Swarthmore College - Halcyon Yearbook (Swarthmore, PA)

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torical Library, in the west alcove room, second floor, and a Professor ' s room above it, were saved by the fire- proof ceilings. In the Historical Library the heat was so great that a bust of Lucretia Mott was calcined, one of Elias Hicks much defaced, and a picture of Elias Hicks and one of George Fox were entirely destroyed. Except these two rooms in the west alcove, the main building and wings were totally destroyed. As in the haste and con- fusion of the night we stumbled over the stakes for the Science building, at the west end of the College, we con- cluded that the new site for that building would be no longer urged ; and it was not, but it was placed later where it now stands, at a safe distance from other buildings, between the main building and the Meeting House. As the Laundry was saved by the fire-proof shed which united it with the main building, the College bell was struck for breakfast at the usual hour next morning, for by the kind thoughtfulness of Col. Theodore Hyatt and his son, of Chester Military Academy, who were promptly on hand, the bakeries of Chester and their own sup- plies were liberally drawn upon during the night, and an ample breakfast was set out on rude, improvised tables of boards and barrels, on the front lawn, at the usual hour of 7.30. When on assembling for breakfast, the roll was called, it was a great relief to find that every student responded except a few sent away on necessary errands. Notice was at once given that the College would re-open in two weeks within some reasonable distance from its present location. The Managers were summoned by telegraph, and in a few hours a meeting was held in the Meeting House ; and as they assembled all were impressed by the contrast of the purpose of the meeting and one which was to have been held in that place on that day, as others throughout the country, during the funeral exercises of our martyred President Garfield. A committee was appointed to proceed at once to Media and se- cure temporary quarters for the College, and before night the Grove House had been secured for the home, the general College exercises, and the rooms for the young women ; and the Gayley House, a few squares distant, for the rooms of the young men. These quarters were found sufficient, though quite restricted, for all were dis- posed to make the best of everything in view of our great disaster. When the fire occurred two hundred and nineteen students had arrived at the College, and two hundred and sixteen of these returned to our new quar- ters, in Media, on the re-opening. Six more were received in a few days, and then all other applicants were de- clined for want of room. The two weeks were very fully occupied in securing the necessary furniture, apparatus, and books. A number of publishers and authors contributed liberally toward our new supply of books, both for the classes and for the library which had been totally destroyed. The Alumni, too, quickly came to the rescue, and started a subscription, headed by the late J. Reese Lewis, of the Class of ' 74, for the sum of $1,000. Officers of the First National Bank of Media, who were present at the fire, at once offered the College, without interest, a

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time, early in the Ninth month. Soon after the re-opening, on Seventh-day, the 24th, a committee of the Man- agers met at the College to locate and lay out the new Science building. The ground was chosen west of the main building, between the College and the President ' s house, the east wall of the new building to be only about twenty-five feet from the west wall of the College. Some one objected to this locality as being too near the Col- lege in case of fire, as both buildings would be liable to be destroyed in case of the destruction of either. A highly esteemed Manager, of excellent judgment and large business experience, remarked that he would not be afraid to assume the personal responsibility of the loss of the College by fire. The location w-as accordingly approved, and the stakes were set. The next afternoon (First-day) the President noticed, especially, the beautiful landscape in front, and the newly-painted College, so well equipped within and without for its work, as he rode out on horse- back to visit his good friend, and the good friend of the College, Isaac H. Clothier, of the Board of Managers, who then resided at Sharon Hill, but four miles away. Their conversation is well remembered, after the lapse of more than seventeen years, and they both felt that the prospects of the College were never so bright as on that beautiful autumn day. At or near 1 1 p. m. the President passed the front door of the College on his return, and found there our most faithful watchman, William Mullen, who, as often before, accompanied the President to his stable, and at once returned to the College. A few minutes later a loud explosion was heard, and looking from his chamber window the President saw a long column of fire shooting out of the west side of the dome. His first thought was, it is above the level of the great tank, and we have no appliances for forcing water above that level. Of course it was soon found that the College was doomed, for although the wings were separated from the main building by fire-proof connections, the separating walls did not rise sufficiently high to prevent the fire from spreading, and the roof being of combustible material it w-as not long before it was in flames throughout the entire extent. The students were aroused with difficulty at that dead hour of the night, but they were all rescued without a single accident. The young men soon, of themselves, formed a line, passing down the larger or southwest stairway, and up the smaller in the northwest, thus saving most of their effects, and some of the College furniture, including all the mattresses of the west end, which they threw out the windows, and which fur- nished fairly comfortable lodging on the front lawn later in the night, after the excitement and highest glare of the fire had somewhat subsided. The young women fared worse, and their trunks and clothing were very gen- erally destroyed. There being six stairways from the top to the bottom of the College, escape was not difficult, although at that time there were no outside fire escapes. Fire companies from Philadelphia were sent for promptly by telegraph, but when they arrived, about 4 A. m., the building was a mass of smouldering ruins. Friends ' His- ' 3

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loan of all the money needed in the emergency. Among others who came to our rescue in this time of need our friend Henry Bentley should he mentioned, who connected with telephones (then much less used than now) the President ' s house with the Grove House, in Media, the students ' boarding place, and where the classes of the Col- lege were held. The Meeting House was used as a Library, and the new books were then arranged upon the seats, and a messenger went daily to and from Swarthmore and Media, to carry and return the library books de- sired by the students. In four days after the fire the Managers issued a circular calling for needed aid in the re- construction of the College. The first cost of the building lost was about $225,000. But this was exclusive of the valuable Museum of Natural History, collected by the faithful and persevering labor of Dr. Joseph Leidy dur- ing the previous ten years, in which he was liberally supported by the contribution of Joseph Jeanes ; the entire Li- brary, the furniture, and necessary apparatus of the Laboratory and class-rooms ; so that it is safe to say that the building destroyed, with all of its contents, had cost nearly a half a million of dollars, of which only $100,000 was secured by insurance. As the exterior walls were mostly saved, the reconstruction would have cost less than the original building, but the various improvements and additions to make it better adapted to its purpose, and truly fire-proof, made a much larger expenditure necessary. But the friends of the College responded nobly and promptly to the appeal of the Managers, and the reconstruction was commenced as soon as the walls were cooled and the insurance adjusted, the subscription papers in the meantime being industriously circulated. At length the funds were largely subscribed, but $65,000 were yet necessary. An earnest appeal brought $15,000 of this sum, when Samuel Willets. who had already subscribed liberally, agreed to pay one-half of the remaining $50,000 on condition that the other half should be promptly paid. This rapidly produced the desired result, and one of the very last acts of the useful and noble life of Samuel Willets was the signing of the check for this $25,000. It should be mentioned here that in arranging for the amount necessary for reconstruction the Man- agers most wisely added in the amount of a considerable mortgage which the College had carried from the be- ginning. Thus, when all was completed and paid for, the mortgage was extinguished, and the College out of debt. Thus one of the objects which may be said to have been destroyed by the fire was the mortgage, which, unlike the building, has never been renewed. The Commencement of ' 82 was held .in the- unfinished College building, the students covering the lath of the unplastered Assembly room with a tasteful arrangement of evergreens collected from the College grounds. In just one year from the destruction of the College its re-building was sufficiently completed for the students to assemble, two weeks later than usual, on the anniversary of the fire, September 25th, to begin the work of a new J 5