USA > Illinois > McLean County > History of McLean County, Illinois, Volume I > Part 13
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In the first few years the school led a precarious existence. On the close of the fall term of 1854 work was suspended. In the same months Rev. Peter Akers was elected president, but declined. In 1855 Rev. C. W. Sears was for the second time offered the presidency, and under his man- agement the school reopened in October, 1855. Work was again sus- pended in 1856, owing to lack of funds and the debts which had accumu- lated. In 1857, Oliver S. Munsell was elected president, although the university was little more than a name. It had ten acres of land and the bare walls of a three-story brick building, with a debt of $5,000, which was increased by $10,000 when the building was completed. President Munsell and his brother, Rev. C. W. C. Munsell, raised funds to pay the debts and start the school again. Girls were admitted with equal rights with boys as students early in the history of the university, and co-edu- cation has ever since proved popular.
By 1868, a new and larger building was needed, and $40,000 was raised for this purpose. The corner stone of the main building on the campus was laid in 1870, and it was dedicated in June, 1871, having cost $100,000. In addition to the erection of the building, President Munsell was instrumental in securing important natural history collections, in- cluding the R. H. Holder collection of ornithology, Prof. George Vasey's botanical collection, and Prof. C. D. Wilber's collection of fossils and minerals, etc.
Dr. Munsell resigned as president in 1873 and Rev. Samuel Fallows was chosen to succeed him. He served two years and left a profound impression of his scholarship upon the history of the university. The law school was organized under his presidency. In 1875, Dr. W. H. H.
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Adams became president in succession to Bishop Fallows. He had served in the Civil War and was a man of great energy and ability. He increased the funds of the university, raising the endowment to over $72,000. For 13 years he served with fidelity and unending effort for every cause of the school. He literally gave his life for Wesleyan.
In 1888, Dr. W. H. Wilder, who had graduated in 1873, was elected president of Wesleyan, and served until 1897. An athletic field, named Wilder field in his honor, was acquired while he was president. About $15,000 was expended in improvements, including ground for janitor's house and gymnasium. The H. S. Swayne and Shellenbarger chemical laboratories were added to the science department. The Lichtenthaler collection of sea specimens, the G. B. Harrison collection of fossils, and the Weems archaelogical collections were added during this period. A. C. Behr gave the university a telescope, for which a suitable building was erected.
Dr. Edgar M. Smith served as president from 1897 to 1905, during which time a period of steady growth was maintained, although no out- standing additions were made. In 1905, Dr. Frank G. Barnes was chosen president and came to the school with a young man's enthusiasm. Dur- ing his term, Andrew Carnegie gave $30,000 for a Science Hall, provided $60,000 were raised as an endowment, which was successfully accom- plished.
However, the required $60,000 was not wholly secured when Presi- dent Barnes resigned and Dr. Theodore Kemp was chosen to succeed him. This was in 1908. Dr. Kemp at once raised the balance of $18,000 to close the Carnegie contract and secure the Science Hall. The building of this structure was the first new building which had been done on the campus in a period of forty-two years.
Like all the other schools of the country, the Wesleyan University lost many of the young men from its classes during the spring and fall of 1917, for they answered the call to the colors and served in many branches of the army and navy. Several gold stars were added to Wes- leyan's service flag before the war was over, and a memorial service after the close of the war took note of the following Wesleyan men who had died for liberty: George Herman Anna, Lyle Best, Howard Bolin, Elmer T. Doocey, Vergne Greiner, Allington Jolly, Sergt. Lemuel Jones, Frank
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OF THE
NORTH BUILDING, ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY.
MAIN BUILDING, ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY.
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BUCK MEMORIAL LIBRARY.
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Jordan, Henry R. Peckmann, Herbert Quarnstrom, William Ralston, Mau- rice Roberts, Edmund W. Sutherland.
