USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Discovery and conquests of the Northwest, with the history of Chicago, Vol. II > Part 45
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47
647
Northwestern University.
A temporary frame building had been constructed on Davis street, corner of Chicago avenue, for the loca- tion of the infant college. There the trustees met in 1856. A college year had passed, with two instructors, compensated at $1,500 each per annum; an agent had been busy in the sale of lots and scholarships; a presi- dent was needed, and Rev. R. S. Foster, D. D., was elected at a salary of $2,000 per annum. Among the trustees elected that year appears the name of William B. Ogden, and among the professors elected was Daniel
A VIEW OF THE CAMPUS
Bonbright, as professor of Latin, then a young man acting as tutor in Yale College. A seal was now re- quired in connection with the execution of documents of the corporation, and a design was chosen consisting of an open book with radiating rays of light, encircled by the words, "Northwestern University."
Tentative steps were taken in 1856 to carry out the university idea by uniting Garrett Biblical Institute and Rush Medical College with the University, for the purpose of conferring degrees. The Northwestern
648
Northwestern University.
Female College had been founded in Evanston by W. P. Jones, and the similarity of name gave great umbrage to the trustees of the Northwestern University. A committee was appointed, requesting a change of name of the Female College, with threats of prosecution, but the Northwestern Female College lived on unmoved until, at a later date, it became the Evanston College for Ladies, and was finally absorbed by the University.
Dr. Foster, the president-elect, appeared before the trustees in July, 1856, and addressed them earnestly concerning the prospects of the institution. He evi- dently impressed upon them the necessity of college buildings and of a library, for they immediately resolved to prepare plans for permanent buildings, and to devote the salary of the president, for the coming year, to the enrichment of the library, he being permitted to con- tinue in the service of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, New York, until May, 1857.
The session of the trustees for 1857 gives out no sign of the embarrassment that was prevailing in the business world. They talked of starting a law school. They made preparations for a chair of natural science. They took steps to put the preparatory school in oper- ation, and devoted $1,000 to the purchase of philosoph- ical apparatus. The excess of assets over liabilities was reported as $315,845.30-the results of the labors of four years of the corporate life of the University. The library had now grown to over 2,000 volumes. The museum had been started by the labors of Robert Ken- nicott, a young naturalist of national reputation, and the Smithsonian Institute agreed to make it a deposi- tory of surplus specimens for the northwest. In 1859 a collection of Roman coins was presented to the Uni- versity by Charles Cookson.
In the same year Henry S. Noyes, in addition to his duties as professor, was appointed agent of the University, to succeed Philo Judson. He had pre- viously been employed to collect incidental fees in
649
Northwestern University.
college, and now, in the most painstaking way, he was to carry a burden of affairs of property and business detail that was to be of invaluable use to the institution.
The law school began to materialize in April, 1859, by the election of Hon. W. B. Scates and Henry G. Miller as professors of law. In June, 1859, on recom- mendation of the faculty, the degree of bachelor of arts was conferred upon Thos. E. Annis, Winchester E. Clifford, Samuel L. Eastman and E. I. Searls, and the degree of bachelor of philosophy on Henry M. Kidder.
-
ORRINGTON LUNT LIBRARY
These were to be the advance guard of the army of Northwestern graduates.
To stimulate the building of permanent buildings, Bishops Ames and Simpson made a proposition to donate $2,000 of a proposed $30,000 for that purpose. In 1858 John Evans followed with an offer of $10,000, and Philo Judson with $1,000. The terms of the offer were not met in time, and the subscriptions lapsed.
In 1859 Dr. Foster's library of 675 volumes was added to the University collection. (7)
650
Northwestern University.
