USA > Illinois > Champaign County > A Standard history of Champaign County Illinois : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, civic and social development : a chronicle of the people, with family lineage and memoirs, Volume I > Part 40
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Of the men named, all are still actively engaged in business in Champaign and reaping their part of the benefits which the whole com- munity enjoys as a result of the unselfish and often unpraised work of the people organized as The Chamber of Commerce of Champaign, Illi- nois.
Hardly an undertaking in the city is completed without this organ- ization in some way having a part in its performance. It is commonly regarded as the central association to which all look for assistance in community work, and it has never been found unwilling.
LOCAL BANKS
The banks of Champaign are commensurate with the large needs and pronounced progress of the city.
The oldest of its financial institutions is the Trevett-Mattis Bank- ing Company. The original concern was founded by the late Albert C. Burnham, in 1861. He was then a young man of twenty-three, who had recently been admitted to the bar as a student under James B. McKinley, and became associated with that gentleman both as a law and a farm investment partner. Within a few years the legal portion of the partnership was almost obliterated by the growth of the business conducted for eastern capitalists in farm securities. In 1871, the busi- ness was assumed by Burnham, Mckinley & Company, and a few years
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later William B. McKinley, nephew of James B., was installed as a clerk in the office. The two Mckinleys became partners in 1877, Mr. Burnham having reorganized the original business in 1876 under the name of Burnham, Trevett (J. R.) & Mattis (R. R.). The firm so continued until 1897, when the death of Mr. Burnham necessitated a change to Trevett & Mattis. In 1903, the business was incorporated under the state banking law of Illinois as the Trevett-Mattis Banking Company, under which name its affairs have since been conducted. Its specialty is still farm loans, although it transacts a large general banking business. Its capital and surplus amount to $200,000. Fol- lowing are its officers : Ross R. Mattis, president ; John R. Trevett, vice- president ; Henry W. Berks, second vice-president; Wallace P. Spald- ing, cashier; John H. Trevett, secretary.
The First National Bank of Champaign was chartered under the
ANC
J.H.&.C.W.ANGLE.
CASH STORE
CLOTHING CLOTHING STORE. * DRY COODS & GROCERIES. BOOTS & SHOE
THE OLD ANGLE BLOCK (1858)
National Banking Act January 30, 1865. It was founded by B. F. Harris, and at the head of its affairs have successively been his son, Henry H. Harris, and his grandson also, B. F. Harris. The bank building was originally a frame structure located on the site of the present Kuhn building. In 1872, a new building was erected at the present location on Main Street, and in 1900 the fine, large five-story structure now occupied as its headquarters and by various office firms was completed. Newton M. Harris, brother of the president, is vice-
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
president of the First National Bank, and Hazen S. Capron, who suc- ceeded the late G. A. Turell, cashier. A striking idea of the growth of its business may be gained from the statement that the average deposits during its first year, 1865, amounted to $7,359.65, and fifty years afterward, 1915, to $1,626,274.38. A record of the First National and its founders and promoters is given in detail elsewhere.
The Baileys are, like the Harrises of Champaign, bankers, both by training and inheritance. David Bailey, one of the founders of the First National, in 1865, disposed of his interest therein during the '70s, and in 1882 joined his son, Captain Edward Bailey, in founding the Champaign National Bank. In the fall of 1879 the latter had asso- ciated himself with W. S. Maxwell and James C. Miller in establishing the private bank of Bailey, Maxwell & Miller. In 1882 the business was chartered as the Champaign National Bank with a capital of $50,000. Edward Bailey has been president ever since, its transactions having expanded commensurate with the splendid growth of the city. P. L. McPheters is the present cashier. The details of the development of the bank and the facts regarding the careers of David and Edward Bailey, father and son, are to be found in other pages of this work.
The Commercial Bank is the creation of M. W. Busey, son of Simeon H. Busey of Urbaua, who also assisted in founding the First National Bank of Champaign. He is its president ; George W. Busey, a brother, vice-president, and J. C. Somers, cashier. Its location is on East Uni- versity Avenue.
