USA > Iowa > Clinton County > The History of Clinton County, Iowa: Containing a History of the County, Its. > Part 21
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The first General Assembly, by act approved February 25, 1847, established the "State University of Iowa " at Iowa City, then the capital of the State. "with such other branches as public convenience may hereafter require." The " public buildings at Iowa City, together with the ten acres of land in which they are situated," were granted for the use of said university, provided, how- ever, that the sessions of the Legislature and State offices should be held in the capitol until otherwise provided by law. The control and management of the University were committed to a board of fifteen Trustees, to be appointed by the Legislature, five of whom were to be chosen bienially. The . Superintendent of Public Instruction was made President of this Board. Provisions were made for the disposal of the two townships of land, and for the investment of the funds arising therefrom. The act further provides that the University shall never be under the exclusive control of any religious denomination whatever," and as soon as the revenue for the grant and donations amounts to $2,000 a year, the University should commence and continue the instruction, free of charge, of fifty students annually. The General Assembly retained full supervision over the University, its officers and the grants and donations made and to be made to it by the State.
Section 5 of the act appointed James P. Carleton, H. D. Downey, Thomas Snyder, Samuel McCrory, Curtis Bates, Silas Foster, E. C. Lyon, James H. Gower, George G. Vincent, Wm. G. Woodward, Theodore S. Parvin, George Atchinson, S. G. Matson, H. W. Starr and Ansel Briggs, the first Board of Trustees.
The organization of the University at Iowa City was impracticable, how- ever, so long as the seat of government was retained there.
In January, 1849, two branches of the University and three Normal Schools were established. The branches were located-one at Fairfield, and the other at Dubuque, and were placed upon an equal footing, in respect to funds and all other matters, with the University established at Iowa City. "This act," says Col. Benton, "created three State Universities. with equal rights and powers, instead of a 'University with such branches as public conven- ience muy hereafter demand,' as provided by the Constitution."
The Board of Directors of the Fairfield Branch consisted of Barnet Ris- tine, Christian W. Slagle, Daniel Rider, Horace Gaylord, Bernhart Henn and Samuel S. Bayard. At the first meeting of the Board, Mr. Henn was elected President, Mr. Slagle Secretary, and Mr. Gaylord Treasurer. Twenty acres of land were purchased, and a building erected thereon, costing $2,500.
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This building was nearly destroyed by a hurricane, in 1850, but was rebuilt more substantially, all by contributions of the citizens of Fairfield. This branch never received any aid from the State or from the University Fund, and by act approved January 24, 1853, at the request of the Board, the Gen- eral Assembly terminated its relation to the State.
The branch at Dubuque was placed under the control of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and John King, Caleb H. Booth, James M. Emerson, Michael J. Sullivan, Richard Benson and the Governor of the State as Trustees. The Trustees never organized, and its existence was only nominal.
The Normal Schools were located at Andrew, Oskaloosa and Mount Pleasant, respectively. Each was to be governed by a board of seven Trustees, to be appointed by the Trustees of the University. Each was to receive $500 annu- ally from the income of the University Fund, upon condition that they should ed- ucate eight common school teachers, free of charge for tuition, and that the citizens should contribute an equal sum for the erection of the requisite buildings. The several Boards of Trustees were appointed. At Andrew, the school was organized Nov. 21, 1849; Samuel Ray, Principal; Miss J. S. Dorr, Assist- ant. A building was commenced and over $1,000 expended on it, but it was never completed. At Oskaloosa, the Trustees organized in April, 1852. This school was opened in the Court House, September 13, 1852, under the charge of Prof. G. M. Drake and wife. A two-story brick building was completed in 1853, costing $2,473. The school at Mount Pleasant was never organized. Neither of these schools received any aid from the University Fund, but in 1857 the Legislature appropriated $1,000 each for those at Oskaloosa and Andrew, and repealed the law authorizing the payment of money to them from the University Fund. From that time they made no further effort to continue in operation.