In 1860 A. C. Linn, W. A. Lord, H. A. Plimpton, E. Q. Searles, W. C. Spaulding, F. A. Springer and H. L. Stewart received the degree of A.B., and W. H. H. Rawleigh the degree of Ph.B., and owing to the res- ignation of Dr. R. S. Foster, Prof. H. S. Noyes was elected vice-president and Dr. E. O. Haven was elected president, but declined to accept. Warren Taplin was appointed, in 1860, the first principal of the Academy. Prof. Godman resigned, on account of ill health, from the chair of Greek during the same year. In 1860 the trustees took steps to liquidate the debt contracted in the purchase of the site of Evanston and other indebt- edness, by setting apart $37,949.16 of securities there- for in the hands of J. G. Hamilton, trustee.
The existence of the war of the rebellion was re- flected in 1862 by the resignation of Dr. J. V. Z. Blaney, to enter the army. He was dismissed with regret, and from time to time numbers of the students followed into the service of the Union, among them Prof. Linn, Plimpton, Mac Caskey, Spencer, Haney and the Stro- bridges, the nucleus of a company with University officers, which was organized and marched away to the music of the fife and drum, seriously thinning the ranks of the students.
In 1862 Rev. N. H. Axtell appears as principal of the preparatory school, and the same year the honored name of Dr. Oliver Marcy appears as professor of natu- ral science. During this same year the trustees are in negotiations for the contribution of the site of a Bap- tist church building; indeed, all along, up to quite a late period, they practiced the policy of donating church sites and sites for public schools.
In 1863 authority was given to locate the Garrett Biblical Institute on the campus of the University, but it was not until 1866, or thereabouts, that the final ad- justment of property relations was made with the In- stitute, whereby, on payment of a nominal amount per annum, the Institute was permitted the use of valuable grounds for its buildings.
651
Northwestern University.
In November, 1863, J. G. Hamilton announced that the trust had been accomplished and the University was free from debt. From this time onward earnest efforts were concentrated upon the need for University buildings. At almost every meeting of the board the matter was earnestly discussed. A permanent plan for arranging the buildings on the campus was devised in 1864, and the services of the eloquent Dr. O. H. Tiffany were secured, temporarily, in that year in the role of financial agent to secure funds for the University buildings.
In 1865 the name of Prof. Louis Kistler appears as professor of Greek, the appointment being a temporary one; it was made more permanent in the following year. The growing need for boarding accommodations for the students was earnestly pressed, which resulted in erecting a building called the club house, now located on Orrington avenue, near Clark street-the University's first experiment in dormitories.
An appropriation was made during this year of $25,000, from the productive funds of the institution, for the erection of a main University building or what is now known as University hall. The cost of this building was to approximate $100,000. Dr. Tiffany's labors did not result very successfully in securing funds, and Dr. S. A. W. Jewett was now tried in the work of a financial agent, to see if funds could not be secured for the much needed building.
It was at this point that Orrington Lunt, in Sep- tember, 1865, donated a tract of 157 acres in George Smith's subdivision, adjoining Wilmette, which was later applied to the library endowment. The condi- tions of this donation involved a few financial obliga- tions on the part of the University, but they were gladly met in view of the prospective value of this en- dowment.
652
Northwestern University.
Plans for a University hall were adopted in Sep- tember, 1865, G. P. Randall being the selected archi- tect. The noble pile that now dominates the campus attests the good taste with which this first important building of the University was designed.
The items of trustee business are somewhat dreary reading; made up of transactions concerning the prop- erty of the University or ordinary repairs of one sort or another, the discussing of the problem of shore pro- tection, and devising ways and means for the enlarge- ment of property interests and the raising of funds. But all this is of exceeding importance, that the work of the college may proceed. The work of the college does go on during these years, somewhat impeded by the tendency of the young men to enlist in the army and serve their country's cause.
One incident of 1866 which shows how difficult it was for the trustees of that period to anticipate the University's development was the deed to the John Dempster heirs of what is known as Dempster's subdi- vision, which cuts the University campus in twain in the region of the big ditch. This property has largely been re-acquired at considerable advance upon the price at which it sold, in order that adequate room may be had for the development of the institution.
The donation to the Presbyterians of a site for their church followed in 1866, and in the same year the corporate name of the University was changed from Trustees of Northwestern University to Northwestern University. Other names were suggested, but the trustees clung tenaciously to the idea of a university for the northwest. The treasurer's report for that year shows assets to the amount of $419,751.50, and subscriptions to the University building to the amount of $48,000.
