Roanoke College - Rawenoch Yearbook (Salem, VA)

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We rfgkffiy of ffafzfzaae ' ,Pr .Q ' - . -J'-' 'QF' ' cf: I- 7'-'li 5124 This is the story of a little college and how it grew. It is not a Cinderella Storyf, For Roanoke did not mushroom into being as the favorite hobby of some wealthy patron. But rather the story of Roanoke is the story of a simple man and his dream. It begins in the home of Dr. David Frederick Bittle, in Augusta County, the year, 1842. At first, the college was a small, private school. At. this time, Dr. Bittle worked alone, but later he was joined by the Rev. Christopher C. Baughman. Together they obtained sufficient funds to build two simple log buildings. The school was located eight miles from Staunton and was called Virginia Institute. In May of 1843, the Institute was brought to the attention of the two Lutheran Synods of Virginia, which from that time on bore a por- tion of the expenses of- carrying on the functions of the school. Already it was drawing young men from all parts of the Commonwealth. In September of 1843, the Philomathean Literary Society, an- cestor of the famous Demosthenian and Ciceronian societies was formed- the beginning of a tradition which was to last until 1930. Dr. Bittle left the Institute tem- porarily in 1844. In January of 1845 the friends of the institution had it incorporated by the Virginia Legisla- ture as the Virginia Collegiate In- stitute. The chartering of the Institution marked the beginning of considerable agitation for its removal to a more convenient location. It was decided to move it to some point within the bounds of the Southwestern Virginia Synod, and, in 1847, Salem, in the county of Roanoke, was chosen. In June, all the possessions of the school were packed in a Newton wagon and, in pioneer style, they were removed to the present location. Since there were no buildings to receive the institution, the first year it operated on the courtesy of other denominations. The summer term was conducted in the old Baptist Church, which stood where East Hill Cemetery is now, and the winter term was spent in the Presbyterian Academy. In the spring of 1848, the first brick of the famous old Administration Building was laid, and by the end of the summer the central part of the building had been erected. It was a simple structure, lacking both the portico and the wings. In the spring of 1849, an enthusiastic and ambitious student body under- took the landscaping of the grounds. The students, being poor, according to an issue of the Roanoke Collegian of later years, engaged in odd jobs of all sorts, and formed boarding masses to reduce the cost of food. In 1853, the school had grown so much, it was formally made a college. In the winter of 1852-53, applica- tion was made to the Legislature for the proposed change, the name being changed also, to Roanoke College. At this time, the College had a library of 140 volumes, 510,000 worth of grounds and buildings, and 580,000 liabilities. During this period the growth of the College had been rapid. The session of 1861 began with 118 students, but, because of the war, it closed on june fourth with only seventeen students in attendance. After twenty years of watching his dream grow into reality . . . after two decades of sweat and toil, of heart- breaking disappointment and com- pensating success, it looked as if all might come to an end for Dr. Bittle. The story is told that he resolved that nothing would ever close the doors of Roanoke. It was a hard prophecy. For the year was 1861.

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ffizzws agmzffl Prexident of the College AB., Roanoke College, IQOIQ D.D., 19155 A.M., Princeton University, 19025 LL.D., Gettys- burg,1931. cg gmzrfwafefl Draw of the College Associate Professor of Education and Psychology. A.B., College of William and Mary, 1918, A.M., 'Teachers College, Columbia University, 1927. VAL.. ,..- llklllfmfl 1 1 ,MQW fkvfmf' Dean of Women A.B., ANI., University of Michigan.