Wheaton College - Nike Yearbook (Norton, MA)

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(7 iy ! + es ee » Tapers Mh TENNIS COURTS - 1914 ' —s % GRADUATION - CLASS OF 1904 WHEATON ENDOWMENT CAMPAIGN: EACH PL 1920-21 GYM CLASS - CLASS OF 1924 METCALF PARLOR - 1900 MAIN STREET - 1850 SOPHOMORE HOCKEY TEAM .- 1923-24

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( Bn 1834, the grieving Whea- ton Family of Norton, Massachusetts erected a school for young women to serve as a living memorial in the memory of Eliza Frances Wheaton. Miss Wheaton had passed away early in her married life and the estate that JUDGE LABAN WHEATON AERIAL VIEW OF WHEATON was her wedding present came to serve as Wheaton’s main endowment. The Wheaton family were distin- guished members of the Norton community. Judge Laban Wheaton served the area originally as a Harvard educated physician. In later years, he served terms in the Massachusetts General Court and the Representatives in Washington, DG: His marriage to cousin Fanny Morey , Saver as House of produced two children, each of whom would have an integral part to play in the establishment of the semi- nary. The daughter-in-law of Judge Wheaton, Eliza Bayles Chapin, con- tributed greatly to the new school. Highly educated herself, she firmly believed in the need for women to expand their intellectual horizons. Throughout her long life, until her death in 1905, she played an active Se us tie ELIZA B. WHEATON (1905) role in expanding both the teaching staff and the physical resources of the seminary. Eventually, she had wished to see the seminary evolve into a col- lege. As a result of her careful and wise guidance, that goal materialized only a few years after her death. Both Mrs. Wheaton and her husband La- ban Morey Wheaton took active part in establishing and nuturing the young seminary.

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ws aban Morey served as both a financial and emotional supporter of the school. He, along with Judge Wheaton, served on the first Board of Trustees. His death was a great loss to the school. However, even in death, he remained committed to Wheaton College in the form of a large finan- cial endowment. The Wheaton Fam- ily produced a seminary and eventually a college, which has, to the present day, committed itself to the pursuit of higher education for wom- en. The competitive academic spirit formulated by the Wheatons in those early years is perpetuated today by CLASS OF 1888 WITH ELLEN ST. current Wheaton students and gradu- ates. The women who currently at- tend the college owe a great indebtness to the Wheatons for their foresight and commitment to the ANTON education of women. The Wheaton Seminary was a pioneer in the higher education of women. It was modest in pretensions, small in size, and hid- den in a remote town. The girls BICENTENNIAL TRIBUTE TO NORTON, SEPTEMBER 28, 1911 whom it attracted were young and impressionable. They came to the school looking for preparation for future studies or simply to develop themselves intellectually,socially, a d emotionally. The founders tried to build a Christian school with an em phasis on higher spiritual values. Th wished to create a school that pro moted piety, religion, morality, and the intellectual atmosphere to edu cate women in all branches of science and literature that were suitable fa them to attend. The Wheaton Se nary opened on April 22, 1835 wi forty-nine students. Tuition was $10 a term and Room and Board was at $1.67 per week. Student housing was dispersed among the townspeo=) ple and eventually, Judge Wheaton allowed his home to be used as @ boarding house too. The first class t@