USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > Centennial history of the city of Washington, D. C. With full outline of the natural advantages, accounts of the Indian tribes, selection of the site, founding of the city to the present time > Part 53
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The first college commencement occurred on the 15th of Decem- ber, 1824, its exercises being witnessed by the President of the United States, certain members of the Cabinet, prominent members of Con- gress, and General Lafayette.
The opening of the college was auspicious. The attendance was quite good; but the heavy expense attending the erection and equip- ment of buildings and the paying of salaries had the effect, in the face of small tuition receipts and the absence of an endowment fund, to produce a financial panie. The crash came in 1827, when the faculty resigned, and threw a pall over the enterprise. The following year the doors were reopened, and the institution entered upon a more prosperous career. Like other institutions of a similar character, the college had to struggle for existence and growth. The sacrifices of trustees, presidents, and professors ultimately prevailed, and guar- anteed a more prosperous future.
Dr. Stanghton resigned the presidency of the college in 1827, and was succeeded, in 1828, by Rev. Stephen Chapin, D. D., who held the position until he resigned, in 1841. During his administration, the college was freed from the distrust and debt which encumbered it when his career began.
In 1843, Rev. Joel S. Bacon, D. D., the third president, began the establishment of an endowment fund, which has been accumulat- ing ever since. Among the early contributors to the fund of the college were John Quincy Adams, who at one time loaned it $18,000, and subsequently remitted a part of the sum; and John Withers, of Virginia, who, between 1835 and 1861, made gifts for various purposes to the amount of $70,000. In 1865, William W. Corcoran presented to the college a building for the medical school, valued at $30,000. Seven years later, he proffered an estate near the city on condition that $100,000 additional should be obtained for a permanent endow- ment. This amount was obtained, and the college realized from his estate, in 1885, the sum of $85,000. In 1883, he gave $30,000 for the new university building, and three years later, $25,000 for the permanent endowment fund.
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In 1873, Mrs. Elizabeth J. Stone, of Washington, bequeathed some valuable works of art which are now in the museum of the university.
It has been previously stated that a medical department was projected in 1821. Thomas Sewall, M. D., and James M. Stanghton, M. D., were chosen professors. The school, however, did not formally commence operations until March 30, 1825, when a three-months' course, with twenty-two students, was begun. The school was con- tinned without interruption until 1834, when a suspension began that continued for five years, no well-defined cause being known for the suspension.
The medical department held its sessions in a building at the corner of Tenth and E streets until 1844, when Congress authorized the use of a building on Judiciary Square. This building, enlarged and remodeled in 1853, was occupied for school and hospital purposes until the breaking out of the War, when the Government took possession again. For several years, temporary quarters were occupied. This condition was interrupted in 1866, when the Corcoran building on II Street was secured, and has been used ever since.
The law department was not opened until February 3, 1826, when a faculty, consisting of Hon. William Cranch, LL. D., Chief Justice of the Circuit Court of the United States, and IIon. Thomas Carroll, clerk of the Supreme Court, was chosen. Owing to financial and other embarrassments, it was discontinued from 1827 to 1865. At the latter date, it was reorganized in a building on Fifth Street, and has become one of the leading institutions of its kind in this country. The Corcoran Scientific School was established in 1884. It has been very successful in its work. In 1887, the dental school was estab- lished, and is rapidly growing in numbers and influence.
By act of Congress, dated March 3, 1873, the corporation was changed to that of "The Columbian University." In 1883-84, a new university building was erected on the corner of Fifteenth and II streets at a cost of $75,000. The university buildings are worth half a million of dollars ..
The presidents of the institution have been the following: Rev. William Staughton, D. D., 1821-27; Rev. Stephen Chapin, D. D., 1828-41; Rev. Joel Smith Bacon, D. D., 1843-54; Rev. Joseph G. Binney, D. D., 1855-58; Rev. George W. Samson, D. D., 1859-71; James Clark Welling, LL. D., 1871 -.
The university is in a prosperous condition, and well patronized, as will be seen from the accompanying statistics taken from the
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report of the attendance during the session of 1890-91: Preparatory school, 95; college proper, 66; Corcoran Scientific School, 110; medical school, 155; school of dentistry, 17; law school, 312; total, 755.
