University of Oregon - Oregana Yearbook (Eugene, OR)

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JJ THE OREGANA with provisions made in the constitu- tion of the state when it was admit- ted to the Union. Eugene people dropped the high school bill agitation and began working for the State University, which it was thought would fill the same need and give more prestige. A purely local matter it was in those days to locate a state univer- sity. The beginnings of Oregon Agricultural College had been made at Corvallis through the Methodist denominational college then in operation. Willamette University, Pacific University, McMinnville College and several other denominational institutions were already in operation. It was considered that the educational needs of the state were well cared forg the State University was not expected to set new standards, but as it was to be located in some town in the state, Eugene thought it of enough local importance to enter the race in order to keep her young men and women at home and to receive the benefits of a few additional students from outside. Eugene won in the legislative assembly in 1872, a bill being passed locating the State University in that city provided a building and equipment to cost 850,000 should be in readiness for the open- ing of the University by 1874. Dr. A. W. Patterson brought another force to bear before the fight was finally won for Eugene. He was chairman of the committee on public buildings in the senate. When the bill to provide for the building of the statehouse was brought before his committee, he refused to bring it out until its promoters should pass the bill locating the State University at Eugene. So the measure was passed and thus the University of Oregon had its official beginning. ' The passage of the bill in the state legislative assembly on Oc- tober, 1872, was the signal for the beginning of a new fight. Because the location of the State University was considered a local matter in the minds of at least a good majority of the residents of Eugene, each section of town wished the University location. Skinner's Butte, College Hill and the present site of the Oregon campus were considered by the Union University Association, a 850,000 corporation formed before the opening of the legislature in 1872 to press the Eugene bill and to raise the money required to comply with the measure whenit had passed. This committee, corn- Hello Lane Twenty E i

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THE OREGANA A Ctlanrv at Hniueraitg Beginnings HE College Crest street car and the subsequent ride through the suburbs of Eugene to College Hill has been the momentarily luckless introduction to University life of many new students coming to the University of Oregon. Although carried miles from their intended destination, these temporarily side-tracked beginners in the pursuit of knowledge are being shown in this way, unknown to themselves and to perhaps a majority of the student body, the scene of the most remote beginnings of the University. It was on College Hill that the first university to be established in Eugene was located in 1856, nine years after Eugene Skinner had built his pioneer cabin at the foot of Skinner's Butte. Columbia College, as the institution was called, was a Presbyterian school. During its short life it was twice burned to the ground and finally was compelled to suspend permanently during the Civil War period. Columbia College, nevertheless, was the real beginning of the Uni- versity of Oregon, centering as it did the activities of higher learn- ing at Eugene and securing the good will of 130 graduates among the pioneers of the state. Perhaps the Oregon Spirit of today had its beginnings at Co- lumbia College for the alumni of that pioneer school years later stood loyally behind the movement to locate the state University in the city where their own college days had been spent. if Ili 'lf Pk Ridiculous as it seems today when Oregon is recognized a great university, first agitation for the location of the State Univer- sity at Eugene was made less than fifty years ago because the people of the neighborhood felt the need of a high school. The public school had graduated in 1872 its first class in which there were several who wished to continue their education. Because Co- lumbia College had been located in Eugene at an earlier period and caused the city to consider herself a center of higher education, her citizens felt that something should be done to keep their children in the home community. It was decided that the city should take advantage of a state law and petition the legislative assembly of 1872 for a 810,000 appropriation to be used to build and equip a high school. W It was learned later that the location of the State University was to be decided at this session of the legislature in accordance Nlneloen

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posed of J. M. Thompson, J. J. Walton, W. J. J. Scott, B. F. Dorris, J. B. Underwood, J. J. Comstock, A. S. Patterson, S. H. Spencer, E. L. Bristow, A. W. Patterson and E. L. Applegate, voted to com- promise betweenthe three factions, and purchased five acres near' the present center of the city. Not feeling satisfied with this location for the University, men from outside the city of Eugene were asked for an opinion. Upon the advice of these men the Union University Association then de- cided in favor of the present campus site, and purchased eighteen acres for the use of the University. The Eugene City Guard commented on the selection of this site as follows: The site chosen for the State University is a beautiful spot of ground in a healthful place. By placing a ram at the mill dam a short distance from the University building site water can be carried all over the structure when it is completed. Work was at once commenced on the first University building, now known as Deady Hall. The Union University Association had a paid-in capital of 9'p25,000. With the understanding that the board of commissioners of Lane County would appropriate an additional SE10,000, a total of 335,000 was spent on the building by the fall of 1874. Because the board of commissioners changed its mind and voted not to take advantage of the clause in the legislative bill which located the University at Eugene and provided that Lane County could vote up to 330,000 for the building, a total of 310,000 was owed by the Union University Association. As the feeling among the townspeople had not been helped by the location fight, it was difficult to raise money to off-set the amount promised but not voted by the board of county commissioners. Difficulty in securing the nec- essary iinancial backing after all apparent sources had been ex- hausted by the friends of the University movement finally led to an expression of sentiment favoring the sale of the uncom- pleted building now known as Deady Hall and an abandonment of the project. . Sell the building for what it will bring, pay up the debts and Faculty Meeting x T ty 'Q lx!