The Citizens State Bank was organized in 1895 and incorporated in 1908. Its building is on North Neil Street, and its officers: A. M. Burke, president; E. I. Burke, vice-president; C. L. Maxwell, cashier.
The predecessor of the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank of Cham- paign was the Illinois Title and Trust Company, which was incorporated in September, 1902, with the following officers: F. B. Vennum, presi- dent ; V. W. Johnston, vice-president; Shields A. Blaine, cashier. It then had a capital stock of $100,000. The Illinois Trust and Savings Bank was incorporated as a state institution in August, 1912, with a capital stock of $150,000, and the following officers: V. W. Johnston, president ; Fred Collison, vice-president ; Walter W. Stern, second vice- president ; E. M. Vennum, cashier; George R. Shawhan, manager of the savings department. There has been no change in the first or last office ; the present vice-president, however, is Walter W. Stern; cashier, F. Way Woody. The surplus and undivided profits of the bank are $25,000; average deposits, $625,000.
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
CHAMPAIGN NEWSPAPERS
The press of Champaign is represented by the Gazette and the News. As early as May, 1857, L. G. Chase and Albert Gore issued the "Spirit of the Agricultural Press," a handsome quarto, the objects of which were pithily defined by its name. But the venture evidently was not fathered by the right partnership and survived less than a year.
With the material left by the Press, Dr. John W. Seroggs, on March 10, 1858, issued the first number of the Central Illinois Gazette, a Republican newspaper. In its editorial management he was associated with William O. Stoddard, and for a short time Messrs. Cunningham and Flynn, of the Urbana Union, appeared to have had a silent finan- cial interest in the newspaper venture at West Urbana. The Gazette had attained a fair circulation and influence by 1860, and upon Lin- coln's election Mr. Stoddard was appointed to a secretaryship in the executive office and retired from newspaper work. Dr. Scroggs sold the paper to John Carrothers of the Union, in the winter of 1862-63, and the two publications were consolidated for about a year under the name of the Champaign County Union and Gazette. Then the material was separated and the Gazette office turned over to John W. Summers, a practical printer, by whom the newspaper venture was continued. In the summer of 1864 Mr. Summers sold to another printer, John Rob- bins who, within a few months, turned the enterprise over to George W. Flynn, George N. Richards and J. O. Cunningham. On October 14, 1864, they again commenced the publication of the Gazette at Urbana; in April, 1866, Judge Cunningham retired from the editorship, and in September of that year Mr. Richards withdrew from the partnership, leaving Mr. Flynn alone until the spring of 1868. Then George Seroggs purchased a half interest in it. The business of bookbinding was added, and in 1871 Judge Cunningham became an equal partner. The binding and job printing department was moved to Urbana, and in 1872 the firm was dissolved, Mr. Scroggs becoming sole proprietor of the Gazette and Flynn & Cunningham of the bookbinding and job plant at Urbana.
Mr. Seroggs was a strong writer and au able man and brought great influence to the Gazette. In 1878 he was elected to the lower house of the Illinois Legislature, and was afterward appointed consul to Ham- burg, Germany, whence he returned to his home in Champaign and died on October 9, 1879, as the ultimate result of injuries received during the last year of the Civil War.
Under the provisions of Mr. Scrogg's will, the publication of the Gazette was continued by his executor, H. J. Dunlap, for several years.
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It had commenced the issue of a daily edition in 1883, and in 1890 it was sold to H. H. Harris of Champaign. It continued under the finan- cial control of Mr. Harris and under the editorship of J. R. Stewart. In 1900 the plant was sold to Messrs. Stewart, Davis & Flanigan. Sub- sequently, the business was incorporated and in 1911 Mr. Stewart retired from active participation in its editorial and business management. The Gazette publishes a daily evening edition and is Republican in politics.
On February 21, 1891, E. B. Chapin, formerly of the Tolono Herald, issned the first number of the semi-weekly Champaign County News. In 1895, an evening edition was added, and in 1903 a morning edition. In 1915 Mr. Chapin sold the News to E. R. Mickelberry and D. W. Stevick, who have since conducted its editorial and business affairs.