In the opening of the fall term in 1918, Wesleyan, like many other colleges, became in fact a military academy by the formation there of the Student Army Training Corps, sponsored and managed by the war depart- ment of the government. All academic work was planned on military lines, and drills were carried on certain hours each day under Captain Wheaton, a regular army officer assigned to this camp. Barracks were erected on the vacant ground north of the campus, at a cost of $25,000, this fund being guaranteed by Bloomington business men, who were later reimbursed by the government. But the war ended all plans on this line, and in fact the armistice came before the S. A. T. C. had a chance to show its true worth as a military asset of the country.
Dr. Kemp continued in the office of president for 14 years, resigned May, 1922. In that period was covered a period of renewed growth for the school, which for some years previously had been caught in a season of depression and stagnation. There was a debt of $57,000 against the school, owing to many years' annual deficits. The endowment fund aggre- gated only $131,783, which with other resources of $185,500 made the total property of the school amount to only $327,283. During the incum- bency of President Kemp the endowment fund was increased to $869,366; other general assets were raised to $232,807; and the buildings and grounds were appraised at $364,600; making total resources of the Uni- versity $1,466,774.
The greatest campaign for funds ever undertaken in the history of the Wesleyan was that of June, 1921, when in a strenuous drive of one month's duration a total of $692,000 was pledged by citizens of Bloom- ington and McLean County. This made the grand total of resources at the close of Dr. Kemp's term, $2,158,774. Debts aggregating $110,000 were paid off during the same period. There were also bequests written into wills but not yet realized during this term of years. The total assets of the university at the close of President Kemp's incumbency indicated that five times as much money had been subscribed or written into wills in the fourteen years as had been previously obtained in the fifty-eight years of the university's history. E. M. Evans, as chairman of the Asso- ciation of Commerce Committee on Wesleyan Affairs had charge of this campaign and put in many strenuous days in planning for it. He had the
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assistance and co-operation of hundreds of citizens who gave up their own business to a large extent during the campaign.
Dr. Kemp was personally instrumental in securing the girls' dormi- tory and adding it to the property of the Wesleyan. This was the magnifi- cent three-story brick residence built by A. E. DeMange on Main Street, two blocks from the campus. It was bought on President Kemp's per- sonal responsibility for $30,000 and it was several years later that the funds were forthcoming for making good the personal risk which Dr. Kemp had incurred for the building. The attendance at the Wesleyan increased in corresponding ratio with its material growth. The enroll- ment in the liberal arts college grew from 174 to 352. The law school also had a healthy growth.
The board of trustees in July, 1922, selected Rev. Dr. William J. Davidson as president of the Wesleyan. At the time of his selection, he was executive secretary of the life service commission of the Methodist Church, with headquarters in Chicago. He holds the degree of LL. D. from Nebraska Wesleyan, the degree of S. T. B. and D.D. from Garrett Biblical Institute, and had performed undergraduate work at Boston Col- lege, Cornell and Harvard. For 28 years he was member of the Illinois Conference and two years was chancellor of Nebraska Wesleyan. After six years of pastorate of First M. E. Church in Decatur, he returned to Garrett Biblical Institute as professor of religious education. Dr. David- son was formally installed as president of Illinois Wesleyan on Dec. 13, 1922. President Harker, of Illinois Woman's College, made an address, as did President David Felmley, of Normal University. E. M. Evans, chairman of the Wesleyan Board, presented Dr. Davidson, who responded in an address. The exercises were held in the new memorial gymnasium of the Wesleyan.
The Wesleyan under Dr. Davidson has had a wonderful growth, and the enrollment of students and personnel of the faculty is more notable than at any other previous period.
According to the latest statistics during the current year is a new total enrollment of 1,162 students. These students are divided among the three colleges as follows :
College of Liberal Arts: Seniors, 65; juniors, 74; sophomores, 140; freshmen, 249; unclassified, 46; total, 574.
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College of Law: Third year, 36; second year, 34; first year, 63; total, 133.
College of Music: Music, expression and art, 535.
Grand totals of all colleges, 1,242; duplication, 80; net total, 1,162.
CHAPTER XIII.
ILLINOIS STATE NORMAL UNIVERSITY.