Howard University was chartered by Congress March 2, 1867. The preparatory department was opened in May, 1868, on Seventh Street, in a leased structure near the site of the university building. The number of students with which the university opened was 5; but it soon increased to 60. The entire number enrolled the first year was 127. The first teacher employed was a failure, but finding this to be the case, he resigned. Then A. L. Barber, a graduate of Ober- lin College, took charge, with Miss Julia A. Lord, of Maine, as assis- tant. At the close of the first term of this school, there were 32 male students in attendance, and 4 females; but as there were then 5,000 colored pupils in the District of Columbia, it seemed certain that these numbers must be greatly increased.
November, 24, 1868, the pupils moved into the new university building. About this time the law department of this university was put in operation by the election of John M. Langston, on October 12, and A. G. Riddle, December 29, as professors. The department opened January 1, 1869. It was considered then that the opening of this department was of great historical significance, as it was the only law school ever established for the especial benefit of the colored race. The original members of this class were as follows: From the District of Columbia, C. II. W. Stokely, W. II. Lewis, L. A. Bell; from Pennsylvania, George D. Johnson; from North Carolina, G. L. Mabson; from Ohio, Solomon Johnson, Henry Thomas, O. G. B. Wall, and John II. Cook. Subsequently, seven other members joined the class. The work of the session closed March 31, 1869, the lecture room being filled with those interested in the question of the educa- tion of the negro.
The medical department of this university was opened in 1869, with the following faculty: Major-General O. O. Howard, LL. D., president; Silas L. Loomis, M. D., dean, and professor of chemistry and toxicology; Robert Reyburn, M. D., professor of the principles and practice of medicine; Joseph Taber Johnson, secretary, and professor of obstetrics and diseases of women and children; Edwin Bently, professor of descriptive and pathological anatomy; Phineas H. Strong, professor of the principles and practice of medicine; Charles B. Purvis, professor of the materia medica and therapeutics; Robert Reyburn, professor of practical and operative surgery; Alexander T. Angusta, practical anatomy. Lectures began October 6, 1869. The
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fees were as follows: Matriculation, $5; course of lectures, $135; graduation, $30; single tickets, $20, and clinical instruction, free.
The originators of Howard University were all Northern men, and all of them connected with the new Congregational church of Wash- ington. The prime mover in the enterprise was Rev. B. F. Morris, of Cincinnati, Ohio, who was, at the time, in Government service, and who subsequently, in a fit of melancholy, committed suicide at Spring- field, Ohio. His father, Thomas Morris, a Senator from Ohio from 1833 to 1839, was a native of Virginia, but a strong anti-slavery man and champion of freedom.
Two of Morris's able coadjutors were Rev. Charles B. Boynton, pastor of the Congregational church, and Mr. II. A. Brewster, who had also philanthropic impulses. The first design was to organize an institution for the preparation of colored men for the ministry. This was modified to include the qualifying of persons for teaching. It was originally intended to admit only colored students, but this was changed to embrace white students, thus reversing the order established at Oberlin College.
The university site, one hundred and fifty acres, was purchased of John A. Smith, for $147,500, the deed being delivered May 25, 1866. The sum of $5,000 additional was paid Thomas Coyle for the surrender of a lease for a term of years to take sand from the ground. The university structure is a four-story building of commanding ap- pearance ... It and the dormitory structure cost in the aggregate about $100,000. The funds were furnished by the Freedmen's Bureau.
The presidents of the university include the following: Rev. Charles B. Boynton, D. D., Rev. Byron Sunderland, D. D., Rev. Wil- liam W. Patton, and Rev. James E. Rankin, D. D., LL. D., present incumbent.
The idea of a national university is much older than a national university. President Washington, on January 8, 1796, warmly urged upon Congress the establishment of such a university, and again ou December 7, 1796, as well also as the establishment of a military academy. A few days afterward, the commissioners of the city of Washington, Gustavus Scott, William Thornton, and Alexander White, presented a memorial to Congress asking for authority to accept dona- tions for such an institution, and stated that President Washington had donated a square of land in the new city containing nearly twenty acres, and that he had offered to donate fifty shares of stock in the Potomac Company. December 21, 1796, Mr. Madison reported that it was expedient that authority be given, in accordance with the
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memorial, to proper persons to receive and hold in trust peenniary donations in aid of appropriations already made toward the establishment of a national university.