SECRET AND BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES
The secret and benevolent organizations of Champaign are in keep- ing with the standing and growth of the communities which constitute the city as a whole. The Masons, the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Pythian Sisters; the Elks, the Moose, the Eagles, the Knights of Columbus and the G. A. R., with others of undoubted worth, have established a firm foothold and each contributes its share to the general fund of sociability, morality and charity.
As is the rule, the Masons, that old standard order, were the first to effect a stable organization. Dr. Edwin A. Kratz, with his usual thoroughness and correctness, wrote a history of the Western Star Lodge No. 240, A. F. & A. M., the original body, in June, 1916. The facts which follow are taken from that account, with additions made by the doctor to bring the record up to the summer of 1917:
Friday, March 27, 1857, the petition for a Lodge U. D., in West Urbana was forwarded to the Grand Master by Worshipful Brother Alfred M. Whitney, together with the fee therefor, $25.
M. W. Bro. James H. Hibbard, the G. M., issued his dispensation giving life to Masonry in the little village some time in April, doubt- less the latter part of the month. (These two papers have been lost by fire in the Grand Secretary's office, and the date and names thereon cannot be verified.)
Monday, May 11, 1857, the brethren named in the dispensation assembled in Whitney's Hall, southwest corner Main and Market streets, and opened the first meeting of the lodge. There does not appear to have been a formal institution of the lodge, and it is not known who was present at this meeting, or what business was transacted, since our
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first record was also destroyed by fire; but it is understood that the officers were: A. M. Whitney, Master; J. Dallenbach, S. W .; A. P. Hensley, J. W .; M. L. Dunlap, Treas .; W. B. Fowler, Secy., and that Dr. H. C. Howard petitioned for the degree; also that the first Monday in the month was designated for stated meetings, and the minimum fee of $20 adopted for the degrees.
The report to the Grand Lodge for four months' work showed that two petitioners were rejected, four initiated, three passed, one raised and four affiliated, making twelve members, and the trestle board show- ing ample work outlined.
Wednesday, October 7, 1857, the Grand Lodge, then in annual assembly, upon the inspection and approval of the work of this Lodge, U. D., granted a charter therefor under the name, number and style of Western Star Lodge No. 240, A. F. & A. M., located in West Urbana, now Champaign City. The names inscribed on the charter are: Alfred M. Whitney, John Dallenbach, Archibald P. Hensley, Mathias L. Dun- lap, William B. Fowler, Henry C. Whitney and Nathaniel C. Beasley, and the first three were named as the principal officers. (These brethren were no doubt the original petitioners, for it was the custom at that time not to add other names to the charter.)
What seems strange is, that they kept on working during the interim supposed to be dormant; for the old ledger shows three raised and two affiliated prior to the lodge being constituted.
Tuesday, January 12, 1858, the lodge was duly constituted and set to work by Worshipful Brother Washington C. Cassell of Urbana Lodge No. 157, as the proxy of the M. W. Grand Master, with eighteen mem- bers.
"We take especial pride in our name because it is of great historical importance to the Masons of this grand jurisdiction-being the name of the first Masonic lodge located on Illinois soil, which was then the outskirts of civilization, namely, of 'Western Star Lodge No. 107,' instituted at Kaskaskia, December 14, 1805, by virtue of a dispensation issued from the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, of the State of Pennsylvania. 'Western Star Lodge No. 107' materially assisted, with several others in 1822, in the formation of the first Grand Lodge of Masons in Illinois, and taking a charter from it as 'Western Star Lodge' No. 1, A. F. & A. M. It furnished the first Grand Master, as well as the first governor of the state, in the person of Shadrach Bond. This Grand Lodge, together with its constituent bodies, ceased to exist in the year 1829, being swept away by the anti-Masonic political dis- turbances of that period, but 'Western Star Lodge' No. 240, A. F. &
1-27
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A. M., lives to perpetuate the name and memory of that pioneer lodge to the end of recorded time."
This lodge has never been what is known Masonically as a "Moon Lodge," which meets on a certain day of the week on or before the full moon.
