USA > Colorado > History of Colorado; Volume I > Part 70
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The conference subsequently elected the following self-perpetuating board of trustees, eighteen in all: Rev. E. P. Wells, Rev. J. M. Sturtevant, Jr., Rev. T. N. Haskell, Rev. E. B. Tuthill, Rev. Nathan Thompson, Rev. T. C. Jerome, Rev. R. C. Bristol, Maj. Henry McAllister, Gen. W. J. Palmer, Gen. R. A. Cameron, Dr. W. A. Bell, H. W. Austin, W. S. Jackson, E. S. Nettleton, Prof. J. E. Ayers, J. R. Hanna, W. McClintock, and H. B. Heywood.
In spite of difficulties, the trustees secured the services of Rev. Jonathan Edwards, a graduate of Yale and pastor of the Congregational Church at Ded- ham, Massachusetts. Mr. Edwards was to be professor of literature and was to receive as compensation the fees of students attending the college. A prepara- tory department was opened at Colorado Springs on May 6, 1874, in rooms se- cured near the center of the town. The first term continued for ten weeks.
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There were about eighteen students in attendance. At the end of the term "a committee passed thirteen of these students to the literary and scientific fresh- men rank."
In September the college began the work of the fall term in a new frame building on the corner of Tejon Street and Pike's Peak Avenue, where the First National Bank now stands. Afterwards the college was moved to the Cumber- land Presbyterian Church. It continued to occupy rented buildings until the completion of the central portion of the first college building, in the year 1880. During the year 1874-75 there were in all seventy-six students, of whom seven- teen were of freshman rank. Before the end of the year Professor Edwards re- signed. He was succeeded by Rev. James G. Dougherty as president of the college, who continued in office during the ensuing year.
It was possible to reopen the college in September, 1876, with Rev. E. P. Tenney, A. M., as president, assisted by Winthrop D. Sheldon, A. M., and F. W. Tuckerman. During the frequent absences of the president the work of admin- istration was ably carried on by Professor Sheldon, assisted by Prof. Frank H. Loud, who has been connected with the college from the year 1877 until the present time. During the first year there were twenty-five students in attendance, of whom seven were in the preparatory course, thirteen in the normal course, and five were special students. There were no college students. In the follow- ing year there were sixty-six students in all, of whom three were of college rank. In the year 1878-79 there were five college students out of a total attend- ance of seventy.
During the three years from 1876 to 1879 the work of securing money for the running expenses of the college and for endowment was vigorously carried on by President Tenney, and by the officers of the American College and Educational Society.
In the year 1880 the central portion of the new college building, for many years known as Palmer Hall, was completed, at a cost of $43,000, and the work of the college began to be carried on there. This building, later enlarged by the generosity of General Palmer, remained the only college building until the erection of Hagerman Hall in 1889. In the year 1881-82 there were 122 students, of whom nine were of college rank. In the year 1882 the degree of B. A. was conferred upon Parker S. Halleck and Frederick W. Tuckerman. In addition to these degrees, nine certificates had been given for proficiency in assaying and one for proficiency in analytical chemistry since 1876. The system of admitting graduates of accredited high schools to freshman standing was introduced at this time, and the East Denver high school was the first to be placed on the list.
When President William F. Slocum entered upon his duties October 1, 1888, the situation was not without hopeful features. The people of Colorado Springs were interested in the college ; there were generous friends in the east; there was a capable financial agent, and the new president was a man of energy and finan- cial ability. A vigorous policy was at once inaugurated. Within two years a cash endowment of $100,000 was obtained from friends in Colorado. In April, 1889, the Woman's Educational Society was formed by the ladies of Colorado Springs, with Mrs. William F. Slocum as president, and its membership was soon over one hundred. In 1891 the girls' residence, Montgomery Hall, was com-
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pleted, free of debt. In 1889 Hagerman Hall was erected at a cost of $18,000 as a dormitory and clubhouse for young men. In the following year the library was increased to about seven thousand volumes, and the Rice and Curran schol- arships were established by gifts of $700 and $1,000.
In the year 1891 a gymnasium was erected, largely through the efforts of the students. In September, 1892, a telescope of 4-inch aperture was presented to the college by Henry R. Wolcott, of Denver. In the following year was begun the erection of the Wolcott Observatory, which was completed in June, 1894, at a cost of about three thousand dollars. In the year 1892 N. P. Coburn, of New- ton, Massachusetts, gave $50,000 for a college library.