The first honorary degrees given by the University were bestowed in 1866, when George W. Qureau, George M. Steele and George S. Hare were given the degree
653
Northwestern University.
of Doctor of Divinity, and Randolph S. Foster and Joseph Cummings were given the degree of Doctor of Laws.
A new name that was to be of great prominence and usefulness in the affairs of the University emerges in 1866, when David H. Wheeler was elected professor of history and English literature. In the same year Charles H. Fowler was elected president of the Uni- versity, only to decline the honor in the following year, before entering upon the service.
Great impatience was manifested in 1867 that the University hall should be pushed to completion. Mat- ters were looking much more hopeful. The income had been found sufficient to warrant the increase of salaries of the professors from $1,500 to $2,000, and within a year the assets of the institution had increased over $40,000. The building was now undertaken in a very cautious manner. It was to be built of Athens stone, and, with the discreetness that always characterized the trustees, they proposed to roof it over when they reached a point beyond which their available funds did not extend. H. B. Hurd proposed in this emergency, and the proposal was carried, that the building be com- pleted to the roof and enclosed before halting in the enterprise. Their hearts were stimulated by the an- nouncement made by Louis Kistler that one William Walker, of Kankakee, proposed to give the munificent sum of $30,000 to the University for this purpose. It was a cruel disappointment when it was discovered that Lord Walker had no foundation for the various and widespread benefactions with which he had been cheer- ing the hearts of the trustees of various institutions. The building of University hall went on, however.
T. C. Hoag, whose name was destined to be long associated with the business affairs of the University, and to whom a great debt of obligation is due for his painstaking and orderly management of affairs, became
654
Northwestern University.
agent in August, 1867. By June of that year $42,125 had been spent on the new building, and in computing the assets of the institution, they had risen to $703,714.08.
In 1867 the Chicago Medical College became an integral part of Northwestern University, and was, to some extent, enriched from the resources of the insti- tution. That consummation was brought about largely through the labors of that old time trustee, Dr. N. S. Davis, who was intimately associated with medical education in Chicago.
In default of a president, D. H. Wheeler was made the executive officer of the faculty. Professor Noyes having resigned the vice-presidency in 1867, on account of ill health, that honorable and hard working pro- fessor, who had carried so many burdens, both of in- struction and of financial management, was compli- mented by the trustees on his retirement from his position as vice-president; and the compliment was just, but still a poor return for the valuable labors of that accomplished and devoted man.
In 1868 the First Congregational church, of Evans- ton, was enriched by the University with a valuable building site. In the same year the name of Robert M. Cumnock appears as teacher of elocution, with the modest compensation of $3 per week. His services proved so acceptable that he was paid, the following year, $300 for such services as he rendered in connec- tion with the college students. He was destined to be one of the pillars of the institution, and to attain to wide fame, and bestow great credit upon the University. The names of Geo. W. Winslow and Robert Baird appear as instructors in that year in the preparatory school.
In the year 1869 a committee of citizens interviewed the trustees on the subject of taxation, and were given some very wholesome information by Grant Goodrich as to the services of the University in the creation of the town, and the rights of the institution under its charter.
655
Northwestern University.
The lease to Garrett Biblical Institute was put into form in 1869, as it now exists, and in that year the assets of the institution had swelled to $761,066.59. University Hall was now well nigh complete, and the formal dedication was designed for that year. It was thought essential that a president should be elected coincidently with the erection of the new building, and Erastus O. Haven was called to that post, with a salary of $4,500 per annum. The same year young women were admitted to the college classes; the medical school sent out its first class under the auspices of the Uni- versity, and the Schultze library, of 20,000 rare volumes, was purchased and donated by Luther L. Greenleaf to the University. The assets for that year are figured at $779,349, and the report of the president at the close of the first year of his service was full of encouragement and promise. The property on La Salle street had been leased, and the Pacific Hotel Co. organized, which gave promise of a considerable enhancement of income from that old investment of $9,000, which had been so tena- ciously retained.
