University of Vermont - Ariel Yearbook (Burlington, VT)

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' ' ' i ' V meetings after his return from £urope, until he resigned from the board at a meeting held at Jutland October 12, 1804. His financial troubles were so great that he could not throw them off and he was obliged to leave the State to avoid imprisonment for debt. T)uring his last years on the board of trustees the pre- siding officer was Qovernor Tichenor, one of the most mfiuential and persistent enemies of Ira zAllen. College Puilbing Wisiii ais JSarracfeji in l ar of 1812 3N addition to his other duties ' President Sanders found time to write a His- tory of the Indian Wars, which was published in 1812 by Wright and Sibley of S Iontpelier. This is considered one of the best histories of the nAmer- ican Indian ever published, but it was savagely attacked by cAn cAssociation of Qentlemen at S Iiddlebury on the ground that certain statements were not in harmony with orthodox religion. ' President Sanders, disturbed by this criti- cism, so far as possible destroyed the books. In 1814 the War ' ■ ' Department asked for and was granted the use of the college edifice as barracks for soldiers and college exercises were temporarily suspended. re£iibent anberfi 3 etires( RESIDENT Sanders retired from his position, leaving town with his family S Iay 14, 1814, when a ' ■British flotilla was in ' Turlington Bay. He lived many years, his death occurring October 18, 1850. ' ' resident Wheeler in writ- ing of the first President said: He was a man of large stature, six feet in height, of manly proportions, of great personal courage, of gentlemanly bearing and of quick, impulsive, but honorable feelings. The number of graduates during ' President Sanders ' administration, given by classes, were as follows: 1804, four; 1805, three: 1806, six (one non- graduate) ; 1807, three: 1808, two (one non-graduate) ; 1809, twelve (one non-graduate and one death of a student); 1810, seventeen (five non-grad- uates); 1811, eight (nine non-graduates) ; 1812 eight (eight non-graduates) ; 1813, ten (eight non-graduates) : 1814, five (six non-graduates) . There were forty -six undergraduates who left college when the necessities of war closed its doors to students. )t nibersitj truggleg for existence )0T only during the early days of the University, but for many years there- after, the institution maintained a precarious existence. Students were few and funds were scarce. £uen the small salaries allowed often were long over- due. Hostility to the University was shown not infrequently by influential ' groups of citizens. cAs one surveys the record of the University, and notes the dangers that threatened its very existence again and again during the first seven or eight decades of its history, one marvels that it was possible to keep the doors open for instruction, and to maintain such high standards and noble traditions. Later generations, studying and teaching under conditions vastly more favor- able, with humility and reverence should hold in high honor those who suffered great hardships in their brave efforts to prevent the extinguishment of the lamp of learning lighted on this hilltop so long ago. Nineteen ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Hi !il III