From 1893 to 1897 Colorado College was chiefly interested in raising the endowment known as the Pearsons' fund. It originated in an offer made by Dr. D. K. Pearsons, of Chicago, in the autumn of 1892, and first announced in Colorado Springs in January, 1893. Doctor Pearsons offered to give $50,000 to the college provided that an additional sum of $150,000 should be raised. This sum of $150,000 was finally raised, fully one-half in the east, and on January 26, 1897, the endowment was completed by the receipt of $50,000 from Doctor Pearsons.
In 1897 Tillotson Academy, founded at Trinidad in 1880 by the New West Education Commission, was united to Cutler Academy and moved to Colorado Springs. The property at Trinidad, valued at about ten thousand dollars, be- came the property of Colorado College.
In December, 1897, Ticknor Hall, the gift of a friend of the college, was completed at a cost of over twenty-three thousand dollars. It is a fine stone building and is the residence for young women of the college classes.
In 1899 was erected another large building, the gift of the late Willard B. Perkins. It is known as the "Perkins Memorial," and cost $30,000. The first floor is the auditorium, with seating capacity of over six hundred, used for the religious services and other public meetings. This room contains a valuable pipe organ, the gift of Miss Elizabeth Cheney, of Wellesley, Massachusetts. The second story is occupied by the department of fine arts and the conservatory of music.
McGregor Hall was built in 1903: Palmer Hall, in 1903; Bemis Hall, 1908; the president's residence, remodeled and enlarged in 1903; Cossitt Memorial was built in 1914; the administration building in the same year.
In 1903 a school of engineering, with Dr. Florian Cajori as dean, was opened, the first class graduating in 1906. In 1914 Cutler Academy was discontinued and the building is now used for the engineering courses.
In 1914 the department of business administration and banking, with Dr. Warren N. Persons as dean, was established.
Through the generosity of General Palmer and Doctor Bell, who in 1905 presented Manitou Park, a tract of 10,000 acres of timber land, to the college, the foundation was laid for a school of forestry. In 1906 this department of the college was opened with Dr. William C. Sturgis as dean.
In December, 1907, the endowment fund of half a million was completed.
Doctor Slocum remained with the college until September 1, 1916, when he resigned. His successor will be named during 1918.
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COLORADO WOMAN'S COLLEGE
The year 1916 was a milestone year in the history of Colorado Woman's Col- lege. It witnessed the realization of one of the dreams of its founders, the erec- tion of the central section of the college building, known as Administration Hall.
In the '70s and 'Sos there were some Coloradoans who wanted their daughters to have a college education, but did not wish to send them to co-educational schools. The need of a woman's college in Colorado was felt, for only parents possessed of wealth could afford to send their daughters east.
In 1886 Dr. Robert Cameron, then pastor of the First Baptist Church of Den- ver, became impressed with the importance of starting an institution of higher learning for young women who could not avail themselves of the advantages of eastern schools. He talked with others who agreed with him, but for some time nothing was definitely accomplished toward carrying out his idea.
The statement has been made that "the college was born June 16, 1887," when five men-the Rev. Robert Cameron, the Rev. E. H. Sawyer, the Rev. E. Nesbit, Prof. C. L. Wells and Hon. W. C. Lothrop, met in the First Bap- tist Church of Denver and took the initial step toward establishing the institu- tion now known as the Colorado Woman's College.
Baptists contributed over twenty-five thousand dollars to the first subscrip- tion, taken in 1889 and 1890. At that time the assets of the "Ladies' College" amounted to over one hundred thousand dollars, including the campus (twenty acres, valued at $30,000), four blocks adjacent ($20,000), other real estate ($20,000), improvements, pledges and other gifts obtained by united effort.
The first officers of the Denver Ladies' College Society (organized June 30, 1887) were: President, Victor A. Elliott; vice president, Wilbur C. Lothrop ; secretary, Samuel H. Baker; treasurer, Robert T. McNeal. The first executive committee was composed of seven men: Governor J. B. Grant, I. E. Blake, M. Spangler, S. H. Baker, I. B. Porter, Granville Malcom and Robert Cameron. Nearly all of these men were Baptists. The institution was chartered Novem- ber 12, 1888, with the title "Colorado Woman's College Society."
