the thresh- hold of the New Era. Nothing perhaps can so successfully show how much the Macalester of the present owes to the Macalester of the past than an outline of its history, though it be but brief. Macalester College is the outgrowth of the Baldwin School projected by the Rev. Dr. Edward D. Neill, the first Presbyterian minister resident in St. Paul. and in February, 1853, it was incor- porated by the Minnesota Legislature. the first chartered institu- tion of learning in the state supported- by private benevolence. In the year 1873, Charles Macalester of Philadelphia, Pa., ex- pressed a willingness to give a large building in Minneapolis, on what is now the site of the Exposition Building, known as the 'fXVinslow House,' to enable the Rev. E. D. Neill to lay the foun- dation of a college for young men on the plan of the New England colleges, under trustees of his selection. A board was formed like that of Princeton College, two-thirds of which were also trustees of Baldwin School. ln 1874, the corporate name of the Baldwin institution was changed to the Trustees of Macalester Collegeu by an amendatory act of the legislature, with the provision that the Preparatory Department should be known as the' Baldwin School. ' At the meeting of the Synod of Minnesota held at St. Peter in Qctober, 1880, the Rev. Daniel Rice, D. D., made a report, a portion of which is as follows: The Committee of Synod on an educational institution beg leave to report: Page I2

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The Macalestcvf Mic-Mac. L That Macalester College is established and secured to be continued as a college under Presbyterian control, by a provision, in accordance with the wish of the founder, adopted by the Board of Trustees, whereby two-thirds of the Trustees must be communi- cants or attendants at the worship of the Presbyterian church, and also a by-law of the corporation requiring that two-thirds of the Trustees shall always be Presbyterians. 2. That the Trustees have expressed their wish that the col- lege may be in the fullest sympathy with the views and wishes of the Synod, and their willingness, if Synod so desire, that it should nominate the President and at least one-half the Board of Trustees, the p.resent Board cheerfully resigning to make vacancies. The Synod unanimously adopted the report and recommended the college to the sympathy and support of the churches. At the meeting of the Synod at Rochester in 1384. the Rev. Dr. Rice, in behalf of the College Committee, reported that they had nominated the Rev. Thomas A. McCurdy, D. D., for the Presi- dency, Dr. Neill having resigned on account of his advanced years. On Sept. 10th, 1885, the College opened at the present site, the Minneapolis property having been disposed of, as it was deemed unsuitable for the purpose. The day of opening was most auspi- cious. A large gathering of friends was present from both cities and the enthusiasm was not dimmed by the fact that the campus of today was then a field of cornstalks. The enrollment on opening day showed thirty-six names, divided into three classes, a freshman college and two preparatory. Class work was begun at once, al- though the necessary furniture had not yet arrived. The faculty' was composed of the following: Rev. Thomas A. McCurdy, D. D., President And Professor of Biblical Instruction and Moral Science. Rev. Edward D. Neill, A. B., Professor of English Literature and Political Economy. Rev. William R. Kirkwood, D. D., Professor of Mental Science and Logic. Rev. Nathaniel S. McFetridge, D. D., Professor of Greek, Anglo-Saxon and Modern Languages. Francis B. Pearson, A. B., Professor of Latin and English. Charles Forbes, B. S., M. D., Professor of Natural Science. Rev. Daniel Rice, D. D., Lecturer on the Literature and Revelations of the Bible. Page I4