St Xavier College - Xaverian Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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Highlights in the History Of St. Xavier College ATHOLIC Education in Cincinnati took its first forward step just one hundred years ago. It consisted in the efforts 01' Bishop Fenwick, the Dominican, and first Bishop of this Archdiocese, to secure the fou'nda- tion of a school of higher learning. The first endeavor went no farther than epistularly communication with the Jesuits, and Benedictines in England, be- cause neither of the two solicited communities were in position to engage in the project. Throughout the next six years, the zealous Bishop sought vainly for a religious community to aid him in his program, but unsettled conditions, and other obstacles constantly interferedt In 1831 he opened uThe Atheneum , for the instruction of youth; where a classicial course of study was provided, and entrusted to the ten diocesan clergy to teach. Affairs at the institution never reached as efficient or smooth a status of operation as was desired, due mainly to the fact it lacked a necessary organization. Bishop Fenwick died one year later, and never saw the ups and downs which his enterprise was doomed to for the next nine Years. This, in short forms the early history of what was destined to be the St. Xavier College which is ours today. Shortly after the coming of Bishop Purcell to Cincinnati, he determined upon the matter of obtaining Jesuits to conduct an intended College in Brown County, and thereupon set about what Bishop Fenwick had failed to accom- plish. As early as 1838, he was promised by the General in Rome, that the next house established by the Society in America should be in Cincinnati. Relying on this assistance, he set about, and gained the permission of His Holi- ness, Gregory XVI, to deed to the Jesuits some property which he held in trust, and Which was intended for the maintenance of a college for educational purposes. Negotiations were finally opened with Bishop Purcell by Fr. P. J. Verhaegen, S.J., at St. Louis, Arrangements were completed, and by October 1, 1840; the Fathers had taken over the property, giving to it the name of St. Xavier College. Fr. Elet, after whom the new Dormitory is named, became the first of a long line of Presidents, and the great work for good in Cincinnati was begun by the Society of Jesus The General Assembly of Ohio granted a tempmary charter of the College, with John B. Purcell, J. A. Elet, PM. Pin I. J. Gleizal, and Edward Purcell acting as trustees. This charter gentitled the conference of degrees of colleges and universities of this State of Ohio, and placed the school on equal footing with the other sectarian, and non-sectarian institutions in the State. Not until the act of the Assembly on May '7, 1867 which was An act to provide for the incorporation of certain colleges therein described , did St. Xavier become incorporated in perpetuity. FLrs. W. H. Hill, and S. A. H. Fastre, acting for the Board of Trustees, sent a copy of a resolution to the Secretary of the State, accepting the provisions of the Act. Prior to this incorporation in perpetuity, it was found necessary to erect another building for the handling of increased attendance. In 1863, ground was purchased to the north of the old Athen- eum , which step gave access to the corner of Seventh and Sycamore Streets. The cornerstone of the Hill faculty 1building , as it was called was laid by Archbishop Purcell, May 12, 1867. Following the destruction of the Athen- eum building in 1890, the present High School ediface was erected; this with the Mueller Building of 1855 completed the development which the fully utilized site permitted. It might be thought that all was easy sailing with the College from its foundation onward, but such was not the case There were ever difficulties to be surmounted as there are in all schools where endnwments are unknown, and all constructive work must be done by sheer perseverance, and multitudi- nous denials, From 1853 to 1865, the College passed through what might be termed its zero hour. Chief among the many calamities of the period were the cholera epidemics which wraught havoc everywhere, the disgraceful Know- Nothing movement, when disturbing Anti- Catholic demonstrations were almost a daily occurrence, and last, but not least, the Civil War. Up to this time, the student attendance consisted mainly of boarders from the west, and south Conditions steadily approaching an impingement, finally forced the abandonment of the dormitories and left St Xavier entiiely dependent on the Page Twenty-seven

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patronage of the immediate vicinity of Cincinnati. Struggling against what really were heart-breaking situations, the College carried on, until, in 1890 we find it celebrating its golden jubilee. From this time forward, Xavier entered on a new era; an era of progress, expansion, and some prosperity. From this time on students began to attend in ever increasing numbers, which not only gave added revenue, 'but encouraged the Faculty to greater programs. Extension lectures, then special graduate courses were inaugurated as early as 1896. The step, while actually premature from the financial standpoint, added almost immeasurably to the reputation, and general stanv dard, as well as to the influence of the College in this vicinity. Pressing de mands for other departments and improvements made it advisable to discon- tinue such work till larger resources could be realized. Departments of Econv omics and College of Commerce were added in 1911,.and shortly after a course in Journalism, which was however abandoned five years later. In 1918, a comprehensive system of Sociology was begun, and which is enjoying right up to the present time, a most gratifying success. These classes, along with others of the Arts type are attended by members of the teaching sisterhoods in and about the City, for whom they were originally intended. On October 1, 1918, a unit of the Students Army Training Corps was established for those of the class who had been inducted into service. This S. A. T. C. group received academic instruction of a kind adapted to its needs until its was dis- banded. At the instigation of prominent Alumni, mostly of the legal pro- fession, a Law Department was opened in the fall of 1919, and continues to the present in a very prospering condition. The institution at Seventh and Sycamore Streets is a busy one indeed. From nine o'clock in the morning till two twenty-five, the High School Classes are conducted for more than six hundred boys, necessitating the use of every available space for lectures, recitations, laboratories, and attendant work. Extension courses are carried on from three otclock until five, and then the Night School Classes in the evening follow. The situation which the College occupied 0n Sycamore Street, being in the heart of the City, had many advantages in the matter of accessibility, but also a very great disadvantage from the standpoint of building room, and campus facilities. The Faculty, always aware of this draw-back, began as early as 1847 to find location in the East Hills. The so called Purcell Mansion on Walnut Hills was acquired, and Preparatory Classes conducted there for twu years under the direction of Fr. George A. Carrell. The undertaking was too premature, the situation remote for the then existing means of commmunis cation, and so the project was abandoned. The second effort at branching out was made by Fr. Albert A. Dierckes, S.J., who bought the property at the corner of Gilbert and Lincoln Avenues in Walnut Hills. For six years, until 1912, the Branch High School was located here, when, realizing the need of still further expansion, it was moved to the Avondale Athletic Club, which building and grounds had been purchased the previous year, This action marked the beginning of a New St. Xavier College, a College which is growing in leaps and bounds, a College which is a College in the true sense of the word, and to which the rest of this article is devoted. Kt Page Twentysnine