The lodge met regularly on the first Monday evening of every month until January, 1859, when two meetings were deemed necessary, and the first and third Mondays were designated for stated meetings. This arrangement held good until June, 1867, when a change was made to the second and fourth Mondays in the month, which still prevails, and it has never yet failed of a quorum.
The lodge prospered from the start, each succeeding report showing more members until 1871, when its maximum of 135 was reached, then occurred a gradual decrease to 104 in 1882, since which time the upward tendency has been steady and permanent. The present membership (1917) is about 460.
"During the War of the Rebellion, now known as the Civil War, many of our members enlisted in defense of country and fought to main- tain our flag unsullied, quite a number of whom were honored with commissions ranking from lieutenant to brevet brigadier-general, with a sprinkling of 'high privates,' besides the numerous men in the ranks. At the close of hostilities in our national family, the seekers after 'light' were a host, and the closest scrutiny in the history of the lodge was had during the eighteen months of the years 1865-66, when thirty for initiation, eleven for advancement, and two for affiliation were thrown aside as imperfect ashlar for our symbolic structure."
The lodge has been "at home" in the following places, all being on the third floor of substantial brick buildings:
1. Whitney's building, southwest corner Main and Market streets, 1857-1865.
2. Gardner's Building, No. 5 Main Street, 1866-1869.
3. Mather Block, Nos. 65-67 Market Street, 1869-1871.
4. Bailey's Block, Nos. 47-49 Neil Street, 1872-1898.
5. Masonic Block, Nos. 20-22 Main Street, 1899-1913.
6. Masonic Temple, Nos. 202-04 West Hill Street, 1914 -----.
The lodge became a freeholder, mainly through the efforts of Wor- shipful Brothers J. P. Gulick, L. W. Faulkner, J. B. A. Collan and E. A. Kratz on Monday, March 28, 1898, by a majority vote accepting a contract for the Eichberg Building, Nos. 20-22 Main Street. The conveyance for this income property was made Friday, May 13, 1898, and the lodge became domiciled therein December 21, 1898.
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The purchase price was $18,000. There was a mortgage of $8,000 and the lodge issued notes for nearly $6,000, showing that 7-9 or about seventy-five per cent holding represented debt, with only 150 members to shoulder the burden; but in ten years the entire incumbrance was liquidated without increasing the fecs or dues. September 13, 1909, by a vote of ninety-eight for to ten against, out of 310 members, this income property was sold for double the purchase price, the chapter, having one-third interest, agreeing thereto, and the lodge became a renter once more.
September 27, 1909, the first step towards a magnificent temple was the appointment of a committee to investigate a site, to wit: H. W. Berks, J. N. Beers, C. H. Baddeley, B. F. Harris, J. W. Davidson, H. Roberts, Isaac Kuhn, J. J. Dallenbach and D. P. McIntyre.
April 25, 1910, the lodge selected the Kuhn site, 132 feet square, at the northwest corner Hill and Randolph streets, for $15,800, and the committee was made a permanent building committee with full power and authority to select plans and erect a building thereon. West- ern Star Lodge No. 240, A. F. & A. M., Champaign Chapter No. 50, R. A. M., Champaign Commandery No. 68, K. T., each took one- third interest in said grounds, and agreed to share equally in the build- ing. January 22, 1912, the building committee reported that the general contract had been let to A. W. Stoolman, who commenced operations without delay.
Wednesday, September 4, 1912, the cornerstone of this magnificent building was laid by the Grand Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Delmar D. Darrah, G. M.
November 24, 1913, the three Masonic bodies created the Masonic board of control and invested it with the full supervision and manage- ment of the temple.
January 2, 1914, said board of control accepted the custody of the temple and found an indebtedness of $74,556. The building committee was subsequently relieved and discharged.
Thursday, January 8, 1914, this magnificent Masonic home was dedicated by the Grand Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Henry T. Burnap, G. M., and the first meeting of our lodge held therein immediately afterwards.
