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Page 31 text:
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I Seventy Years of Progress | iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Beginnings JUST seventy years ago the idea of a University of Minnesota first suggested itself to any one. In that year (1851), an act was passed by the Territorial Legis- lature providing for a University to be located at or near the Falls of St. Anthony. A tract of four acres, situated at Central and University Avenues S. E., was pur- chased from Mr. Franklin Steele. Upon this tract a building was erected at a cost of $2,500. The Old Academy, as it was called, was a two-story frame structure, with ground dimensions of thirty by fifty feet. School was opened here in 1851 with an enrollment of about twenty. Under the direction of Prof. Merrill, who came here from the East, the school flourished until 1855, when it was dis- continued because of lack of adequate accommodations. From that year until the building was destroyed by fire, in 1864, it was used for school purposes by various private parties. Agitation began soon after the first site was selected for a permanent new loca- tion for the University. Land near St. Anthony Falls was rising in value so rapidly that in 1854. the Regents purchased an additional tract. Six Thousand Dollars was the price paid for the present campus. The first building erected was the left wing of the Old Main, at an approximate cost of $49,000. Soon after the left wing was completed, the panic of 1857 swept the country, and there was no money to meet the outstanding notes and bonds. As a result, the Old Main stood vacant during the days of the Civil War. A legislative committee which visited the building in 1864 reported a family living in the building, ostensibly to take care of it, with turkeys in one room, hay in another, and wood in the third, while the floor of the basement was ruined by wood splitting. Affairs were not destined to remain so for long. In 1860 there was a reorganization of the Board of Regents and a new charter was adopted. Part of the University lands granted by the state legislature was sold to pay off old debts, and the institution was put on a sound financial basis. Another bit of good fortune for the University was the appoint- ment of John S. Pillsbury to the Board of Regents in 1863. For ten years the Old Main had stood deserted. In 1867 the legislature voted $15,000 for the building and beginning of a course of instruction. President FolwelVs Administration This era marks the struggle to lay the foundations of a real university. On August 23, 1869, the first university faculty was elected by the Board of Regents. William Watts Folwell was chosen president and professor of mathematics. On the fifteenth of September of that year the University was formally opened. The faculty at that time consisted of nine men including the president. For many years the instructors carried on the work zealously despite their poor equipment and meager salaries. In 1873 the first class was graduated. There were two mem- bers. The exercises were held in the old Academy of Music on the corner of Wash- ington and Hennepin Avenues, followed by a banquet given by the citizens of Min- neapolis. In 1883, after fifteen years of continuous service. President Folwell felt that his
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work had been completed, and that the reins should pass into younger and more active hands. With keen foresight he perceived that the common people would clamor for a technical education, and that the business man would demand training which would enable him to master the details of a modern concern. President Northrop ' s Administration President Northrop wisely continued to build on the foundation so firmly estab- lished by his predecessor. In 1834 two new buildings were erected by the College of Agriculture, and the Coliseum was completed on the main campus. In this same year the Agricultural Experiment Station was founded; and the Department of Engineering was organized into a separate college. During President Northrop ' s term of office the problem of agricultural educa- tion was definitely solved. To Professor Porter belongs the credit for originating the idea of conducting classes on the farm. The importance of this suggestion can not be over-estimated, for it resulted in the establishment at Minnesota of the first agricultural college in the world. In 1885 the Mechanic Arts Building was erected; and Pillsbury Hall was also made possible by a gift of $150,000 from Governor Pillsbury. The year 1888 is notable for four events. It marks the opening of the College of Medicine, Surgery, and Dentistry; the College of Law; the School of Mines; and the publication of the first Gopher. Two years later came the completion of the Chemistry Laboratory; and in 1892 the College of Pharmacy was opened. The University Library was erected in 1894 at a cost of $175,000. By 1895 students at Minnesota numbered over 2,000. The Armory was completed in 1896. The Alumni Association was formed in 1901. In 1902 the University was recipient of two gifts: Mrs. Sarah Pillsbury Gale gave the memorial fence on the University Avenue side of the campus, and Caleb Dorr erected the Dorr Fountain. The Old Main burned in 1904; and two years later Shevlin Hall was erected on the same site by Thomas Shevlin, in honor of his wife. In 1907, after a long and fruitful period of service. President Northrop ten- dered his resignation to take place at the close of the school year 1909- ' 10. Presi- dent Northrop, while in charge of the University, saw an almost incredible increase in number of students and buildings. In 1910 there were nearly 5,000 students at Minnesota, and twenty-three buildings on the campus, not one of which was stand- ing when Dr. Northrop came from the East. Only the College of Science, Literature, and the Arts was in existence in 1884. By 1910 the University offered as diver- sified opportunities for training as any school in the country. An interesting event in President Northrop ' s administration was the adoption of the University song, Hail Minnesota. Originally it was the song of the class of 1904, written by Truman E. Rickard. The song so appealed to the student body that it soon, by general consent, became the University anthem. The second stanza of the original song applied particularly to President Northrop. At his suggestion this stanza was dropped, and one written by Arthur Upson, of the class of 1905, was substituted. President Vincent ' s Administration President Vincent ' s administration is marked by numerous administrative changes. The deans of the colleges with the president were formed into a central administra- tive committee. This body recommends to the Regents the budget upon which the Legislature bases its appropriation for the coming year. Another feature inaugurated
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