Swarthmore College - Halcyon Yearbook (Swarthmore, PA)

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N the stormy years of public peril Avhen the great Civil War was at its height and educational movements throughout the country were involved in the general uncertainty of the times, the Friends, with their char- acteristic love for the better pursuits of life, made their greatest step in the direction of advanced learning, and Swarthmore College, strange to say, dates its inception to the days of the Rebellion. The movement to establish a college, ' although such a thing had been more or less agitated since the time of the separation, pre- vious to 1830, first made itself felt in the several Yearly Meetings about 1 86 1, but it was not until two years later that it took any well- defined shape. Meanwhile a number of prominent persons identified themselves with the project, foremost among them being Edward Parrish, who, by means of public speeches, correspondence and the publication of a book, Education in the Society of Friends, did perhaps, more in the way of effort than any one other person to awaken interest in the matter. In 1863 a stock company w as formed and shares were taken in large and small blocks by hundreds of Friends. In 1864 a charter was granted the corporation, and this may be taken as the legal date of the founding of the college. The work of collecting money and making preparations for the erection of the buildings, like other great undertakings, moved slowly, and it was not until May 10, 1866, that the corner-stone of the main hall was laid. This was a great occa- sion and a large number of interested persons were present. Samuel Willets, of New York, who afterwards became the college ' s greatest benefactor, was chosen to preside, and Edward Parrish, who had already been elected President of the college, led the cere- monies. From the speeches on this occasion a firm belief in the feasibility of the then almost untried experiment of co-education is

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WARTHMORE l OL-L-EGE History, Offidefg, Stodeftts.

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easily recognized, as is also a firm determination to make the new institution a college of high standing and not a mere school, as was first suggested. The work on the necessary buildings was so far completed that the college was opened for students on November 8, 1869, with a registry of twenty students in the Freshman class and 1 50 in the Preparatory School. Two days later the formal opening took place. The growth of the institution from this time forward, with the various details of its history, would make an interesting volume, and can be but briefly touched upon here. The growth of the student sentiment with the founding of the literary societies, ath- letic organizations and fraternities is spoken of elsewhere, and the interesting tales of the old days and times before the fire are best enjoyed when dropped from the store of recollection of those who were with the college during the formative stage of its exist- ence. The addition, one by one, of the several departments and the gradual broadening of the scope of the institution can only be treated as fully as they deserve when the long-promised history of the college appears. In 1 87 1 President Parrish resigned after two years service at the head of the faculty, and in the same year Edward H. Magill, A. M., who had previously borne the title of Principal, was elected and m- augurated with appropriate ceremonies. The year 1 872 was marked by the death of p:x-President Parrish, the founding of two of the literary societies and the erection of a gymnasium. The Alumni held their first re-union in 1876 and organized some time later. The first regular athletic sports were held on a cinder-road near the college on May 11, 1878, and although the records made and the appliances used would be amusing to the Swarthmore athlete of 1890, the latter may thank the energetic men of the early days for much that is now enjoyed in the way of athletic privileges. In 1879 the Meeting House was built through the generosity of a friend of the college, and Science Hall was well under way in