At a special meeting of the Board of Trustees, held February 21, 1850, the " College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Upper Mississippi," established at Davenport, was recognized as the "College of Physicians and Surgeons of the State University of Iowa," expressly stipulating, however, that such recog- nition should not render the University liable for any pecuniary aid, nor was the Board to have any control over the property or management of the Medical Association. Soon after, this College was removed to Keokuk, its second ses- sion being opened there in November, 1850. In 1851, the General Assembly confirmed the action of the Board, and by act approved January 22, 1855, placed the Medical College under the supervision of the Board of Trustees of the University, and it continued in operation until this arrangement was termi- nated by the new Constitution, September 3, 1857.
From 1847 to 1855, the Board of Trustees was kept full by regular elec- tions by the Legislature, and the Trustees held frequent meetings, but there was no effectual organization of the University. In March, 1855, it was partially opened for a term of sixteen weeks. July 16, 1855, Amos Dean, of Albany, N. Y., was elected President, but he never entered fully upon its duties. The University was again opened in September, 1855, and continued in operation until June, 1856, under Professors Johnson, Welton, Van Valkenburg and Guffin.
In the Spring of 1856, the capital of the State was located at Des Moines; but there were no buildings there, and the capitol at Iowa City was not vacated by the State until December, 1857.
In June, 1856, the faculty was re-organized, with some changes, and the University was again opened on the third Wednesday of September, 1856.
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. There were one hundred and twenty-four students-eighty-three males and . forty-one females-in attendance during the year 1856-7, and the first regular catalogue was published.
At a special meeting of the Board, September 22, 1857, the honorary de- gree of Bachelor of Arts was conferred on D. Franklin Wells. This was the first degree conferred by the Board.
Article IX, Section 11, of the new State Constitution, which went into force September 3, 1857, provided as follows :
The State University shall be established at one place, without branches at any other place ; and the University fund shall be applied to that institution, and no other.
Article XI, Section 8, provided that
The seat of Government is hereby permanently established, as now fixed by law, at the city of Des Moines, in the county of Polk ; and the State University at Iowa City, in the county of Johnson.
The new Constitution created the Board of Education, consisting of the Lieutenant Governor, who was ex officio President, and one member to be elected from each judicial district in the State. This Board was endowed with "full power and authority to legislate and make all needful rules and regula- tions in relation to common schools and other educational institutions," subject to alteration, amendment or repeal by the General Assembly, which was vested with authority to abolish or re-organize the Board at any time after 1863.
In December, 1857, the old capitol building, now known as Central Hall of the University, except the rooms occupied by the United States District Court, and the property, with that exception, passed under the control of the Trustees, and became the seat of the University. The old building had had hard usage, and its arrangement was illy adapted for University purposes. Extensive repairs and changes were necessary, but the Board was without funds for these pur- poses.
The last meeting of the Board, under the old law, was held in January, 1858. At this meeting, a resolution was introduced, and seriously considered, to exclude females from the University ; but it finally failed.
March 12, 1858, the first Legislature under the new Constitution enacted a new law in relation to the University, but it was not materially different from the former. March 11, 1858, the Legislature appropriated $3,000 for the re- pair and modification of the old capitol building, and $10,000 for the erection of a boarding house, now known as South Hall.
The Board of Trustees created by the new law met and duly organized April 27, 1858, and determined to close the University until the income from its fund should be adequate to meet the current expenses, and the buildings should be ready for occupation. Until this term, the building known as the " Mechan- ics' Academy" had been used for the school. The Faculty, except the Chan- cellor (Dean), was dismissed, and all further instruction suspended, from the close of the term then in progress until September, 1859. At this meeting, a reso- lution was adopted excluding females from the University after the close of the existing term ; but this was afterward, in August, modified, so as to admit them to the Normal Department.
At the meeting of the Board,' August 4, 1858, the degree of Bachelor of Science was conferred upon Dexter Edson Smith, being the first degree con- erred upon a student of the University. Diplomas were awarded to the mem- ders of the first graduating class of the Normal Department as follows: Levi ?. Aylworth, Cellina H. Aylworth, Elizabeth L. Humphrey, Annie A. Pinney and Sylvia M. Thompson.
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An "Act for the Government and Regulation of the State University of Iowa," approved December 25, 1858, was mainly a re-enactment of the law of March 12, 1858, except that changes were made in the Board of Trustees, and manner of their appointment. This law provided that both sexes were to be admitted on equal terms to all departments of the institution, leaving the Board no discretion in the matter.