THE PIONEER NORMAL SCHOOL-QUESTION OF LOCATION-LAW CREATING NOR- MAL SCHOOL-SITE CHOSEN-CASH PLEDGES-CONSTRUCTION OF FIRST BUILDING-DIFFICULTIES-DEDICATION-EXPANSION-PRESIDENTS-BUILD- ING AND DEPARTMENTS-ATTENDANCE-SOCIETIES.
McLean County is the seat of the pioneer normal school of Illinois and of the middle west. The idea of a state normal school began to take root in Illinois about 1856, especially among the teachers of the state, who had by that time begun to hold conventions. The formation of the State Teachers' Association marked an era. A free school law had been passed, but it met with opposition. At the call of three men, H. L. Lee of Chicago, J. A. Hawley of Dixon, and Daniel Wilkins of Bloomington, a meeting of the friends of free schools was called to be held in Bloomington, Dec. 26 to 29, 1853. At this convention the proposals most discussed were to make the schools a separate department of state administration; to estab- lish a normal training school for teachers, and to publish a journal in the cause of free schools in Illinois. Rev. W. Goodfellow of the Wesleyan Universty faculty was the first president of the Illinois Teachers' Asso- ciation, and Daniel Wilkins of Bloomington the first secretary.
At the second annual meeting of the Teachers' Association in Peoria, and at the third meeting, in Springfield, the establishment of a normal school was the principal topic. J. B. Turner of Jacksonville headed a powerful faction advocating an Industrial University with a normal school attached. The discussion was bitter, and at the Chicago meeting in 1856, Professor Turner withdrew his contention in order to center interest on founding a normal school, with or without an agricultural school con-
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nected with it. The Association of that year passed a resolution request- ing the legislature of the coming winter to appropriate money to estab- lish a normal school to meet the educational needs of the state. On Feb. 18, of the following year, 1857, the legislature passed and the gov- ernor signed "An Act for the Establishment and Maintenance of a Nor- mal University." The date of the signing of this bill has been celebrated at each recurring anniversary as "Founders' Day" of the Normal Uni- versity.
The location of the school was the next big question. In 1857, the town of Normal had no existence. The Junction, otherwise known as North Bloomington, had been platted and a few houses built; most of the township was occupied by farms. The Illinois Central and Chicago & Alton roads crossed at the Junction. Jesse W. Fell, who had most to do with founding of North Bloomington, had built his home there in 1855, and in partnership with R. R. Landon, L. R. Case, C. W. Holder and L. C. Blakesly, had laid out an important addition. Hundreds of trees had been
planted, and the founders had dreams of establishing some kind of an educational institution. When Illinois decided to start a Normal school, these energetic men saw their chance. All the deeds for property in the new town of North Bloomington, provided that no liquor should be sold on such property, and this provision was incorporated in the town charter when Normal was incorporated in April, 1858. This gave Normal from the start a desirable class of citizens.
The law creating a normal school, also created a board of education to carry the law into effect. This board was empowered to receive bids for its location. Keen competition arose for the location of the new nor- mal school. Jesse Fell and his co-workers determined to make a splen- did offer to secure the school for "North Bloomington." They secured private pledges of money totaling $50,000. They secured a pledge from the county commissioners to donate another $50,000 from the proceeds of the sale of swamp lands which the government had given to the county for educational purposes. This made a total of $100,000. But after secret emissaries to Peoria had reported an alarmingly liberal offer to be made by that city, the local boosters increased their own subscrip- tions by $20,000, and secured an equal increase from the county commis- sioners, making a total of $141,725. The McLean County pledge included 160 acres of land at the Junction valued at $38,000. Several other tracts
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of land in the vicinity were also offered, but the Junction site was the favorite.
The state board met at Peoria on May 7, 1857, to choose a site. The Bloomington offer had been kept secret. Batavia's offer was first opened, it including the Batavia Institute buildings, $15,000 in money, making a total of $45,000. The citizens of Washington, in Tazewell County, and the trustees of Washington Academy offered the land and buildings of the Academy and $12,000 in cash, the total being valued at $21,000. Peoria offered money pledges from individuals, the city and county amounting to $50,032; also several sites of land of various dimensions and locations. The estimates on the land offerings made Peoria's best offer total at $80,032.
