Willamette University - Wallulah Yearbook (Salem, OR)

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DI'V of W illamette luiversityfrm 11he11 Jason Lee l1is11ephe11D111 l.pitcl1ed their tents 0n llocated about ten in 1,1,1 re tl1e1' would build an hi eucatioualill 11- Indian cliil nents. an ship Lausanne El . 1i 1l 0f lletl10d1sl 1 were the- 11'l1 ito childre ousidered. c the early settlers 111111 i51- iles below 7 white children, which they and later into a college. Oregon Institute. resolved should grow into an academy It was decided toiname the school the Their next step was to find a location for the school. Meanwhile the site of the Indian school had pioved to be low and' unhealthy So Lee had procured a section of land, located in what is 110w the center of salem, and had built a $10, 000 frame structure later known as the Institute Building, near 11 here the Universit1 Gymnasium now stands, and had moved the Indian school to this new location. But the school did not prosper; disease had gained a foothold among the Indians and many died, while many of the others became superstitious arid went back to their savage homes. On account of these circumstances, it was decided to sell the property 10 the trustees of the newly- -0rganized iiOregon Institute. ,, This was done and the school was immediately opened for 11 hite children. Thus ten years after Jason Lee had fiist set foot in the Willamette Valley, XVillamette University 11 as in actual operation. The beginning was small, but the school grew rapidly. At first Mrs. Chloe Clark Willson, who will be' mentionedrlater, was the sole teacher; but soon primary and academic departments were organized and the teaching force was increased. Finally in 1853, by an act of the Legislative Assembly of the territory of Oregon, Willamette Uni- versity was formally chartered with the Oregon Institute as a pre- paratory school. In 1859, the year that Oregon was admitted to the U11i011,the first class. eemposed of Miss Emily York, was graduated from the College of Liberal Arts. 1 The next chapter is a story of hardships and 0f self-denial The pioneer community of Salem was not wealthyand money was very scarce. Often the teachers served without pay, and even gave dona- But the dark days brought out the heroes, such men as iiFatherT Waller, Par- rish, Leslie, Hines and others. the school was only kept running with difficulty, that our present Chapel Building was constructed. Probably to A. F. Waller more than to arm other man, is the credit due for the success of this under- taking, soiwhat name could be more appropriate for this sacred old building than Waller Hall! The building was started in 1864, and three years later the student body marched with great rejoicing from the old Institute Building into the new HWaller Hallfi For nearly fifty years it has stood, a monument to the early pioneers. But there is another side to Willametteis early history, a black page, stained by the story of false friends and 0f misplaced confidence. tions to the school from their own very limited resources. It was during these hard times, when

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There are two characters which stand out in bold contrast in com- parison with the unselfish pioneers who toiled and suffered that Willamette might live. As mentioned above, when the trustees of the Oregon Institute bought the property from the mission school, it consisted of 640 acres situated in what is now the very heart of Salem. This was in the days before the territory was established, and under the laws of the provisional government, there was no provision made by which a corporation could hold land, and consequently there was serious danger of the InstitUte claim being jumped by unscrupulous persons. It was decided that the land should be turned over to some reliable person to be held in trust. William H. Willson, who was one of the trustees, a member of the church, and whose wife taught in the Insti- tute, as was mentioned above, expressed his willingness to act as trustee. His offer was accepted and he was placed under bond of $100,000 to hold in trust the 640 acres of the Institute. Under certain restrictions he was permitted to sell portions of the claim, but there was a plot of 60 acres, including the campus of today, as well as the land lying between it and Mission Street, which constituted the Insti- tute Reserve, no part of which could be sold. The remaining tract was to be laid off for a townsite, thus to the University is Salem indebted for its broad and sightly streets. Provision was also made for the donation of blocks for public purposes, thus to the University again is Salem indebted for'the parked blocks, extending thru the center of the city, on which now stand the Court House, the Post Office and the State Capitol. In 1848, the bill making Oregon a territory was passed, and con- tained in this was a provision legalizing all bonds and obligations valid under the provisional government, so the friends of the school felt secure. But in 1850 the donation land act was passed, which provided that one-half of the land donated to a husband should cnure to his wife. It was at once apparent that Mrs. Willson, not being a party to the bond, could take advantage of a technicality in the law and claim half of the land held by her husband in trust. It was about this time that she ceased teaching in the Institute, and itsoon became evident that she meant to exert her ttrightsW In 1853 Mr. Willson received the certificate of final proof, and imme- diately he and his wife had the Surveyor-General divide the tract 7n half; and utterly ignoring the moral obligations of the bond, Mrs, Willson boldly took what the law allowed. She endeavored to get