August 23, 1872, Dr. Charles H. Fowler, now bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church, was elected presi- dent of the University; a man of rare eloquence and a magnetic leader, who brought to the work his char- acteristic energy, and set on foot many schemes for the enlargement of the work of the University.
In June, 1873, the Evanston College for Ladies was absorbed by the institution, and thereby it became co- educational. In the same year the University united with the University of Chicago in the establishment and maintenance of a law school, which was known as the Union College of Law, destined to become the sole property of the University, under the title of the North- western University Law School, after the extinction of the University of Chicago.
656
Northwestern University.
With the merging of the Evanston College for Ladies, the name of Frances E. Willard became associ- ated with the University as professor of esthetics. Dr. Herbert F. Fisk, likewise in 1873 became principal of the Preparatory School, a position which he has held with honor from that time.
The courses of the College of Liberal Arts were considerably amplified under the administration of Dr. Fowler, and a school of technology was planned, which, later, on failure of expected resources, had to be abandoned.
Dr. Fowler was called, in 1876, to the editorship of the Christian Advocate, and resigned the presidency. Oliver Marcy, professor of geology, was thereupon appointed acting president, a position which he held with credit to himself and honor to the University until 1881.
In June, 1876, the question of taxation of the Uni- versity property was raised, and was contested by the University in all the courts of the state, adversely to its claim of exemption under its charter. The question was then appealed to the United States Supreme Court, and the decision of the state Supreme Court was re- versed in the October term, 1878. At this time the total assets of the University were reckoned by the treasurer at $1,069,016.
In 1881 Joseph Cummings, the Nestor of educators in the Methodist Episcopal church, long-time president of Wesleyan University, was elected president, and for ten years, with his ripe powers and judgment, and with indefatigable zeal and industry, presided over the affairs of the institution, beloved by the faculty, revered by the students, and acknowledged by all as an ideal col- lege president of the old school. During his adminis- tration, namely in the year 1884, the Illinois School of Pharmacy became the property of the University, thereafter to be known as the Northwestern University School of Pharmacy, and the School of Dentistry was
-.
657
Northwestern University.
established. Dearborn Observatory, the gift of James B. Hobbs, was erected at a cost of $25,000, and the valuable instruments that were formerly in the Dear- born Observatory in Chicago were installed, and nearly $200,000 was raised to liquidate the University's indebt- edness.
On the death of Dr. Cummings, Dr. Marcy was again called to the acting presidency, until the election of Dr. Henry Wade Rogers in September, 1890, contin- uing in that office for a period of ten years, which were characterized by marked development of the institu- tion in its courses of study and number of instructors, in the acquisition of the Woman's Medical School and the construction of some important buildings. The fruitage of the labors of the early founders of the Uni- versity had now become quite manifest in the enhanced income of properties which they secured with so much sacrifice and retained with such wise persistence.
In the summer of 1899 Dr. Henry Wade Rogers re- signed the presidency of the University, and Dr. Daniel Bonbright, professor of Latin, was elected acting president, an office which he administered with great satisfaction to the trustees, professors and students alike, until February, 1902, at which time Dr. Edmund Janes James was elected president of the institution. He had served the University of Chicago for a few years, in charge of the University extension work of that institution. The largest part of his career was spent at the University of Pennsylvania, in connection with the department of economics, where his enviable reputation as an educator and economic writer was made. His election was hailed with satisfaction by the friends of Northwestern University, and his ad- ministration, most auspiciously begun, gives promise of one of the most progressive and useful periods in the his- tory of the institution which he has been called to serve.
The business side of the institution has been cared for by such men as Philo Judson, J. G. Hamilton, W. H.
.
658
Northwestern University.
