Waynesburg University - Mad Anthony Yearbook (Waynesburg, PA)

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WAYNESBURG. 4 QQLLEGE Waynesburg College secured its name from Mad Anthony Wayne, a hero of the Revolutionary War. The college however, did not originate in Waynesburg, but was the outgrowth of Greene Academy, at Carmichaels, Pa., and Madison Col- lege, at Uniontown, Pa. V Greene Academy was at first a partially endowed school by both state and private citi- zens but later the money from the state was turned over to the School Board of Carmichaels Boro, making the institution an entirely private venture. Madison College was established near the beginning of the nineteenth century by the Meth- odist Church in Uniontown, Pa., but when three Presbyterian ministers 'came to Southwestern Pennsylvania, they decided to make Uniontown the religious and educational center of the new denomination. Finding that Madison College had ceased to function, they secured the control from the Methodists about 1838 and made the institution a Cumberland Presbyterian College. This College operated until 1846, when the fac- ulty resigned due to difficulties with the Board of Trustees. ln 1849, at the April meeting of the Pennsylvania Presbytery in Greenfield, Washing- ton County, a committee was appointed to make and receive proposals from different localities as to the amount of aid each would contribute to- ward the erection of buildings and the endowing of professorships in the new institution to be placed under the care of the Pennsylvania Synod of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Pro- Tlaisturp emit ,fasts posals were sought and responses were received from Waynesburg and Carmichaels. Uniontown was also considered but failed to make any over- tures of money or property. Athens, Ohio, also made overtures for a Cumberland Presbyterian college in the North. Considerable feeling was engendered over the manner of the determina- tion of the location. Waynesburg subscribed about 55,000 for a three story brick building on a town lot 50 x 70 feet, on College Street. Car- michaels proposed a gift of considerable acreage and a brick building 35 x 60 feet and three stories in height. lt having been adiudged that Waynes- burg had made the best proposition, it was adopted as the seat of the proposed institution. On March 25, 1850, a liberal charter was secured from the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, of which reads: That Jesse Lazear, Jesse Hook, W. T. E. Webb, Bradley Mahanna, John Rofgers, Mark Gordon, R. W. Downey, William Braden, A. G. Allison, William W. Sayers, Dr. A. Shaw, John T. Hook, and John Phelan are hereby ap- pointed trustees of said corporation to hold their positions until their successors in office are elected in the manner hereinafter provided. By the pro- visions of this charter the control of Waynesburg College was to be exercised by the Cumberland Presbyterians. ln the autumn of that year, the College building known as Hanna Hall was begun and completed in the autumn of 1851. In the fall of 1850, Miss Margaet K. Bell was em- ployed to take charge of a school for girls and- a class was certified the next year from the Bap- tist Church.

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nf Waynesburg :allege On the first Tuesday of November, 1851, the Laughran School, named so after the Presi- dent of the school, was conducted in the new building, as was the Bell School. In September, 1852, the first class of girls was graduated from Miss Bell's school, in 1853, the second class of girls and the first class of boys were graduated, the first commencement being held September 28, 1853, in The Waynesburg College proper. The Rev. Mr. Laughran was succeeded by the Rev. J. P. Wethee, who had previously served Madison College as its President. ln 1859, Dr. A. B. Miller was called to the Presidency. For forty years he served this institution, and it was through his efforts that the present administra- tion building was initiated and completed. In 1935, this building became known as Miller Hall. In 1899, when Dr. Miller relinquished his duties because of ill health, D. J. W. McKay was elected Acting President for one year. He was succeeded by Dr. A. E. Turner, Dr. A. F. Lewis, Act- ing President J. F. Bucher, Dr. William Hudson, Acting President H. D. Patton, Dr. E. F. Baker, Dr. H. P. Houghton and Dr. J. W. McKay. When at the end of a three year term Dr. McKay was forced to resign because of ill health,'Prof. Paul R. Stewart, who had served the College for eleven years as Professor of Chemistry and Geol- ogy, was elected Acting President July 1, 1921. Under his direction the College made such rapid strides that on January 1, 1923, he was unani- mously elected President by the Board of Trustees. Waynesburg College is historically co-edu- cational. ln 1849 when it admitted women and in 1857 when it granted the first baccalaureate degrees to women, it established itself as the sec- ond institution in the United States to give de- grees to women on the same basis as men. The farsighted founders of- Waynesburg College could hardly have envisioned the College as it stands today. The present campus' of acres is still growing. The seven main buildings, hous- ing the various departments will soon be added to by the erection of a new library in an expan- sion program to meet growing demands. Waynesburg College, celebrating its hun- dredth birthday this year, is faced with a new challenge of meeting and conquering the prob- lems arising from the modern age. Thousands of young men and women are turning to Amer- ica's educational institutions for an answer to their destinies. In this historic time, the small christian colleges such as Waynesburg are rising to the top in providing better educational basis for social and personal achievement.