In 1893 building operations at the college were entirely suspended. The project languished and all but died "a-borning." For sixteen years (1893-1909) the unfinished structure stood idle and desolate, with windows boarded up.
The college enterprise was reluctantly abandoned by Doctor Cameron, who left Denver and held pastorates in Boston and Providence. Later he went to the northwest and became pastor of the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Victoria, British Columbia. He now lives in Seattle and edits a religious magazine.
In 1902 the Rev. W. T. Jordan, pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church, under- took to clear off the old indebtedness preparatory to getting subscriptions to establish the college. "Pay off the debt, calling on the Baptists mainly for money," was his motto. Year by year the debt was reduced, and in 1907 it was practically wiped out. He was given effective assistance by the other members of the executive committee-Edward Braislin, Granville Malcom, Robert T. McNeal and F. I. Smith.
Then the Rev. C. R. Minard, Ralph Voorhies, Frank Perry and Doctor Mal- com began a campaign for additional funds to complete the building and furnish it. In the course of two years they succeeded in getting $30,000, of which the
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Colorado Woman's College Auxiliary Association raised $11,000 for the furnish- ing of the college. The interior of the south wing was finished, the dormitories were furnished and equipment was bought for the recitation rooms. The next thing on the program was to open the school, September 7, 1909.
The college once started, the Baptists with pride awoke to the consciousness of the strategic advantage of occupying the center of a vast territory without any other woman's college of high rank.
Prof. Jay Porter Treat, an experienced educator, was selected as president, and he was given a free hand to carry out his ideas of what a woman's college should be. From the start it has been his aim to make the school a seat of cul- ture and a Christian home for young women. There are four departments- liberal arts, fine arts, Sunday school pedagogy, domestic science and efficiency.
So rapid was the growth of the institution that it was crowded to its capacity within three years. The erection of the middle section of the college hall was considered imperative, and in 1914 a financial campaign was started for addi- tional funds to complete Administration Hall. This was successful, Dr. A. H. Stockham of Delta making a gift of $10,000. As a result the edifice was com- pleted in 1916.
CLAYTON COLLEGE
George W. Clayton was born February 22, 1833, at Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania. The patronymic of the Great Father of the Republic must have come to him from the coincidence of birth date. The parents of Mr. Clayton main- tained their residence at Philadelphia throughout their long lives, and the chil- dren of the family often returned to the parental home to renew the associations of childhood.
In this way all became familiar with Girard College, which has been, in the minds of Philadelphians, the model institution for boys for many years. It is easy to trace Mr. Clayton's preference for Girard College in founding an insti- tution in Denver.
In July, 1859, Mr. Clayton came to Colorado, then known as the Pike's Peak Country, and beyond the pale of organized government.
The story of Mr. Clayton's subsequent life and business is substantially that of the development of "the County of Arapahoe, in the Territory of Kansas, known as Jefferson Territory" into the State of Colorado and the City of Den- ver, as they grew and developed during the forty years of his residence therein.
He was a man of clear vision and excellent judgment ; he gave personal at- tention to all details of his business; he was truthful and faithful in every trans- action. These qualities enabled him to meet all vicissitudes of business through many years, and to succeed in a large way where many failed.
The George W. Clayton College was founded under the provision of the will of the late George W. Clayton, who left the larger part of his estate to be de- voted to the founding and maintaining of a permanent institution within the City of Denver, for the education and maintenance of poor, white, male, orphan children.
The funds and property constituting the endowment of the college itself are held in trust by the City and County of Denver, and are managed by the "George
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W. Clayton Trust Commission," consisting of the mayor, the manager of rev- enue, and the president of the council. The management of the college itself is vested in a board of trustees, consisting of the judge of the District Court of the United States for the District of Colorado, the senior judge of the District Court of Denver, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Colorado (or such persons as they shall appoint), and two persons appointed by the mayor of Den- ver.
The college is located in the northeastern portion of the city and is reached by the Thirty-fourth Avenue car line. The college buildings are fifteen in num- ber; they include an administration building, four dormitories, a school build- ing, a power house, a hospital, a laundry, a superintendent's house, a farm house and barns. The main group of ten buildings is situated upon a tract of twenty acres at Thirty-second Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. All of the buildings are of permanent, substantial construction, the architecture being characterized by dignity and beauty. The chief buildings are constructed of stone, and are roofed with red tiles. The buildings of the main group are heated, lighted, and sup- plied with hot and cold water from the central power house, all pipes and wires being conveyed through concrete tunnels.