The bid of McLean County was so far ahead of Peoria's, the second best, that the board at once located the Normal University on the 160 acres of rolling land within three-quarters of a mile of the junction of the Alton and the Illinois Central Railroads. The Board of Education re- quired that within sixty days the subscription of $70,000 made by the McLean County Commissioners should be legally guaranteed. Abraham Lincoln was employed to draw up a form of guarantee, and this was signed by eighty-five of the best citizens of Bloomington, each binding himself in a sum between $500 and $5,000. The list of these guarantors . were published in the little book written by John W. Cook some years ago on the history of the Normal University. The new county board of supervisors, elected in 1858, promptly confirmed the pledge of the county commissioners, and the land was finally sold and the proceeds used for the purpose named, hence the guarantee bond was never enforced.
The list of cash pledges was divided into three groups, but all of these were collectible under the terms of the location. The first group was made with the condition that the site should be within one mile of the corporate limits of Bloomington. The second was conditioned on the location being within three-quarters of a mile from the Junction; the third that it should be within three miles of Bloomington. Joseph Payne and Meshack Pike donated the land on which the institution was actually located, consisting of 60 acres and enough more on the west to make their gift valued at $22,000. E. W. Bakewell and Judge David Davis gave 40 acres on the west, mostly west of Main Street, which was to form the location of the agricultural department.
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The next step was the construction of the building, the first of the present group. George P. Randall of Chicago was employed as architect, and when bids were called for there were fifteen bidders, ranging from $80,000 to $115,000. The contract was let to Mortimer & Loburg and T. H. Soper of Chicago for $83,000, the work to be completed by Septem- ber, 1858. The corner stone was laid Sept. 29, 1857, with impressive ceremonies.
But unexpected difficulties arose in connection with the construction. The general money panic of 1857 was a hard blow to the people who had pledged cash donations. Work was started by the contractor in the sum- mer of 1857, but when the first installment of his pay was due, in Decem- ber, there was no money to pay. Many of the subscribers were unable to meet their pledges, and others refused to pay. It was even proposed that the location of the school be changed at that time, since McLean County people seemed unable to make good their pledge. The Normal School had been opened at old Major's hall in Bloomington, in the third story of the building at the corner of Front and East Streets, in October, 1857, with 19 pupils and three teachers; Charles E. Hovey as principal, Ira Moore and Mary Brooks as the other instructors. For 18 months no work was done on the new building in North Bloomington. Finally the board of education appointed Mr. Hovey to save the situation and gave him power to act. He first tried to negotiate sale of the county swamp lands, since . the county had promised to pay only out of the "proceeds" of the lands and they must first be sold. C. M. Cady, a young man, was dispatched to New York with a list of the lands and told to sell them. But no sale could be made without at least bonds for deeds. Therefore Hovey him- self bought the lands on his own responsibility to the extent of 7,000 or 8,000 acres, at a price of $25,000 to $30,000. The New York deal fell through but rumor of a great sale of swamp lands got abroad, and state officials and others began to invest in other tracts. In this way some money began to come in, enough to pay off the debt to the contractors and get work again started. Solicitation among the business men of Bloomington for materials and credit for materials enabled the carpen- ters and masons to proceed, and by January, 1861, the building was well along toward completion, but with a debt of $65,000 against it. Hovey went to the Legislature then in session, secured an appropriation to take up the debts, and during the spring and summer of 1861 the building was
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ILLINOIS STATE NORMAL UNIVERSITY, NORMAL.
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FELL MEMORIAL GATEWAY, ILLINOIS STATE NORMAL UNIVERSITY, NORMAL.
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fully completed. There was still a debt of $30,000 over the structure when it was finished. The total cost was something over $200,000.