The new Board met and organized, February 2, 1859, and decided to con- tinue the Normal Department only to the end of the current term, and that it was unwise to re-open the University at that time; but at the annual meeting of the Board, in June of the same year, it was resolved to continue the Normal Department in operation ; and at a special meeting, October 25, 1859, it was decided to re-open the University in September, 1860. Mr. Dean had resigned as Chancellor prior to this meeting, and Silas Totten, D. D., LL. D., was elected President, at a salary of $2,000, and his term commenced June, 1860.
At the annual meeting, June 28, 1860, a full Faculty was appointed, and the University re-opened, under this new organization, September 19, 1860 (third Wednesday) ; and at this date the actual existence of the University may be said to commence.
. August 19, 1862, Dr. Totten having resigned, Prof. Oliver M. Spencer was elected President and the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon Judge Samuel F. Miller, of Keokuk.
At the commencement, in June, 1863, was the first class of graduates in the Collegiate Department.
The Board of Education was abolished March 19, 1864, and the office of Superintendent of Public Instruction was restored ; the General Assembly resumed control of the subject of education, and on March 21, an act was ap- proved for the government of the University. It was substantially the same as the former law, but provided that the Governor should be ex officio President of the Board of Trustees. Until 1858, the Superintendent of Public Instruction had been ex officio President. During the period of the Board of Education, the University Trustees were elected by it, and elected their own President.
President Spencer was granted leave of absence from April 10, 1866, for fifteen months, to visit Europe; and Prof. Nathan R. Leonard was elected President pro tem.
The North Hall was completed late in 1866.
At the annual meeting in June, 1867, the resignation of President Spencer (absent in Europe) was accepted, and Prof. Leonard continued as President pro tem., until March 4, 1868, when James Black, D. D., Vice President of Wash- ington and Jefferson College, Penn., was elected President. Dr. Black entered upon his duties in September, 1868.
The Law Department was established in June, 1868, and, in September fol- lowing, an arrangement was perfected with the Iowa Law School, at Des Moines, which had been in successful operation for three years, under the management of Messrs. George G. Wright, Chester C. Cole and William G. Hammond, by which that institution was transferred to Iowa City and merged in the Law De- partment of the University. The Faculty of this department consisted of the President of the University, Hon. Wm. G. Hammond, Resident Professor and Principal of the Department, and Professors G. G. Wright and C. C. Cole.
Nine students entered at the commencement of the first term, and during the year ending June, 1877, there were 103 students in this department.
At a special meeting of the Board, on the 17th of September, 1868, a Com- mittee was appointed to consider the expediency of establishing a Medical De-
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partment. This Committee reported at once in favor of the proposition, the Faculty to consist of the President of the University and seven Professors, and recommended that, if practicable, the new department should be opened at the commencement of the University year, in 1869-70. At this meeting, Hon. Ezekiel Clark was elected Treasurer of the University.
By an act of the General Assembly, approved April 11, 1870, the " Board of Regents" was instituted as the governing power of the University, and since that time it has been the fundamental law of the institution. The Board of Regents held its first meeting June 28, 1870. Wm. J. Haddock was elected Secretary, and Mr. Clark, Treasurer.
Dr. Black tendered his resignation as President, at a special meeting of the Board, held August 18, 1870, to take effect on the 1st of December following. His resignation was accepted.
The South Hall having been fitted up for the purpose, the first term of the Medical Department was opened October 24, 1870, and continued until March, 1871, at which time there were three graduates and thirty-nine students.
March 1, 1871, Rev. George Thacher was elected President of the Univer- sity. Mr. Thacher accepted, entered upon his duties April 1st, and was form- ally inaugurated at the annual meeting in June, 1861.
In June, 1874, the " Chair of Military Instruction " was established, and the President of the United States was requested to detail an officer to perform its duties. In compliance with this request, Lieut. A. D. Schenck, Second Artil- lery, U. S. A., was detailed as "Professor of Military Science and Tactics," at Iowa State University, by order of the War Department, August 26, 1874, who reported for duty on the 10th of September following. Lieut. Schenck was relieved by Lieut. James Chester, Third Artillery, January 1, 1877.
Treasurer Clark resigned November 3, 1875, and John N. Coldren elected in his stead.
At the annual meeting, in 1876, a Department of Homoeopathy was established.