On March 23, 1914, the Commandery sold one-half of its interest to the lodge, thus making the relative proportions of ownership one- half, one-third and one-sixth, and the appointment of the board of control to be 4, 3, 2, respectively.
The worshipful masters of the lodge have been (under dispensation) : 1858, A. M. Whitney; 1859-60-61-62-63, Nat C. Beasley; 1864, C. F.
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY
Columbia ; 1865, Nat C. Beasley ; 1866-67-68-69, L. W. Faulkner; 1870- 71-72, Isaiah H. Hess; 1873, Charles E. Baker; 1874-75-76-77, George Seroggs; 1878, H. J. Dunlap; 1879-80-81-82-83-84-85-86-87, Edwin A. Kratz; 1888, H. J. Dunlap; 1889-90-91-92, Joseph O'Brien; 1893, J. B. A. Collan ; 1894-95-96, John S. Wolfe; 1897, T. J. Baddeley ; 1898- 99-00-01-02, Joseph P. Gulick; 1903-04-05, Henry W. Berks; 1906-07, Boyd S. Blaine; 1908, A. D. Mulliken; 1909-10, F. M. Brown; 1911: Henry W. Berks; 1912, D. G. Swannell; 1913, Alonzo P. Kratz ; 1914, M. J. A. Fluck ; 1915, J. E. Filson ; 1916, F. R. Smedley.
Prior to 1898 the elections were held in December. Since that time they have been held in June. F. I. Fleming is the present senior war- den; Edwin V. Kratz, junior warden; T. J. Baddeley, treasurer, and O. F. Miller, secretary.
Champaign Chapter No. 50, R. A. M., was organized under dispen- sation March 3, 1859, with the following elective officers: High priest, Jacob P. Gauch ; king, William Munhall; scribe, Lavius Fillmore; sec- retary, John B. Thomas; treasurer, William Stewart. The following have since served as heads of the chapter: Nat C. Beasley, 1863-67; A. W. Beasley, 1868; James M. Healey, 1869; H. J. Dunlap, 1870-78; E. N. McAllister, 1879-88; Edwin A. Kratz, 1889-94; L. W. Faulkner, 1895-99; Seely Brown, 1900-05; Henry W. Berks, 1906-07; Edward C. Ireland, 1908; George E. Cogswell, 1909-10; D. B. Wright, 1911-12; E. A. Gardner, 1913-14; F. S. Coogler, 1915; S. L. Fleming, 1916; J. G. Gulick, 1917. The present officers, besides Mr. Gulick, high priest, are : B. L. Kirk, scribe; J. J. Dallenbach, treasurer ; A. C. Sing- busch, secretary. The chapter has a membership of about 270.
The Masons also number as their active bodies at Champaign : Com- mandery No. 68, K. T., and Vesper Chapter No. 128, O. E. S. There is also what is called Saxa Rubra Conclave No. 2, Red Cross of Con- stantine, organized in 1893, with J. B. A. Collins as first commander. J. P. Gulick is the present head of the conclave, which seems to be more a social body made up of Masons than an organization identified with the rites of the Order.
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows organized Champaign Lodge No. 333, October 9, 1866, with the following officers: James A. Bow- ermaster, N. G .; Valentine Baker, V. G .; G. N. Richards, R. S .; E. B. Smith, C. S .; C. B. Whitmore, treasurer. At present its elective officers are: William Walkington, N. G .; J. R. Cooper, V. G .; Harry King, R. S .; H. L. Babb, F. S .; W. H. Hamersmith, treasurer. The present membership of the lodge is about 260. The Order is also represented by the following : Kaulback Lodge No. 549, composed of German mem-
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bers; Champaign Encampment No. 68; Canton Zonar No. 17, and Triumph Lodge No. 410, Rebekahs.
The Knights of Pythias have Valliant Lodge No. 130, and Unity Company No. 33 (uniformed rank), and the Pythian Sisters, Cham- paign Temple No. 129.