The dedication took place in January, 1861, when Gov. Richard Yates and Richard Oglesby made the principal addresses. The first year of school at the new location was engrossed with interests and feelings of the Civil War, which was then in its beginning. Principal Joseph G. Howell responded to Lincoln's first call for troops, President Charles E. Hovey and most of his men teachers and students went into the army. Perkins Bass, member of the Board of Education, took charge of the institution 1861-2. In the latter year the normal school secured the serv- ices of Richard Edwards for president, who came from St. Louis, and Thomas Metcalf, another St. Louis teacher, joined the faculty the same year. Albert Stetson, a Harvard graduate, and Edwin C. Hewett, who afterwards became president, were secured about the same time. The attendance grew during the administration of President Edwards, and more liberal appropriations from the Legislature enabled the school to carry on its work with less stringency. In 1867 the Legislature specifi- cally declared the Normal University to be a state institution.
Jesse W. Fell started the improvement of the campus by setting out many trees, a fund of $2,500 having been set aside for this purpose. A definite plan was adopted, and the beauty of the present day campus is the result of those early plans. The Museum of Natural History was founded in this period, and it has become one of the most useful and inter- esting in the state or the middle west. By the year 1876 the value of this natural history collection was declared to be $100,000. In the year 1885 the surplus specimens were removed to the state house at Spring- field and to the University of Illinois at Urbana.
The changes and expansion of the school made it the best equipped and most largely attended normal school in the United States by the year 1865. It had some enemies in the earlier years, charges being made that its patronage was mainly local and that its graduates were not teaching. Investigations proved these statements not borne out by the facts. A high school was established in 1862 under Charles F. Childs. A grammar and intermediate department were formed and these were later quartered in the Normal Public School buildings. John W. Cook was first principal of these departments. Joseph Carter succeeded him, and the grammar school had by this time become thoroughly organized and well graded. (11)
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In 1874 Thomas Metcalf was placed in charge of the teachers' training department, and had general oversight of the student teachers.
President Edwards resigned on Jan. 1, 1876, and was succeeded by Edwin C. Hewett, who held the position until June, 1890. The adminis- tration of President Hewett was one of steady growth and development. His term of 14 years was the longest in the history of the school up to that time. The revenues of the normal had grown to $36,200 per year, and considerable improvement in the physical property was made. In this period of the school history arose the celebrated Bakewell claim, by which Edwin W. Bakewell sought to secure restitution to himself of 40 acres of ground which he had donated for the original location of the school. After years of negotiation and legal action, the Supreme Court decided against his claim. Along in the '80's a faculty club for the study of pedagogical problems was established, and it continues until this day.
Numerous changes in the faculty occurred during President Hewett's term, some of the most noted teachers of the school having come to the teaching force during these years.
John Williston Cook, who had graduated in the class of 1865, was made president to succeed Dr. Hewett, assuming his duties in 1890. He had been connected with the faculty several years and was known for his versatility and energy. He soon secured the building for a training school, located just north of the main structure. In 1899 was completed the fine building of Gothic design which was to be used for library, gymnasium and other uses. It cost $61,000 and is a striking feature of the campus.
Under the energetic management of President Cook, the high school department grew to be a considerable factor in the institution, and so great was its increase in membership that the buildings became crowded. Governor Altgeld's attention being called to the conditions, he advised the board to abolish the high school, which was done in 1895.
The personnel of the faculty had increased from 18 to 21 members during President Cook's regime. The teaching force included many young and energetic members, and the whole policy of the school was an aggres- sive one. The income of the school had grown to $41,740. When the state of Illinois established a new normal school at DeKalb, President Cook was called to become its head, and began his work there in 1899. He took some of the teachers in Normal with him to his new school at DeKalb.
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Dr. Arnold Tompkins was elected president of the Normal University to succeed Mr. Cook. Dr. Tompkins had been professor of education at the University of Illinois. He at once inaugurated many changes in the course of study, length of recitation hours and other internal regu- lations. His regime lasted only one year, when he was called to the head of the Chicago Normal school, and shortly afterward died.
David Felmley, who had come to the normal school under Presi- dent Cook as teacher of mathematics, was chosen to be the new head. He was a graduate of the University of Michigan, and had taught suc- cessfully at Carrollton, where he was later superintendent of schools. He came to the Normal University in the same year that John W. Cook became president. President Felmley's twenty-three years of service as head of the Normal surpasses the record of any other president in length of time, and probably has few parallels in a similar position among the colleges and universities of the country.
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