Purdue University - Debris Yearbook (West Lafayette, IN)

Page 20 text:

The second Morrill Act was passed in 1890. This provided for the University an additional annuity of $25,000, to be devoted to instruction in technology and agriculture. By means of this income, plus an extra fund from the State, sprang that nucleus from which was to develop the great Mechanical Laboratory. A gift of .§35,000 from Amos Heavilon, and an appropriation of $50,000 from the Legislature of 1893, made possible the erection of the magnificent building known to all as the pride of Purdue. The great hopes for the future which filled each breast at the brilliant dedicatory ceremony, however, were all too soon to be bhghted. On the evening of January 23, 1894, just four days after the dedication, the splendid structure was reduced by fire to a mere heap of smouldering brick. Discouraging as it all may have seemed on the night of the catastrophe, the loss was only a temporary one. The new building which appeared upon the old foundations arose as a testament to the untiring energy characteristic of President Smart, and stood as a favorable omen for the future-of Purdue. The second structure was opened December 4, 1895, and represented almost exactly the building which had preceded it. In 1894 the Preparatory Department was abolished, owing to the increase in its attendance, and radical improve- ments were made in the regular courses. Soon afterward the school began to take on an unusual semblance of life, and the adoption of the present form of courses, with a constantly increasing enrollment, marked this page in the history of the institution. The death of President Smart in February, 1900, placed the chief duties of the University in the hands of Dr. Win- throp E. Stone, who had served as its principal executive during the months of Dr. Smart ' s failing health. On July 6, 1900, Dr. Stone was formally elected president, and in this capacity he has continued up to the present time. That new spirit which was gradually awakened during the latter years of President Smart ' s term has seemed to burst forth with new

Page 19 text:

before instruction had begun, President Owen resigned. In order to comply with the Act of Congress, however, which required that the institution be opened as early as July, 1874, Prof. John S. Hougham assembled a class March 2 of that year, and gave instructions until June. The formal opening of the institution took place Sep- tember 17, 1874, with A. C. Shortridge as president, and from that date its regular work of instruction has con- tinued unbroken. The first curriculum included courses in Science, Engineering, Agriculture and Military Tactics, drill in the latter being instituted in 1876. It was found soon afterward, however, that changes in the work were necessary — a large proportion of the students were only in the Preparatory School — and for several years a constant remodel- ing was carried on among the several courses. Like many other institutions, its infant life was beset with numer- erous days when life and interest seemed by their absence to threaten its future development. The presidency oi Dr. E. E. White, which lasted from the resignation of President Shortridge on November 5, 1875, to the election of Dr. James H. Smart in 1883, was filled with days of care and constant watchfulness, but that loyalty of purpose which characterized his term of service secured for Purdue a sure and enduring foothold. In 1877 the University Hall was completed, and in 1879, through the generosity of Mr. Martin L. Pierce, of Lafayette, the Conservatory was erected. These buildings were followed in 1881 by the construction of the Agri- cultural Building, now known as the Experiment Station. The maintenance of all these buildings had to be provided for by the State, and several times during the early life of the institution this duty was so completely overlooked by the Legislature that a serious paucity of funds threw the school into dire distress. In order to satisfy the growing needs of the Mechanical Department, the Legis- lature, in 1885, appropriated $12,500 for the erection of a building to be devoted to this cause. The building which resulted is the present Science Hall. In all departments the school soon began to grow rapidly; the new schools of Agriculture, Pharmacy and Engineering were added and the courses established on a broader basis. No sooner, however, would one department have its needs sup- plied than cries would arise from some other quarter which had outgrown its funds. The extended and profitable work of the Agri- cultural Experiment Station was rewarded by the passage of the Hatch Act in 1887, by which a sum of $15,000 per annum was appro- priated to be used by the State in furthering the work of agricultural research and investigation, and in diffusing among the farmers of Indiana the practical results obtained. In 1889 the Electrical Department received its special appropri- ation for the construction of the Electrical Building, which it has continued to occupy up to the present time.

Page 21 text:

life during the past generation of students, and evidences of unusual growth have been seen in the additional buildings which have appeared upon the campus. The Legislature of 1901 appropriated $60,000 for the erection of a new agricultural building, which was built and opened for classroom work in September, 1902. A fund of $10,000 as an annual annuity for the Farmers ' Institute was appropriated also by this same Legislature, and Purdue was appointed as the trustee of the fund. In the fall of 190 1, a great, long-felt want of the University was filled by the generous and philanthropic act of Mrs. Eliza Fowler, of Lafayette. A sum of $60,000 was given the University for the purpose of erecting a chapel and general auditorium, and in token of respect to the donor, the building was named the Eliza Fowler Hall. Mr. James Eliza Fowler, followed this gift by one of $5,000 purchase of an organ for the new hall. The opened to public use at the Commencement Exer- 1903 ; the organ was constructed the on May 4, 1904, both hall and organ elaborate ceremonies. The Legislative Ses- aided the University by whereby the income increased from one- one-tenth of a mill on State. A specific appro- power and heating plant erected and put into further, a sum of $60,000 of a building for the De- the work on the struc- The Legislature made ii Fowler, a son of Mrs. to be used in the building was first cises of the Class of following winter, and were dedicated with sion of 1903 further a legal amendment from the State was twentieth of a mill to each dollar of taxables in the priation of $75,000 for a central was also made, the same being service by the close of that year ; for the erection and equipment partment of Physics was appropriated, ture being at present well under way. ot her smaller appropriations for street improvements and immediate agricultural needs, thus manifesting throughout all its acts the intense interest with which the State regards the growth and success of Purdue. The fall of 1903 can never be forgotten. Out of that season of sorrow which followed the wreck at Indian- apolis there has sprung a keener spirit and an awakening of a closer bond between those of the old school and those of the new — a bond which will be strengthened by the presence of the Memorial Gymnasium intended to stand in the years to come as a monument to those who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the new Purdue. The history of Purdue is a history full of action and spirit. From a mere struggling high school — to use the terms of her first great private benefactor — she has grown to be the largest purely technical institution in the West. That name which once was unfamiliar outside of a little circle has gone forth as a name of merit beyond the bounds of America. Through the accomplishments of her graduates, through the support of her friends at home and abroad, she has reached a place of supreme distinction and fills a wonderful purpose in the guidance of human affairs. Her course is clear to all, her aims are high, her motive and her spirit worthy of a great and glorious future. ii