In March, 1877, a resolution was adopted affiliating the High Schools of the State with the University.
In June, 1877, Dr. Thacher's connection with the University was termi- nated, and C. W. Slagle, a member of the Board of Regents, was elected Pres- ident.
In 1872, the ex officio membership of the Superintendent of Public Instruc- tion was abolished ; but it was restored in 1876. Following is a catalogue of the officers of this important institution, from 1847 to 1878:
TRUSTEES OR REGENTS.
PRESIDENTS.
FROM TO
James Harlan, Superintendent Public Instruction, ex officio ..
1847
1848
Thomas H. Benton, Jr,, Superintendent Public Instruction, ex officio.
1848
1854
James D. Eads, Superintendent Public Instruction, ex officio ..
1854
1857
Maturin L. Fisher, Superintendent Public Instruction, ex officio
1857 1858
Amos Dean, Chancellor, ex officio.
1858
1859
Thomas H. Benton, Jr
1859
1863
Francis Springer.
1863
1864
William M. Stone, Governor, ex officio
1864
1868
Samuel Merrill, Governor, ex officio.
1868
1872
Cyrus C. Carpenter, Governor, ex officio
1872
1876
Samuel J. Kirkwood, Governor, ex officio
1876
1877
Joshua G. Newbold, Governor, ex officio.
1877
1878
John H. Gear. 1878
......
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VICE PRESIDENTS.
FROM
TO
Silas Foster.
1847
1851
Robert Lucas
1851
1853
Edward Connelly.
1854
1855
Moses J. Morsman.
1855
1858
SECRETARIES.
Hugh D. Downey
1847
1851
Anson Hart ..
1851
1857
Elijah Sells
1857
1858
Anson Hart.
1858
1864
William J. Haddock
1864
......
TREASURERS.
Morgan Reno, State Treasurer, ex officio.
1847
1850
Israel Kister, State Treasurer, ex officio.
1850
1852
Martin L. Morris, State Treasurer, ex officio.
1852
1855
Henry W. Lathrop
1855
1862
William Crum
1862
1868
Ezekiel Clark
1868
1876
John N. Coldren
1876
......
PRESIDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY.
Amos Dean, LL. D.
1855
1858
Silas Totten, D. D., LL. D.
1860
1862
Oliver M. Spencer, D. D .*
1862.
1867
James Black, D. D
1868
1870
George Thacher, D. D.
1871
1877
C. W. Slagle
1877
....
The present educational corps of the University consists of the President, nine Professors in the Collegiate Department, one Professor and six Instructors in Military Science ; Chancellor, three Professors and four Lecturers in the Law Department ; eight Professor Demonstrators of Anatomy; Prosector of Surgery and two Lecturers in the Medical Department, and two Professors in the Homoeopathic Medical Department.
STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
By act of the General Assembly, approved January 28, 1857, a State His- torical Society was provided for in connection with the University. At the commencement, an appropriation of $250 was made, to be expended in collecting, embodying, and preserving in an authentic form a library of books, pamphlets, charts, maps, manuscripts, papers, paintings, statuary, and other materials illus- trative of the history of Iowa; and with the further object to rescue from oblivion the memory of the early pioneers; to obtain and preserve various accounts of their exploits, perils and hardy adventures; to secure facts and statements relative to the history and genius, and progress and decay of the Indian tribes of Iowa; to exhibit faithfully the antiquities and past and present resources of the State; to aid in the publication of such collections of the Society as shall from time to time be deemed of value and interest; to aid in binding its books, pamphlets, manuscripts and papers, and in defraying other necessary incidental expenses of the Society.
There was appropriated by law to this institution, till the General Assembly shall otherwise direct, the sum of $500 per annum. The Society is under the management of a Board of Curators, consisting of eighteen persons, nine of whom are appointed by the Governor, and nine elected by the members of the Society. The Curators receive no compensation for their services. The annual
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meeting is provided for by law, to be held at Iowa City on Monday preceding the last Wednesday in June of each year.
The State Historical Society has published a series of very valuable collec- tions, including history, biography, sketches, reminiscences, etc., with quite a large number of finely engraved portraits of prominent and early settlers, under the title of " Annals of Iowa."
THE PENITENTIARY. Located at Fort Madison, Lee County.
