Villanova University - Belle Air Yearbook (Villanova, PA)

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YEARS IIP DUH tillIIWill Bock in 1853. the complete Villanova campus consisted of the above four buildings. From LEFT to RIGHT, the original chapel, the Rudolph House port of the original purchase, the College Building erected in 1844 Just three years ofter the purchase of the Rudolph Property and lastly, the stone born also part of the original purchase. TO THE RIGHT is shown the Villanova College Chapel which was constructed in 1844. The college bell con be seen in the locust tree between the rear of the Rudolph House ond the Chapel. This bell was recast from metol salvaged from the bell of St. Augustine's Church which bod been originally used in Independence Hall before the casting of the Liberty Bell. . .

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VILLANOVA 1 H 4 1 THo Rudolph Home purehoted in 1841 o» o part of the original Belle Air Estate constituted Villanovo's most impressive physical asset until the erection of the College Building in 1848. During the eo'ly years college life at Villanovo revolved about this former residence, for it served os mona- stery, college, and chapel. Just a little over one hundred years ago. on the Feost of St. Augustine, on Augustinion priest celebrated Moss to inouguarate the foundation of a new Catholic College and to ask God to shed his blessing upon the project. There were no college buildings then; there was. properly speaking, no campus. Villonova consisted of the former Belle Air Estate—a home .a barn,'and ex- tensive farmland. There were but ten students and six professors. These were the humble beginnings of the modern educational institution which stands today. The story of its progress reflects the history of our nation and of the Augustinion Order which, through the years, has contributed to that notion a constant flow of loyal, well- educated Americans. Villanovo first opened its doors to students in September. 1843. Almost from the outset it was to feel the tremors, large and small, which periodically passed through the nation. Scarcely a year ofter its inception on intense spirit of anti-Catholicism gripped the area and finally, in 1846. resulted in demonstrations which forced the new college to terminate all classes. These outbursts hod sufficiently subsided by September of the some year, however, to permit the resumption of normal ocodemic life on the campus. The college started anew with an increased enrollment of 24 students and o faculty augmented by the arrival of three Augustinion priests from Italy. When on March 10. 1848 the Governor signed An act to Incorporate the Augustinion College the legal right of Villanovo to operate as a college was secured. Though then firmly established, Villanovo was soon to undergo a new series of shocks which would ogam force it to suspend activities. The panic of 1857. the subsequent depression, and the Civil War broke upon the country with such a force as to disrupt oil normal pursuits. Villanovo closed, and remained closed until 1865 when it was once again able to take up its aca- demic duties. With the construction of the gymnasium in 1869 the first signs of prosperity ond expansion began to appear. This promise of things to come was continued by the presentation of the first college catalogue in 1871. The catalogue described the college, its aims, ond the courses offered. The curriculum ot that time consisted of three years of preparatory work and four years of Liberal Arts. It was during this same period that the Villonova Alumni Association was formed. In 1863. the Augustinion Fathers began the erection of a chapel large enough in design to meet the demands of both the present and the future. The edifice was com- pleted four yeors later ond has since become a symbol of all that is Villanovan.

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A bird's-eye view of the Villonovo compui in 1875 at conceiveo by on engravor. To the RIGHT it Spring Mill Road. In the CENTER of the engraving it the New College 8wilding between the gymnatium and the chapel. Several years later, in 1893, with a faculty of 31 and a student body of 94, Villonovo celebrated its Golden Jubilee. Fifty years of educational endeavor lay behind. Villonovo was still a small college, but out of its labor it hod hewn a firm foundation upon which to build for the future. Villonovo now entered upon a period of rapid development. Reverend John J. Fedigan, O.S.A., in 1899. started worlt on the Monastery and College Hall. Shortly afterward, on Engineering school was established which was followed in 1915 by the creation of a Pre- Medical course. In 1918, another addition was made in the form of a Summer School out of which developed just one year later the Extension School familiar to all today. Along with the rest of the notion Villonovo hod felt during these lotter years the impact of the first World War. It had readily accepted military students and initiated an Army Student Training Corps which re- mained operative until December, 1918. Immediately following the war the college started a new period of growth. In the early twenties it become necessary to Probobly no Alumni resident today would recog- nise these early interior photos of Villonova's old- est structure. What were once the reading room (LEFT) and one of the classrooms (BELOW) have now been partitioned to moke living quarters for the resident students.