When Mr. Madison, the father of the Constitution, became Presi- dent of the United States, he also earnestly recommended to Congress the establishment of such a university, which was referred to a com- mittee; while this committee admitted that Congress had exclusive jurisdiction over the District of Columbia, and although it said there was no constitutional impediment to the incorporation of such a university, yet the money of the people seemed to them reserved for . other uses, ete. Mr. Madison, again on December 5, 1816, urged upon Congress the establishment of a national university, which recommendation was referred to a committee consisting of Mr. Wilde, of Georgia; Mr. Sergeant, of Pennsylvania; Mr. Calhoun, of South Carolina; Mr. Sheffen, of Virginia; Mr. Herbert, of Maryland; Mr. Savage, of New York, and Mr. Ormsby, of Kentucky. On February 20, 1817, Mr. Wilde reported a bill "For the Establishment of a National University," which provided that such an institution should be established in the District of Columbia, by means of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. This bill was not taken up for discussion until March 3, 1817, when on account of the pend- ing adjournment of Congress, it was indefinitely postponed.
Though various efforts were made, from time to time, for the realization of this iridescent project, nothing really tangible was accomplished until 1879, when the National University, undenomina- tional in purpose and composition, was incorporated under the general laws of the District, by the following gentlemen : Hon. Arthur MacArthur, Hon. M. G. Emery, Hon. Thomas Wilson, Hon. Samuel F. Miller, S. S. Baker, Esq., Dr. II. HI. Barker, Dr. G. Wythe Cook, Hon. Henry Strong, Hon. HI. O. Claughton, Eugene Carusi, Esq., and William C. Wittemore, Esq.
The law department was the first division to organize, that occur- ring at the time of the incorporation. A two-years' course, with a one-year post-graduate annex, was established. Its sessions were held and are now held at night, for the accommodation of the large army of clerks in Government service who avail themselves of this means of development.
The medical and dental departments were established in 1884, and are both in a flourishing condition, being located in a comfortable building on the corner of Eighth and K streets Northwest.
Prior to 1890, the President of the United States was ex officio
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chancellor of the university. In that year, however, a change occurred, and Hon. S. F. Miller, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, was selected. This position he held until the time of his death, in the autumn of 1890, since which time Hon. Arthur MacArthur has held the position.
Of the medical and dental departments, John T. Winter, M. D., is president, and Howard H. Barker, M. D., is dean.
Of the law department, Hon. Arthur MacArthur, LL. D., is presi- dent, and Eugene D. Carusi, Esq., is secretary and treasurer.
The institution is in need of a suitable building for general pur- poses. The law school occupies a comfortable building of its own, on Thirteenth Street, near New York Avenue. It was erected in 1890.
The Catholic University of America, one of the prominent edu- cational institutions of the National Capital and of the country, is pleasantly and advantageously located at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Fourth Street East Extension. It was incorporated on the 21st of April, 1887, and is, therefore, but a young institution. In addition to its original commodious buildings, it is securing such means as will enable it greatly to increase its facilities for accommodating all departments of work.
At a meeting of the board of directors on the 8th of April, 1891, it was determined to erect, at once, a new building for the Hall of Philosophy. The means therefor were obtained from a bequest by Rev. James McMahon, rector of St. Andrew's Church, City Hall Place, New York City, amounting to some $400,000.
Dr. McMahon's generosity is a fine supplement to the bequest made by Miss Caldwell, which furnished the magnificent building now occupied for theological and other purposes.
Of the board of directors, Cardinal Gibbons, of Baltimore, is chancellor. The rector of the university is the Rt. Rev. John J. Keane, D. D .; vice-rector, Rev. P. J. Garrigan, D. D .; academic secretary, Rev. Joseph Pohl, D. D., Ph. D .; secretary to the rector, Merwin-Marie Snell, Esq.
The officers of the Divinity College are: President, V. Rev. John B. Hogan, S. S., D. D .; librarian, Rev. Alexis Julius Orban, S. S., D. D .; assistant librarian, Mr. W. A. Willyams; dean, V. Rev. Mon- signor Joseph Schroeder; director of the observatory, Rev. George M. Searle, C. S. P .; superintendent of the grounds, Nicholas Crook. Liberal plans for the development of the university are in contem- plation.