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1804, ' President Sanders gave all the instruction until 1806, and continued as pastor of the Congregational church of Turlington until 1807. In addition to preparing the course of study, superintending building operations and giving attention to matters of discipline, he solicited funds and looked after rents from college lands. In the winter of 1807 he travelled extensively throughout the state, collecting unpaid rents. iWatijematicss rofefisior Vottt a alarp of $348.71 IDNEY WILLARD, a Harvard graduate, was a tutor in 1806 and ames ' Dean, a Dartmouth man, was tutor from 1807 to 1809. On September 11, 1807 , it was voted to provide a salary of $348.7 1 for a professor of mathe- matics and natural philosophy, but apparently SMr. Dean performed the work of the department as tutor, until cAugust 17, 1809, when he was selected pro- fessor of mathematics, natural philosophy and astronomy , a position which he held until 1814, returning later (1822-24). MWtioni to t|)e Jf acultp Jfounb i tecesisiarp (i N January 2, 18 1 1, a committee composed of Hon. lioyall Tyler and Hon. William C- Bradley recommended the election of a professor of the learned languages: a professor of law, to receive no salary but to be compensated by reasonable fees; and, when funds permitted, a professor of belles lettres and cr professor of chemistry and mineralogy. ' R.eu. ason C amberlin of Quilford was elected professor of chemistry and of Latin and Qreek, serving from 1811 to 1814, and Hon. T{,oyall Tyler, one of ' Vermont ' s most famous, brilliant and versatile man, was made professor of law. On cAugust 17, 1809, Dr. ohn T ' omeroy of ' Turlington had been ap- pointed professor of physics, anatomy and surgery. cA resolution was adopted providing that any person who has been licensed to practice physic by any medical Society established by law and has attended two courses of lectures de- livered by the professor of physic, anatomy and surgery of the university and shall deliver an inaugural dissertation on some subject proposed by said pro- fessor, shall be considered a proper candidate for the degree of ' bachelor of ' Physic and may be examined by the ' President of the University and the professor in such manner as they may judge proper, and on their recommenda- tion may be admitted to such degree. 3ra !3Uen Waxni gainsit encroachment on College lanb£! HERE were some encroachments on the college lands. Soon after Qen. Ira cAllen returned from Surope he warned certain persons who were preparing to erect buildings that these lands have been appropriated for a public green, to contribute both to the convenience, elegance and use of the University of Vermont. He adds: SMy long detention in Europe, no doubt predicated on the part I early took in the liberties and independence of this and the United States, ought not to operate as an injury to a place made beautiful in the forma- tion of the earth, and by art may be useful to this in future genera- tions. One notes here a tone of pathos, together with that appreciation of scenic beauty which led to the selection of this site of Turlington and probably to the location of the campus. Ira aAllen attended most of the corporation Eighteen

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Cfje Ctjolution of tfje IbjiWiU ' Tt ' HE Old College building, better known for several generations as the Old S ill, has passed through many transformations since the original edifice was raised in 1801. Following the War of 1812 the University received $5,600 from the United States government for rental and damage on the prop- erty during its occupation as barracks. This sum sufficed to make extensive repairs on the Old S lill and several other buildings then owned by the college. In 1824, following one of the critical periods in the history of the Uni- versity, the college building was destroyed by fire. cA student was burning shavings in his stove on the ground floor, and sparks from his chimney fell on the roof, causing the blaze. It was due to ' Pro- fessor ' Porter, a young chemistry teacher, and a number of youthful graduates, that the necessary funds were raised for the erection of new build- ings. In the summer of 1825 when a new Pres- ident, Willard T ' reston, came to take charge, the only evidences of the institution were a few baskets of books and a few bits of philosophical apparatus in the corner room of a deserted store- house, and the newly started foundation of the north college, according to the account of l ro- fessor Benedict. Three buildings were even- tually raised on the spots now known as north, south and middle. There was an interval of seven or eight feet between each, governor Van S ess laid the cornerstone of orth College in the spring of 1825. oA month or two later, on Sune 29 , Qeneral Lafayette laid the cornerstone of the south building. The middle structure was not completed until 1829. The north and south structures were built for dormitories and each was built in two divisions. The buildings were three stories high, and seventy-five feet long by thirty-six feet wide, c few recitation rooms were finally placed on the first floor of the South College. The middle college was eighty-six feet long with a projection front and rear. It contained the chapel, museum, library, lecture rooms, and two rooms assigned to Thi Sigma S u and University Institute, rival debating societies. It was surmounted by a gilded dome, the working plans for which were executed by Trofessor Benedict, and which was a promi- nent landmark during the fifty years that it remained standing. In about 1848 a few small rooms were added to the buildings by walling up the space between them. There were, however, no corridors running lengthwise of the structure, making it necessary to go out of doors in passing from one division or from one building to another. The tin roof was changed for Welsh slate about this time. Shortly after 1860 the north and south college buildings were both thor- oughly repaired and convenient suites of rooms for students provided. The chapel was also enlarged. In 1882, the reconstruction of the Old S Iill in its present form, according to plans drawn by J. 5- Randall of Jutland, was made possible by John T. Howard, who contributed about $50,000. The different stories were raised, and the chapel and other rooms enlarged by adding projections at the ends and center. The space now occupied by the University Store, coffee corner, and Twenty ' 2i m : ' r ,rtrsr»rirrr ' ' .