An important part of the equipment of the college consists of 270 acres of farm land, adjacent to the buildings. The water for the irrigation of the land is obtained through a pipe line reaching the Sand Creek overflow some six miles distant.
To be eligible for admission, a boy must fulfill the following conditions :
I. He must be over six and not over ten years old.
2. He must be of white blood and of reputable parentage.
3. He must be poor.
4. He must be sound in mind and body.
5. He must be the child of a father who is not living.
In giving admission, preference is given first, to children born in and belong- ing to the counties of Denver, Adams, and Arapahoe; second, to children born in and belonging to other counties of the State of Colorado. The will of the founder enjoins that care be taken to receive no more boys than can be adequately cared for from the available income.
Boys received into the college are maintained here without charge or cost to their mothers, or guardians, until discharged by the board of trustees at be- tween fourteen and eighteen years of age except that a boy may be discharged at any time for malconduct or incompetency.
The college requires that the legal custody and control of the child shall be vested in the board of trustees during the time that he is a pupil in the college, authorized by a statute of the State of Colorado. The purpose of this require- ment is to give to the college power over the child commensurate with the re- sponsibility it assumes for his welfare, thus insuring that the progress of his education will not be interrupted.
The development of the college farm during the past two years has been satis- factory. Vegetables sufficient to supply the college table have been produced.
The dairy and poultry department have likewise completely supplied the in- stitution with products always fresh and of the highest quality. The dairy herd has shown a good growth by natural increase.
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A beginning has been made in building up a herd of high class registered Holsteins; and it is expected that the production of pure bred dairy stock will come to be an important branch of the farm activity. The farm is also now supplying a portion of the meat used on the college table.
Practically all of the 270 acres of farm is now under cultivation. Experi- mental work is being carried on in the raising of crops specially adapted to dry and semi-humid conditions.
In the school, instruction in the common school branches has proceeded suc- cessfully.
A committee upon curriculum, appointed by the board of trustees is framing the course of instruction which shall follow the elementary work. This will consist of vocational work in agricultural tasks, for the larger number of pupils, while some will be instructed along commercial and mechanical lines.
While the institution under the terms of the founding is non-sectarian, re- ligion is not neglected. The Sunday devotional services and the daily vesper services in each dormitory imbue the pupils with a spirit of reverence for religion, and constitute a strong influence toward character formation.
February 22d of each year is celebrated as Founder's Day, it being the birth- day of George W. Clayton as well as that of George Washington. The celebration of the day is an occasion of great interest to the boys, and brings a large number of visitors to the institution.
The square system is an important factor in the life of the boys of the col- lege. A square is a unit of college money, the equivalent being one cent in United States money. In various ways the boys may earn squares, mainly by voluntary extra work. This currency is good at the college store, where a stock is carried of such articles as are in demand by the boys. They also use it as a medium of exchange among themselves. The ordinary punishment for bad conduct is a fine in squares. A savings bank is maintained where squares on deposit draw interest.
This system of college currency is of practical convenience and decided edu- cational value. Very soon after arriving at the college even the youngest boys acquire a sense of quantity that is surprising. This is followed by the develop- ment of habits of thrift and foresight. For instance, some boys do a good busi- ness in poultry raising, buying their feed, and selling their eggs. Others are engaged in other enterprises.
It is an important part of the aim of the institution to train each boy to work. When boys leave the institution, the energy and intelligence with which they work will be their only capital. Therefore each pupil, in proportion to his strength and ability is required to participate in the work of the institution. As soon as he enters the new pupil learns to make his own bed and to clean his own quarters. As he grows older, his duties increase. At present with the oldest boys only sixteen years old, a considerable part of the work is done by them. It is planned that after finishing the eighth grade, pupils shall study half of 'each day at the vocations or trades to which they are assigned.
The boys enjoy a variety of recreation. The aim of the institution is to furnish such recreaation, in quantity and kind, as will stimulate the boy to healthy development. During the past two years the average health of the pupils has
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been high. It is the policy of the institution in undertaking the care of the boy to give first consideration to his physical condition.
