University of Pittsburgh - Owl Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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morning market. John Scull was busy all over town distributing the Gazette. Within three years, a new postal system would perform those duties, but 'til then, Scull was the Gazette's editor, publisher, and delivery boy. The trustee-incorporators of the new school included the most distinguished citizens of the area. There were six Presbyterian ministers (five of them graduates of Princeton), four Army officers who had seen duty in the Revolutionary War, five lawyers and two physicians. Among them were the Reverend John McMillan, Colonel Pressley Neville, Dr. Nathaniel Bedford, Colonel William Butler, David Bedford (who later fled to Louisiana in 1794 for his part in the Whiskey Rebellion), James Ross (who taught at the Academy and later became an early U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania) and the Reverend Joseph Smith, known as Hell-Fire Smith . George Welch, the first principal, felt the students should A mw of DoSoto S Proof i OoUtod o»ovnd 1910. Th if'Mt mow o«om-modofot Iho Orodvot School of PvbU Hoolth Bidding com plot. Wot torn rch«t Inttirvto. Chddtont HotpttoJ. otbytocion-Un voc»i»Y Motp.tol o d tho Pwt Foot boll Stodtvm 13

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A vi«w of fh Schonloy Footm 0100 o tvnd 1904. TKo photograph wet token from the Wobtlot Moll area fifth Aronvo con bo toon going off lo the right, with SeHefiefd Arenve on the loft, forbet hold con bo toon ot the top loft, with tho Schonloy Hotol ot the top right The confer of the photograph it now occupied by rho Cofhodrol of looming. knives into their boots as they took their seats on the split log benches. The Great Fire of 1845 destroyed all records. The term ran from the end of harvest to the beginning of planting season. The schoolhouse was constructed of logs stuffed with mud, the cabin having only one room with a fireplace and a little alcove where boys could hang their guns. The school desks were boards fastened to the wall along the windows, boards which were dropped down at night when the schoolroom doubled as a schoolmaster's meeting room and as his bedroom. The seats were backless split-log benches with the split side up. After classes, the new students faced a four mile trip back across town, which meant more than an hour's hike through some of the roughest Indian country known. They normally headed for the safety of the fort, and then down Liberty Street, a dirt road lined with small taverns and wooden hut stores peddling blankets, match coats, hats, looking glasses, knives, beads and bracelets of glass, all manner of rough-hewn toys for children, guns, flints, powder and lead, and kegs of rum used to barter with the Indians. Water Street was filled with wagons loaded with vegetables on the way to the 2

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° ° Ooki o »vnd 1901 Jh, ‘«m.l.o. (i«U n and iatan M«U P.IHW|k A.HW.k A. CorA« w MvMum con bo toon to iho loft bv.W.n,t wbnh now kto Wth A otKodcol end Iho Ovotfl won learn practical lessons such as Indian sign language, fencing, fighting, and of course, English and mathematics. The curriculum was well adapted to the area's needs. For example, when construction was under way in the city, mathematics advanced to straight engineering proportions. There were no books. By 1790, the Academy had expanded enough to warrant larger quarters. A brick structure was constructed near the original cabin, using interest from a $5000 direct grant from the state legislature, as payment for the two-story building. The cabin continued to serve as the schoolmaster's home. In the ensueing years, two very distinguished professors replaced Welch. They were James Mount and Robert Patterson. Their joint efforts ensured the continued growth of the young institution. In 1805 Joseph Stockton was named principal and a company of men petitioned the legislature for a charter, which would give the school full university powers. It was also specified that neither race nor creed should warrant dis- crimination and instructors should have both the ability and a high moral standing. On February 19, 1819 the Academy became the Western University of Pennsylvania. At the same time, the state legislature granted the new University fifty acres of land in Allegheny as an incentive to learning. This was later commuted to $2400 annually for five years. A new structure and an exceptional faculty were now possible. Dr. Bruce was named the first president and served from 1822 until 1843. Reverend Herman Dyer, his successor, experienced difficulties whenever the sole University building was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1845. Struggling to keep the University alive, a new structure was completed in 1846, only to meet the same fate in 1849. It wasn't until 1854 that a new building was raised at Ross and Diamond Streets, and under the leadership of Dr. John F. McLaren enrollment grew steadily. There were twelve classrooms on the first and second floors, with a chapel on the third. Settees were the only furnishings. Beginning with a 14