University of North Carolina Chapel Hill - Yackety Yack Yearbook (Chapel Hill, NC)

Page 13 text:

Facts About the Historv of the University of North Carolina, Which Students and Alumni Ought to Know liV KKMP 1 ' . BATTLE, ' 49. HK jjatriots of 1776. in the darkest period of the HevMlution. in the constitution of the new state commanileil the ' .cneral Assembly to establish the I ' niversitx . The charter was grantetl in 1780. The chief agent in i rocurinfr the chartei ' . and .startinu ' the in- stitution on its career was William Richardson i)a ie. a iirachi- )f Princeton, a dashing cavahy officer in the Revolution. Coni- ai -general under (Jreene. a member of the Federal Constitutional I ' ention of 1787. Governor of the State. HrigatUer-general ofthel ' nited jf ! States in the contemplated war with France, sjiecial minister to France to avert that war. an able lawyer and eloquent orator. tlie l atiiii ' nf tiie University. The coiuity of Davie and the Davie Poplar are his only luonuiuonts in Xorth Carohna. The first named in the charter was Sanuiel Johnston, then Governor. The first meeting of the trustees was in Fayetteville, December 18th. 1780. The chairman was Charles John.son. who had fotight for the Pretender at Culloden. This meeting .started sul scri]3tion papers for rai.sing money to erect buildings. The largest sulj.scribers were Alfred Moore, afterwards Federal .Judge, and William Cain, ancestor of our Profes.sor of Mathematics, $200 each. The first President of the Board elected Xoveniber loth. 17 ' .)(). was William Renoir, a hero of King ' s Mountain, then speaker of the Senate. He vias the last sur i or of the Charter trustees, dying in 1838. The first benefactor was Benjamin Smith, afterwartls Governoi-, who i:a c |)at- ents for 20,000 acres of land to be located in We.st Tenne.ssee. then in the po. session of the Chickasaw Indians. Their claim was afterwards extinguished and in 1S35 tlie lands having been much injured liy the earth(|uake of 1812. were sold for S14.000. Smith Hall (our library). Smith Island, and Smithville (now Southport ' were named in his honor. By a vote of the Trustees, the L ' niversity was to be located within fifteen miles of C ' yprett ' s (now Prince ' .s) Bridge over New Hope, or the road from Raleigh to Pittsb jro.

Page 12 text:

The University of North Carolina Chartered in 1789 bv the (jeneral Assembly of North Carolina Colors: Light Bkie and White. Ch eers Yackety Vack! H ' Hay! H ' Rayl Yackoty Vack! H ' Kay! H ' Hay Carolina ' Varsity! ] ooni Rah! Boom Kah! Car-o-li-na! Boom Rah Ray ! Boom Rah Ray ! Carolina ' Varsity ! Ssi3ss ! Boom ! Tar Heel! Unix ' ersity Officers President, Supervisor of the Lihrari . Librarian. Registrar, Bursar, Treasure]-, Supervisor of Grounds. Francis Pre stox N ' KXAiii.i:, Ph.D. EiiEX Alexander. Ph.D.. LL.D. Louis Rouxd Wilson, A.B. Charles Thomas Woollen. Willie Thomas Patterson. Richard Hexry Battle, LL.D. .John Franklix Pickard.

Page 14 text:

The coiiiniissiDiiers to choose the site within the tiiirty mile circle were Frederick Hargett, Senator from Jones, chairman; Alexander .Mebane, afterwards Member of Congress, of Orange; James Hogg, merchant of Hillshoro; William H. Hill, afterwards Member of Congress, New Hanover; Davitl Stone, afterwards Governor and U. S. Senator; Willie Jones of Halifax, member of the Congress of the Confederation. The donors of the site were Col. John Hogan. Benjamin Yeargin, Matthew and Wil- liam McCauley, James Craig, Alexander Pi]3er. Christopher Rarbee, John Daniel. Mark antl Hardy Morgan. The corner stone of the first l)uilding, tlic ( l(l Ivist, was huil by (irand Master William Richardson Davie on the Tith nf ( »ctiibcr. ITOli. The hits nf the -illage were sold on the same day by auction. The original name of the place was New Hope Chapel Hill, there ha ' ing been on the Pittsboro road before the Revolution, a chapel of the Church of England. The doors were opened for students January 1.5th, 1795. Governor Richard ] )obbs Spaight and a number of State officials but not one student, were present. The first .student arrived on February 12th. 1705 — Hinton James of New Hanover — afterwards A.ssistant State Civil Engineer. ' There was no President at first. The first Principal, styletl Presiding Professor, whose department was called that of Humanity, was David Ker, a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin ; afterwards a judge of the Mississippi Territory. Jose]:)h Caldwell, a first honor Princeton man, who had been Professor of Mathe- matics since the fall of 1776, and for several years Presiding Professor, was made President in 1804. He continued to hold that oflfice until his death in 18.35, except four ears. 181.3-17. when at his request Re -. Robert H. Chapman was made Presi- dent. Dr. Caldwell was an active advocate of publir scIukiIs and railroads. Caldwell County was named after liim. The chief part of the endowinent of the Iniversitw which was lost in the Civil ' ar. was from land warrants, to be located in ' est Tennessee, which had been granteil to ofificers and soldiers of the North Carolina Continental troops, who had died without heirs. After Tennessee became a state she claimed these escheated warrants. The Legislature of North Carnlina donated h( r claim to the University and our agent. Archiliald 1). Murphey. was fin ' cc 1 b - the Tennessee Legislature to .give two-thirds of them to two Tennes.see colleges. After paying for the old West Building an! putting (in a third story on the Gld Ivist there was left an endowment of about .SlSO.OOd. Dr. ElLsha Mitchell, Professor of Chemistry. .Minei-ahigy and Geology, who lost his life on Mount Mitchell, the highest peak of the Hlack Motmtains, in 1857, was from 1817 to 1825, Profes.sor of Mathematics. He was then transferred to the Chair of Chemistrv to succeed Denison Olmsted.