The Champaign Lodge of Elks, No. 398, have a house and audi- torium on West Hill Street; the hall of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Aerie No. 563, is on North Neil Street; the Knights of Columbus meet at St. Mary's School on East Park Avenue; the Foresters' Court, Watago No. 3251, assembles in Carpenter's Hall; the Moose lodge on the third floor of the Imperial building; the Modern Woodmen of America at Nelson's Hall on Main Street, and Colonel Nodine Post No. 140, G. A. R., at its hall on North Walnut Street. There are also several lodges composed of colored men and women, such as the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, the Household of Ruth, the Sisters of the Holy Cross, and the Pilgrim Knights of the World.
The Twin Cities Federation of Labor, with headquarters in Urbana, is represented by eighteen labor organizations, the membership of which is drawn from Champaign and Urbana.
CHAPTER XII URBANA TOWNSHIP AND CITY
MALE AND FEMALE SEMINARY-ABSORBED BY THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYS- TEM-ANOTHER SEMINARY PROJECT-CIVIL WAR BARS PROGRESS- THE INSTITUTE AS THE FORERUNNER OF THE UNIVERSITY-PERIOD OF UPS AND DOWNS-LEADING UP TO THE CITY OF URBANA-ORIG- INAL CORPORATE LIMITS AND FIRST ELECTION-URBANA'S MAYORS -THE CITY HALL AND DEPARTMENTS-CRYSTAL LAKE PARK- LEAL AND CARLE PARKS-PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF URBANA-THE HIGH SCHOOL-THE URBANA FREE LIBRARY-THE LOCAL PRESS-EARLY PREACHERS IN THE URBANA NEIGHBORHOOD-REV. JAMES HOLMES, PIONEER METHODIST-COMING OF REV. S. W. D. CHASE-FIRST M. E. CLASS AND CHURCH-DR. MCELROY'S STATEMENT-PRESENT FIRST M. E. CHURCH-REV. WILLIAM MUNHALL-FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH - FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH - THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH-FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH-TRINITY M. E. (UNIVER- SITY) CHURCH-ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH-THE UNITARIAN CHURCH -UNIVERSITY BAPTIST CHURCH-MCKINLEY MEMORIAL CHURCH -CUNNINGHAM CHILDREN'S HOME-EARLY SUNDAY SCHOOLS OF URBANA-BANKS AND INDUSTRIES-URBANA SOCIETIES.
Urbana was located and platted as the county seat when railroads were weird and untried "contraptions," viewed with dread by the aver- age farmer and countryman as an amorphous vampire which drew the lifeblood from a given territory and left nothing but paper towns and ruined hopes behind. Its future was based upon its accessibility to the settlements-actual and potential-within the country designated as Champaign County ; such accessibility to be determined by condition of the average turnpike and country road of the '30s, and by a conserva- tive forecast of the extension of the facilities for outside communica- tion. Urbana was nearly in the territorial center of the county, and seemed the most convenient point to reach from the groves and timber lands which were the early sensible areas of settlement. Consequently, Urbana was founded where it is, and was not brought to a sense of its original near-sightedness until the place had jogged along for twenty years.
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In the meantime, the locality had acquired a sort of political and intellectual aristocracy, which it retains largely to this day, because of the fact that so many able men collected at the county seat of justice and became also prominent, at a later day, in founding the University of Illinois within its corporate limits.
MALE AND FEMALE SEMINARY
In the early '50s, when it became evident that the Illinois Central was to have a station to the west of Urbana proper, the citizens of the old town bestirred themselves to consolidate the already material gains of their place as an educational center. Danville, Paris, Marshall and Shelbyville, county seats to the near south and east, had seminaries of learning, and why should not Urbana? As early as 1852, the Urbana Male and Female Seminary was established under the nominal patron- age of the Methodist Church, although it was liberally encouraged by citizens of all sects and of none. James S. Busey gave a block as a building site-the same ground now occupied by the Oregon Street public school, and iu the fall of 1855, while the foundations of the Free School law were being laid, the handsome two-story seminary building was completed. In the upper part of the structure was a large assembly hall, and in the lower part the recitation rooms. Rev. John M. Miller, an able educator, was brought from Kentucky to take charge of the enterprise, but died within the succeeding six months.
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