Mercer University - Cauldron Yearbook (Macon, GA)

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Sf e. eo . l p 32. 4- I . vi 3 o.r £ C. 2. S' j 4 ?3 Sherwood Hall «I night Ln Flournoy and Char Reynold» Dune Crave» and Ricky CMaker .Jill Harrison Prolog 3 - ' I

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Jr c V fcrf founcW c4 Hncri (Int.rrwty Mercer: 1833-1870 On January 14, 1833, Mercer Institute opened in the village of Penfield, Georgia, thanks to Josi- ah Penfield, a layman from Savon nah He had bequeathed $2,500 to the Georgia Baptist Convention for education, provided they match that amount. Mercer Institute was open to young men of good moral charac ter. with preference given to those who would live on the premises Each student was expected to fur nish his own bedding and candles and to work 3 hours a day. five days a week on Mercer's farm. In 1836 a student named David But ler paid a mere $64.50 for a full term's board, washing, and tu- ition. Strict rules were enforced with either expulsion or corporal punishment being the result of dis- obedience. In 1839, the institute became a university. In the same year, a Fe- male Seminary and a school for small children were opened, both affiliated with Mercer. In January 1843, the principle college build- ing burned, leaving everyone dis couragcd and at a loss. However, plans for a new chapel and school building were soon discussed, and by 1846 they were built. A dormi- tory was erected in 1848 at a cost of $7,600, but has since vanished with no trace remaining today. The year 1842 was a had year fVnf c4d ChapH. part of the ordinal campuj m Pmlifld for Mercer. Enrollment dropped to 50 students (one-third of its pre- vious years'), there were no gradu- ates. there was an agricultural de pression, and the entire faculty re signed due to discouragement over patronage and support. For tunately. no school terms were in- terrupted during the search for a new faculty. The manual labor program was put to rest in 1844. much to the relief of the students The Civil War caused the next slump in enrollment and by 1863. enrollment dropped to 12 stu dents. By the middle of that year, 9 of them were at the battlefront Mercer was one of few colleges in the country that remained open during the war. and stands out as being the only one in Georgia. Chcii Franc» Janrll Ockey 2 Prolog I

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Leah McCauk) door of Administration building at night Mercer: 1870-1910 After almost 40 years in Pen field. Mercer University was moved to Macon in 1871. The idea of moving had been debated for some 20 years, until Alderman Earlsworth Crockett introduced a formal ordinance favoring reloc tion in 1870. Even the strong op- position of Penfield citizens could not prevent the move. Temporary classrooms were oc- cupied in Macon while Mercer s academic building slowly pro gressed. The university hired famed architect G.P. Randall, of Chicago, to erect a building that would serve the institution for centuries to come. Upon comple- tion in 1874. the ornate four-story structure boasted three towers and contained classrooms, of fices. a laboratory, a museum, li- brary quarters, a presidential apartment, and several basement and attic rooms. Meanwhile, a $10,000 dormitory dining hall containing thirty bedrooms, and several four-room cottages were built. In 1873, a fatal meningitis epi demic killed fourteen students. The school closed in an attempt to isolate the disease, but soon re opened with all surviving stu dents Athletics became popular near the turn of the century Mercer started a football team, the Mer cer Baptists , around 1893, but they were put to an eight-year halt in 1897. During this hiatus, golf and track grew in popularity, but they were never to be as popular as baseball and basketball The Baptists resumed in 1905 and continued until World War II. but baseball was Mercer's first inter collegiate sport Chert Francis Jarrell D cke Title Pag»- from the 1899 KINETESCOPE ! 4 Prolog