Lunt, T. C. Hoag and R. D. Sheppard, the present in- cumbent of the business office, to say nothing of the continuous labor of the devoted men who have given freely of their time and best attention in caring for the development of the institution and the guidance of its affairs during the long period of half a century now closing. From small beginnings it has acquired, by wise management and by the timely benefactions of such men as John Evans, Orrington Lunt and William Deering, and lesser givers, the property estimated in the last financial report at $6,000,000. It has minis- tered to the training of nearly 1,500 graduates from its College of Liberal Arts, 1,844 from its Medical School, 559 from its Woman's Medical School, 1,186 from its School of Pharmacy, 1,605 from its Dental School-in all over 8,000 alumni, which are its chiefest wealth; and enrolled as students in its various halls of learning, both on its campus at Evanston and in its schools in Chicago, are nearly 3,000 students.
R. D. SHEPPARD.
Allen bolewis
HISTORY OF THE LEWIS INSTITUTE.
The Lewis Institute was opened to the public September 21, 1896. The institution was made possi- ble by the will of Allen C. Lewis, who died October 25, 1877, but the thought and care of many others have contributed to the enlargement of the original bequest, and to the success of the foundation under it. Much credit is due the trustees by whom the estate was care- fully invested and augmented, and to those upon whom rested the burden of organization, building and inaugu- ration.
In short, the Lewis Institute is a monument to an individual, but a monument which is the result of the careful building of willing hands directed by active minds intent upon carrying out not only the literal ex- pression, but the implied desires of the founder.
Allen C. Lewis was born in Sterling, Conn., in 1821. He came west in early life, engaging in business in Elgin, whence he removed to Chicago in 1853. While in Chicago he laid the foundation of his fortune chiefly by the purchase and location of land warrants. In 1867 his health failed and most of his holdings were transferred to real estate or securities of the new rail- ways which were then being built in the west. In com- mon with most western men of eastern origin, he was impressed with the vast resources of the country, with the great demands that would be made for their devel- opment, and with the certainty of the rapid increase of the population. Four or five years spent in Europe in a vain effort to recover his health gave him opportunities
(659)
660
Lewis Institute.
to observe the conditions of the young men and women of the people, and the lack of trained skill which plays so great a part in the determination of their lives.
An elder brother, John Lewis, who died in 1875, left to Allen C. Lewis the greater part of his fortune, amounting to $300,000. The will of John Lewis is a short, simple, direct document, a good index of the character of the man. While no statement is made as to the ultimate disposition of the bequest, there is little doubt that it was intended as his contribution to a cause as dear to him as to his brother.
Allen C. Lewis died October 25, 1877, and his will was admitted to probate November 1. At the time of the bequest there were but three technical schools of any importance in this country. All of these were in the eastern states, but some of the western universities and colleges were beginning to announce technical courses. The need of such an institution was felt in Chicago, and the hope of a foundation by bequest was expressed frequently by the press. No one seems to have thought, however, of the source from which it would come. The gift of Mr. Lewis was as unexpected as it was welcome. While well known to many of the citizens of Chicago, Mr. Lewis had been for years an invalid ; he was naturally averse to publicity, and few persons knew the extent of his fortune or the plans he had formed for its disposition. The gift received the praise of the public for its magnitude, remarkable in that day; for the modest way in which it was made, and for the broad philanthropic lines which were laid down to guide the trustees in its management.
Mr. Lewis realized that the sum left by his will would be insufficient for the purposes which he desired to accomplish, and foresaw that changing conditions would, in all probability, modify the execution of the trust. Four distinct features appear in the conditions attending the gift. The first, and apparently the most
661
Lewis Institute.
important in the mind of Mr. Lewis, was a school which should develop the technical skill of young men, and especially young women, to such a point that their position as wage earners would be secure. This might be done best for a large class by means of a night school. The second and third objects were to be a ben- efit to the general public as well, and consisted of a library and reading room, and a course of public lectures to be determined by the needs of the commun- ity, but to be, preferably, along the lines of the work done in the school. The fourth establishment was to be made as soon as the estate would warrant it, and was to be a thoroughly equipped school of technology. Provisions were made for changes necessitated by varying conditions, and two sites belonging to the estate were suggested as possible locations for the institution.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.