On the 29th of May, 1891, the American University, an educa- 33
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tional institution of national importance and commanding the support and confidence of all Protestant people, was regularly organized by the following persons, at the parlors of the Arlington Hotel: Gov- ernor R. E. Pattison, of Pennsylvania; Mark Hoyt, Colonel John A. Wright, Senator James MeMillan, Representative William M. Springer, Rev. Charles W. Buoy, Hon. Julian S. Carr, Bishop John F. Hurst, Mrs. John A. Logan, Miss Elizabeth J. Somers, Hon. M. G. Emery, B. H. Warner, Andrew B. Duvall, B. F. Leighton, II. B. Moulton, Benjamin Charlton, John E. Beall, S. W. Woodward, John E. Andrus, and Rev. David II. Carroll.
Mark Hoyt, of New York, was chosen president of the board; Bishop John F. Hurst, D. D., LL. D., chancellor of the university; Rev. Charles W. Baldwin, of Washington, secretary, and Rev. Albert Osborn, of Buffalo, registrar.
Bishop Hurst announced that the sum of $100,000, which was to be raised by the people of Washington to secure a site for the uni- versity, had nearly all been subscribed. It was determined, also, to take early steps for making an appeal to the people of the country of America for $10,000,000, with which to found and endow the university.
The certificate of incorporation was filed in the office of the recorder of deeds on the 3d of June, 1891. The institution is to be under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church, under the title of "The American University," and two-thirds of its trustees and the chancellor are ever to be identified with that denomination.
The site purchased embraces ninety-two acres at the northwestern end of Massachusetts Avenue, and cost $100,000.
Gonzaga College, located on I Street Northwest, between North Capitol and First streets, was started as "The Washington Seminary" in 1826 (some say, 1816). It is a product of Georgetown College, and under the same order of the Church. When it began, the Catholic population was comparatively sparse and poor. Tuition charges were made in the seminary, which was contrary to the instructions of the order under which it was established. Shortly, an order came from headquarters to suspend the school. It was done, and the institution, for lack of support, was closed. In 1848, the order of suspension was revoked, and the seminary reopened. In 1858, it was chartered under the title of "Gonzaga College," "to have and to enjoy the power and faculty of conferring and confirming . . . such degrees in the liberal arts and sciences as are usually granted to colleges."
The course of study is divided into two departments: The college
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course proper, including Latin and Greek classics, and the non-classical, embracing English language, literature, mathematics, and natural science. The officers of the institution consist of Rev. Cornelius Gillespie, S. J., president and treasurer; Rev. Arthur J. MacAvoy, S. J., vice-president, prefeet of schools; and Rev. Anthony M. Ciampi, S. J., chaplain.
Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, located on the grounds known as "Kendall Green," in the northeastern part of the city, is one of the eleemosynary institutions of the city in which is centered much interest. The site, embracing at first but a few acres and a small building, and later twenty-five aeres, included, after the purchase made in 1872, the entire one hundred acres which constituted the estate of the Hon. Amos Kendall, Postmaster-General from 1835 to 1840.
The institution was regulary incorporated February 16, 1857, by Byron Sunderland, J. C. McGuire, David A. Hall, and George W. Riggs, of Washington City; Judson Mitchell, of Georgetown, and Amos Kendall and William Stickney, of the county of Washington. The title to grounds and buildings was vested in the United States. The Secretary of the Interior was authorized to pay $150 per year for the maintenance and tuition of such persons as were sent to the institution, viz., deaf-mute children of the District of Columbia, and of the army and navy. In 1864, a collegiate department was organized by act of Congress, and named the National Deaf-Mute College. The institution is accessible to both sexes. The president of the institution is Professor E. M. Gallaudet, who has been identified with it from its organization.
The Rittenhouse Academy was established on Indiana Avenue, near Third Street, in 1840, by Rev. C. H. Nourse, a citizen of Wash- ington. After a time it passed into the hands of his brother, Professor J. E. Nourse, of the navy, from whom it was purchased at the open- ing of the year 1849 by Professor O. C. Wight, and continued in the same building. During the following summer, Mr. Wight took out the old-fashioned seats and furnished it with modern furniture from Boston, the first of the kind introduced into Washington. Though forty-three years of age, the furniture still looks comparatively new.