Upon entrance he is given a thorough physical examination by the college physician. Each boy is weighed and measured twice a year, and a careful record is kept of his growth as compared with that of the average normal boy. The teeth are regularly cleaned and looked after by the college dentist.
Excellent sanitary conditions are maintained throughout the institution. The method of life is regular and hygienic. An abundance of wholesome food is sup- plied, including milk from the college farm. The boys get plenty of exercise, in the open air. Under these conditions the boys grow up and build up wonder- fully, and show great resistance to disease.
CHAPTER XXXII
RELIGIOUS-GENERAL-GROWTH OF COLORADO'S PROTESTANT CHURCHES
FIRST SERMON PREACHED BY REV. W. G. FISHER-TOWN COMPANY OFFERS LOTS FOR HOUSES OF WORSHIP-RICHARDSON DESCRIBES EARLY STREET PRAYER MEETINGS -THE CHURCH CENSUS OF 1890, OF 1900, OF 1906 AND OF 1910-MARVELOUS GROWTH-THE PROTESTANT-EPISCOPAL CHURCH-ESTABLISHING THE DIOCESE OF WESTERN COLORADO-THE METHODIST-EPISCOPAL CHURCH-THE STRUGGLE TO ESTABLISH THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-THE BAPTISTS-CONGREGA- TIONALISM AND ITS GROWTH IN COLORADO-THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH-THE LUTHERAN-UNITARIAN-THE REFORMED CHURCH-CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS- SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS.
The churches of Colorado were a mighty factor in the early and later devel- opment of territory and state, and while the lust for gold was strong in those pioneers of 1858 and 1859, they found time to listen to and to heed the spiritual thoughts that came from the lips of the earliest evangelists. Perhaps the first sermon ever delivered by a Christian in the vicinity of what is now Denver was that of Rev. W. G. Fisher, who in the fall of 1858 made a temple of the cotton- wood trees in the new Town of Auraria near the mouth of Cherry Creek.
In January, 1859, the Auraria Town Company offered lots to the first four religious societies that would "build a church or a house of worship in Auraria." It was some time before advantage was taken of this proposition.
Similar offers were made by the officers of the Denver Town Company. Nor were these speedily taken up.
Jerome Smiley in his "History of Denver" reverts to Father Mallet, who came into the region of Cherry Creek in 1739, but rather as an explorer than as a missionary. He also refers to Rev. John Beck, who came in June, 1858, with the Russell party, but never preached.
To Rev. W. G. Fisher belongs undoubtedly the honor of having been the first man to preach the Word of God in this section. It was not until June, 1859, when Rev. L. Hamilton, a Presbyterian minister, reached Denver, that the work of Rev. W. G. Fisher was supplemented. The first meeting held in the Pollock Hotel by Rev. L. Hamilton was largely attended, and actually resulted in the organi- zation of a church.
The Union Sunday School, opened on November 6, 1859, at the house of "Preachers Fisher and Adriance," grew from an initial attendance of twelve un- til it was forced to move to the Masonic Hall, on what is now Eleventh Street.
Albert D. Richardson, who came with the Greeley party, in June, 1859, saw
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"several hundred men in the open air attending public religious worship. They were roughly clad, displaying weapons at their belts, and represented every sec- tion of the Union and almost every nation on earth. They sat upon logs and stumps, a most attentive congregation, while the clergyman upon a rude log platform preached from the text : 'Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.' It was an impressive spectacle-that motley gathering of goldseekers among the mountains, a thousand miles from home and civilization, to hear the good tidings forever old and yet forever new."
John L. Dyer, better known as Father Dyer, a Methodist, one of the gentlest and noblest of the preachers of territorial days, came to Colorado June 22, 1861, and went at once into the mining regions to tell simply and eloquently the need of the kindly deed. On July 18, 1861, he was at Buckskin Joe where he gathered the rough characters of that region about him, told them of the sweetness of living and doing right and talked to them of their far-off eastern homes. There were always liberal donations for the church work of Father Dyer. And it mat- tered not where he went in this region the doors of all cabins, even the doors of saloons and gambling hells, were opened for him to tell his story of the world's great need of kindness, one to another. He had great misfortune later in life, his son, Judge Elias F. Dyer, dying at the hands of an assassin.
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