University of Minnesota - Gopher Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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C.-XDIPl'S'LO0KIXG SOLTTHEAST FROM ROOF OF COLISEUPI.

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QW leaf front the flposst T is to the high credit ot' the founders of Minnesota that no sooner ' had they accomplished the political organization of the territory than they turned theirattention to the establislunent of institutions 3' , H 2 which promote and adorn civilization. ln the second session of the . ' 'jx ,tg legislative body, in 1851, a law was enacted to establish the Univer- -Efi-G7 vl,s,,lbpfZ,.f77? IE sity of Minnesota. This legislation was obviously had in anticipa- .I UE IQ tion of an act of congress almost cotemporaneous, making a grant of D U D l mggi public lands for the support of such an institution. E .QTY Ten years passed, and all there was to show. was an untinished I E E wing of a large building, begun in the tlush times, before the 5 g!Q'jE3 ,i 'Lng'l1igiQfif panic year, 1857, and an enormous debt bearing I2 per cent. in- - .4 111- f 11,1 111 f ,fl terest. Repeated but unsuccessful etlorts to cancel this debt were jp g' 4,3','j ,t followed by despairg and when the war of the Slaveholders' Ne- 'fff' at-1,51 bellion began to drain the resources of the country, the regents and 'uqrlf the legislature virtually abandoned the unlucky undertaking. ln 34415- J the midst of their despair there was found one man, who, after a patient study of the situation. conceived a plan by which to rescue and rehabilitate the institution. It is no injustice to his predecessors and only justice to hlm to name John Sargent Pillsbury, then a merchant of St. Anthony Falls, as the real founder of the University. In pursuance of his plan the legislature of 1861 passed an act. creating a special board of three regents, empowered to adjust and settle all claims. authorizing them to sell certain University lands for this purpose. The colleagues of Governor Pillsbury on this board were the llonorublejolm Nicols, of St.l'au1, now deceased, and the llonorable 0. C. Merriman, still living in Minneapolis. ln the course of three years the debt was substantially adjusted to theusatisfaction of all concerned. Upon the recommendation of the ,Board the legislature of 1867 made an appropriation of 5l5,0tltb to complete and furnish the old building. This having been done a preparatory school was opened in October of that year wit h a corps of four able instructors. Another task of almost equal magnitude remained to be undertaken. Not only had lands been sold to pay the debt, but much pine stumpage, belonging to the University, had gone the same way. The endowment had thus been seriously reduced in value. In some way it must be increased or only an inferior institution could be developed. The same wise manager appeared in this exigency, and this is what was done ln 1862, congress had made the well known grant of public lands to endow colleges of agriculture and the mechanic arts. The share of Minnesota was 120,000 acres. The legislature, previous to this, had provided for the establishment of a State college of agriculture at a point in the central part of the State, and on the passage ofthe land grant act, the legislature revised the charter and pledged to that college the income to be derived from the proceeds of the lands. This meant the separation and dissipation of the state's resources for higher academic, professional and teclmical educat.lon. The argument used cannot here be told, but it is matter for everlasting congratzulation that a later legislature was persuaded to undo this folly ami to adopt the wise policy of concentrating the revenues for the higher education. The special board ot' regents having discharged their particular functions and their term about expiring, the legislature of 1868 passed a bill, approved February 18th, to reorganize the University. This act,since amended in minordetaits,is the CIIARTER of the University. XVisely and skillfully drawn, as a whole, its crowning excellence is that which commits to the board of regents the income of the land grant of 18432. A separate agricultural college would have been in its main parts, president and faculty, buildings, library, laboratories, shops, etc.-a duplication of the University, and the state would have had a double burden to carry for all time. Experience has so conspicuously and overwhelmingly justified the action of 18158 that argument is altogether superfluous. The preparatory school, meantime, was prospering. and by it was being quietly settled with- out debate, an educational problem which has tried the souls of many a college board and faculty. Upon the opening day some persons in female attire, and without question of that sex, presented themselves for admission. It was a school not yet a college. There was no one who wished to object and the young women took their places in the chapel and class room. Depending on ex- pected appropriations the new hoard of regents addressed themselves to the opening of the institution as a college and resolved that this should take place at the beginning of the college year in September, 1869. A faculty of nine persons, three of whom had taught in the preparatory -15