Mr. Wight is a native of Massachusetts, and a graduate of Dart- mouth College, of the class of 1842. For the five years preceding his coming to Washington, he taught in Rockville, Maryland. He has been a teacher for nearly fifty-eight years; and during his last forty-nine years' continnous work in the Rittenhouse Academy, he
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has lost no time except during a month's illness from la grippe during the winter of 1891-92.
The work of the academy has been the preparation of young men for college; and its students have been admitted to the classes of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Lehigh, West Point, etc. Many of them occupy prominent positions in life; among them the Professor points with pleasure to Judge Bradley, C. C. Glover, of the firm of Riggs & Company, and various bank cashiers. The army, navy, and business men of Washington have given the academy a liberal patronage.
St. John's College, conducted by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, is an English, classical, and commercial day school for boys and young men. It is pleasantly located on Vermont Avenue, near Thomas Cirele. It was founded in 1865, and incorporated under the general laws of the District. The first building was a two-story brick structure on K Street, near Fourteenth. In 1876, the site on Vermont Avenue was purchased by Brother Tobias, who erected the present handsome structure. The institution has had but two presidents, Brother Tobias, from 1865 to 1890, and Brother Fabrician, present incumbent, since the latter date.
The Academy of the Holy Cross, located at 1312 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, is an institution of learning under the direction of the Sisters of the Holy Cross. It originated in a private house, on Fifteenth and HI streets, in 1870, and was projected by Dr. Charles I. White, pastor of St. Matthew's Church. In 1879, the present com- modious brick structure on Massachusetts Avenue was erected, and the academy removed.
St. Cecilia's Academy, corner of East Capitol and Sixth streets, was established on C Street, between First and Second, Southeast, in a private dwelling, in September, 1868, by Rev. Father Boyle, then in charge of St. Peter's Parish. In 1874, the present structure, a three- story brick with basement, sixty by seventy-five feet, was erected, and the academy removed. In July, 1877, it was regularly incorporated. It is under the control of the Sisters of the Holy Cross. Sister Ambrose was the first mother superior, and held the position for a number of years. She was succeeded by Sister M. Aquina, the pres- ent incumbent. The course of study is thorough, covering a period of eleven years. The attendance is large, the number of pupils in English branches being one hundred and sixty-eight, and the num- ber in music seventy. In addition to these, there are pupils in other subjects.
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The Spencerian Business College, in the National Bank of the Republic building, corner of Seventh and D streets Northwest, is the result of a consolidation of two business institutions. The National Union Business College was founded in 1866, by Professor Henry N. Copp, in the Intelligencer building, corner of Seventh and D streets. The same year, he extended to Mr. Henry C. Spencer, for some time connected with the chain of Bryant and Stratton Business colleges as superintendent, an invitation to become an associate with him. Shortly thereafter, the same request was given to Mrs. Sara A. Spencer.
In the autumn of 1867, Mr. Copp purchased the Bryant and Strat- ton College, and the resulting institution was known as the Consoli- dated Business College. It was fixed in the National Bank of the Republic building. On the 1st of October, 1870, this institution was purchased by H. C. Spencer, and the following summer was removed to Liberty Hall, corner of Seventh and L streets, where it remained ten years. In 1881, a tornado unroofing the building and destroying much property, the college was removed to Lincoln Hall building, corner of Ninth and D streets. In this location it remained and prospered until December 6, 1886, when fire destroyed the building, with the prosperous college. Recovering from the ashes, the college sought its present quarters and at once began to retrieve its losses and reassert itself as the exponent of a practical business education.
Its course of study is thorough and practical. Its college com- mencements, commanding the most distinguished speakers of the country, and its courses of lectures, are usually conducted in the most capacious halls to be had. Its enrollment of different students during the year 1891 was six hundred and twenty-five, representing the children of the most prominent families of the city.
Professor Henry C. Spencer, principal of the college, died August 30, 1891, honored and revered by student, neighbor, and friend. Ilis wife and long pedagogical associate, Mrs. Sara A. Spencer, became his successor, and is now devoting her best energies to the work of practical education.
Glen Echo Chautauqua, a national summer school projected ou the plan of the pioneer organization at Chautauqua, New York, was caused to materialize in the early summer of 1891. The organization embraced Edwin Baltzley, A. S. Pratt, Edward Baltzley, James B. Henderson, and A. H. Gillet, who constituted its first board of trus- tees. On the 20th of May, 1891, the corner stone of the arch in the main entrance of the stone amphitheater was laid with appropriate
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