The first act of the Territorial Legislature, relating to a Penitentiary in Iowa, was approved January 25, 1839, the fifth section of which authorized the Governor to draw the sum of $20,000 appropriated by an act of Congress ap- proved July 7, 1838, for public buildings in the Territory of Iowa. It provided for a Board of Directors of three persons elected by the Legislature, who should direct the building of the Penitentiary, which should be located within one mile of the public square, in the town of Fort Madison, Lee County, provided Fort Madison should deed to the directors a tract of land suitable for a site, and assign them, by contract, a spring or stream of water for the use of the Penitentiary. To the Directors was also given the power of appointing the Warden ; the latter to appoint his own assistants.
The first Directors appointed were John S. David and John Claypole. They made their first report to the Legislative Council November 9, 1839. The citi- zens of the town of Fort Madison had executed a deed conveying ten acres of land for the building site. Amos Ladd was appointed Superintendent of the building June 5, 1839. The building was designed of sufficient capacity to con- tain one hundred and thirty-eight convicts, and estimated to cost $55,933.90. It was begun on the 9th of July, 1839 ; the main building and Warden's house were completed in the Fall of 1841. Other additions were made from time to time till the building and arrangements were all complete according to the plan of the Directors. It has answered the purpose of the State as a Penitentiary for more than thirty years, and during that period many items of practical ex- perience in prison management have been gained.
It has long been a problem how to conduct prisons, and deal with what are called the criminal classes generally, so as to secure their best good and best subserve the interests of the State. Both objects must be taken into considera- tion in any humaritarian view of the subject. This problem is not yet solved, but Iowa has adopted the progressive and enlightened policy of humane treat- ment of prisoners and the utilization of their labor for their own support. The labor of the convicts in the Iowa Penitentiary, as in most others in the United States, is let out to contractors, who pay the State a certain stipulated amount therefor, the State furnishing the shops, tools and machinery, as well as the supervision necessary to preserve order and discipline in the prison.
While this is an improvement upon the old solitary confinement system, it still falls short of an enlightened reformatory system that in the future will treat the criminal for mental disease and endeavor to restore him to usefulness in the community. The objections urged against the contract system of dis- posing of the labor of prisoners, that it brings the labor of honest citizens into competition with convict labor at reduced prices, and is disadvantageous to the State, are not without force, and the system will have no place in the prisons of the future.
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It is right that the convict should labor. He should not be allowed to live in idleness at public expense. Honest men labor ; why should not they ? Hon- est men are entitled to the fruits of their toil ; why should not the convict as well ? The convict is sent to the Penitentiary to secure public safety. The State deprives him of his liberty to accomplish this purpose and to punish him for violations of law, but, having done this, the State wrongs both itself and the criminal by confiscating his earnings ; because it deprives his family of what justly belongs to them, and an enlightened civilization will ere long demand that the prisoner in the penitentiary, after paying a fair price for his board, is as justly entitled to his net earnings as the good citizen outside its walls, and his family, if he has one, should be entitled to draw his earnings or stated portion of them at stated periods. If he has no family, then if his net earnings should be set aside to his credit and paid over to him at the expiration of his term of imprisonment, he would not be turned out upon the cold charities of a somewhat pharisaical world, penniless, with the brand of the convict upon his brow, with no resource save to sink still deeper in crime. Let Iowa, " The Beautiful Land," be first to recognize the rights of its convicts to the fruits of their labor ; keep their children from the alms-house, and place a powerful incentive before them to become good citizens when they return to the busy world again.
ADDITIONAL PENITENTIARY. Located at Anamosa, Jones County.
By an act of the Fourteenth General Assembly, approved April 23, 1872, William Ure, Foster L. Downing and Martin Heisey were constituted Commis- sioners to locate and provide for the erection and control of an additional Penitentiary for the State of Iowa. These Commissioners met on the 4th of the following June, at Anamosa, Jones County, and selected a site donated by the citizens, within the limits of the city. L. W. Foster & Co., architects, of Des Moines, furnished the plan, drawings and specifications, and work was commenced on the building on the 28th day of September, 1872. May 13, 1873, twenty convicts were transferred to Anamosa from the Fort Madison Penitentiary. The entire enclosure includes fifteen acres, with a frontage of 663 feet.
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