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'Alf conf from the 'lpast school. was engaged in the summer preceding. At the appointed time-they werein their places, and without demonstration began their work. A freshman class was organized mostly from students who had come up from the preparatory department. The faculty cheerfully undertook the instruction of the preparatory classes, and a visitor might have witnessed the unique specta- cle ofa major general of the U. S-.army teaching arithmetic, an ex-college president drilling in Greek etymology. and a college executive doing his best to instruct in geometry, elocution and English grammar. Now came a steady grind of hard work for many years by the faculty on meagre salaries and uncertain tenure with the slenderest possible appliances. In the first years the total yearly income of the institution was Sl5,000. A most noteworthy step in the development of the University was the organization, in 1872, of the Geological and Natural llistory Survey of Minnesota as a part of the scientific work of the institution. This great enterprise ls still in progress and has contributed not only to the economic prosperity of the state but to general science. June 19, 1878, was a landmark in our history. On that day came the first commencement at which were graduated Messrs. NVarren C. Eustis and Henry N. Williamson. The exercises were held in the old Academy of Music, on the site of Temple Court, corner of llennepin and XVashington avenues, in the presence of a great audience. An address was made by l-'resident Welch of the Iowa State Agricultural college, and a grand dinner was served at the Nicollet House, at which the Honorable Eugene N. NVilson, DI. C., presided. Judge I. Atwater, who had been a member of the first board of regents, made an able and inspiring speech. The first regular catalogue appeared at this time, a variety of announcements having been hitherto issued. The next event of historical interest was the completion of the main part ofthe present academic building and of the former agricultural college building, whicl1 stood on the site now occupied by the physics and chemistry building. Numbers had increased and full college work was carried on: thanks to increased appropriations, the library contained a few thousand books, and the laboratory appliances were sutiicient for instruction: but the preparatory depart ment was a heavy burden which could not be dispensed with. Some trifling elimination was made, but the main body Of the preparatory instruction could not be dropped. The suflicient reason for this was the lack of preparatory schools in the state. Academies were very fcw and mostly atiiliated with denominational colleges. The city high schools, still in the period ot development, could not undertake college preparatory work in any systematic way. llow to enlist the high schools in this indispensible work was u problem which for years hung heavy on the minds of regents and faculty. At length a bill was framed by a member ofthe University to establish a lligh School Board which should be charged with the distribution of a state fund to such high schools as would undertake the preparation of students for the University and admit outside students, of both sexes, free of tuition. This bill became a law in 1878 and, with some amendment, is still in opera- tion and has brought a great reform in public education, in that it has had the effect, virtually, to give Minnesota what no other state possesses-a complete system of public instruction. In the summer of 1880 considerable changes took place in the personnel of the faculty, the vacancies. by great good fortune, being filled by able and enthusiastic teachers who did much to advance the already respectable grade of scholarship. Some of these are still in service. By this time the University had passed out of its period of infancy and entered upon the career of pros- perity, which she has since steadily pursued. The legislature of 1881 appropriated 51804100 to come in in six annual installments for new buildings. It is this fund which, increased by subsequent appropriations, has provided the extensive range of buildings now seated on the campus and sup- plled some of them with appliances rivalling those of many older colleges. In 1882 the number of graduates in the college of science, literature and the arts was thirty-three. The opening of the year 1881-5 was signalized by the accession of President Northrop to the presidency of the University. The high reputation he brought with him as a college professor has been almost eclipsed by his conspicuous success as an executive. Under his administration the history of the institution has been that of continuous advance and development. Among his early measures was the discontinuance of the sub-freshman class and a demand upon the high schools of the state to assume the whole work of preparing their students for college. In this de- mand he has not been disappointed and the result has been a cordial aliiliation of these schools with the University. In the year 1882 the new experimental farm at St. Anthony Park had been acquired, and extensive improvements were later begun. Experience having shown the impracticability of inducing many farmers' sons to pursue the long collegiate courses in agriculture and horticulture .17. if