History of Penobscot County, Maine; with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 48

Author: Williams, Chase & Co., Cleveland (Ohio)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams, Chase & Co.
Number of Pages: 1100

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THE COLLEGE LEGISLATED INTO BEING.

An act was passed by the Legislature in February, 1865, "to establish the State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts," whereby Messrs. Hannibal Hamlin, Charles A. Everett, William Wirt Wigin, Samuel F. Perley, Thomas S. Lang, N. T. Hill, Bradford Cum- mings, Dennis Moore, William D. Dana, S. L. Goodale, Robert Martin, Alfred S. Perkins, Joseph Farwell, Seward Dill, Joseph Day, and Ebenezer Knowlton were constituted Trustees of the College, and authorized to establish such an institution as was contemplated by the act of Congress making the land-grants for the purpose.

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זו מזו זA RAIT

I71

HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

"Practical experiments and demonstrations of scientific principles and rules," also instruction in military tactics, and such other studies "as the facilities of the College and the periods of instruction will permit," all "in addi tion to the instruction which is to be given by classes, text-books, lectures, and apparatus," are prescribed in the act. No charge for tuition was to be made to any student who is an inhabitant of the State. The follow- ing section is well worth extracting in full :

SECTION 14. It shall be the duty of the trustees, directors, and teachers of the college to impress on the minds of the students the principles of morality and justice, and a sacred regard to truth; love to their country, humanity and universal benevolence; sobriety, in- dustry, and frugality, chastity, moderation, and temperance, and all other virtues which are the ornaments of human society; and among other means to promote these ends, and to secure the best personal im- provement of the students, the trustees shall provide, as fully as may be practicable, that the internal organization of the college shall be on the plan of one or more well-regulated households and families, so that the students may be brought into relations of domestic intimacy and confidence with their teachers.

SETTLING A SITE.

The act of Congress making the grant requiring the establishing of at least one of the colleges contemplated by it, by each State accepting its terms, within five years, on penalty of forfeiture of the gift, the commissioners soon set about the ascertainment of a site for the Maine College. Advertisements were made in the newspapers, inviting donations and benefactions in aid of the pro- posed college, and proposals for the location thereof. In reply, three offers of sites, to be gratuitously given, were made-one by Mr. Benjamin F. Nourse, of Orrington, Penobscot county, of his farm of 425 acres at Goodale's Corner, unconditionally offered; one from the Hon. Francis O. J. Smith, of New York City, of his 90-acre farm at Gorham, with no condition except the permanent maintenance of the Agricultural College therein; and one from the President and Trustees of Bowdoin College at Brunswick, of the establishment of a separate institu- tion of the character designated in the grant, in con- sideration of the transfer to the corporation of Bowdoin of the entire amount of the land scrip. The commis- sioners visited the several localities included in the offers. They found the first and second objectionable for lack of necessary buildings, and the first also by reason of its dis- tance from any central point of travel. The Brunswick location, including about 300 acres for an experimental farm, was free from these objections, but not found suitable for a stock farm. Upon the whole, however, the commission reported in favor of accepting the Bowdoin offer, but did not think the scrip could be legally transferred to the College authorities. It rather should be sold, in their judgment, and the proceeds in- vested. The recommendations were fully discussed in public and private, by the Board of Agriculture and the Legislature; and the decision finally was not to accept them.

OTHER PRELIMINARIES.

The trustees appointed by the late act had a meeting at Augusta, April 25 and 26, 1865, and appointed Mr. Hamlin President, Mr. Goodale, Clerk, and Mr. Phine- has Barnes, of Portland, Treasurer of the Board. An

address was issued by the trustees to the people of the State, calling attention to the enterprise and inviting "such contributions as will enable them to provide the requisite buildings and apparatus for setting the College in operation." Mr. Nourse had so modified his offer of the gift of his Orrington farm as to require the precedent raising of $50,000 "for the erection of buildings and other uses of the College." At another meeting of the Board in Augusta, the next September, it was reported that only about one-half the necessary amount had been pledged, when thanks were voted to Mr. Nourse, and the attempt to secure the acceptance of his offer was abandoned. A call was announced for a meeting in Bangor, to consider some informal proposals made con- cerning an available tract in Orono town. No quorum was got together, however, and the matter rested until the next year. It was necessary to exercise considerable care and circumspection, in order to make sure that the site finally selected should answer the specifications of the resolution of instructions passed by the Legislature in 1863, that "the farm should embrace such a variety of soils and of surface as should constitute it, as near as may be, a fair epitome of the State, and that it should occupy a location easily accessible, and as nearly central to the State as may be, considering both geographical position, population, and social and other advantages." In addition to the localities before mentioned, a site at Topsham was pressed upon the attention of the Board, mainly by the authorities of a college then existing in that vicinity, who were supported by the influence of the Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture, who was also Clerk of the Board of Trustees. Early in 1866, after a full attention to the claims of each of the locali- ties, the site at Orono, in Penobscot county, now occu- pied by the College and its farm, were determined upon.

Contracts for the necessary buildings were made, and work went rapidly forward, so that in 1868 the institution was opened for the reception of pupils; and, says the next Report of the Secretary of the State Board of Agricul- ture: "a class of highly promising young men has been gath- ered-less numerous, it may be, than in some similar in- stitutions in other States, but considerably more so than the earlier classes which entered what is now the oldest, the most numerously attended, and the best equipped of our literary colleges."

By chapter 59, of the Private and Special Laws of 1866, the inhabitants of Orono were authorized to raise money, by taxation or loan, to the amount of $11,000, for the purchase of the White and the Goddard or Frost farms, for conveyance to the Trustees of the State Col- lege, if a majority of the inhabitants should agree there- to. At the same session, the inhabitants of Oldtown were similarly authorized to vote an appropriation in aid of the purchase of land in Orono for the same purpose.

MORE LEGISLATION.

At the legislative session of 1869 $28,000 were ap- propriated from the State Treasury for the purposes of the College, and $22,000 in 1870, both under the proviso that a perfect title to the premises in Orono should be

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

vested in the State before any money should be drawn under these grants.

By chapter 147, of the Private and Special Laws of 1872, "females who possess the suitable qualifications for admission to the several classes, may be admitted as students in the college, subject to the requirements of labor and study which may be determined by the Faculty of Instruction and by the Trustees of the College."

THE REMAINING STORY

of the college, to the year 1876, with some amplifica- tion of what we have already given, is well told by Mr. S. L. Boardman, Secretary of the Board of Agriculture, in the twenty-first annual report of that officer:

In February, 1865, the " Maine State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts" was incorporated, and sixteen trustees were recog- nized, representing the different counties of the State. On the 25th of April the trustees organized by the choice of Hon. Hannibal Hamlin as President, and they also issued an address calling upon the citizens of the State to come up to the work of the endowment of the Institu- tion. At a subsequent meeting, held in 1865, Mr. B. F. Nourse, of Orrington, renewed his offer of his farm and buildings, provided $50,000 could be secured for the erection of the necessary buildings by subscriptions or donations. This farm was visited by the trustees, and during the year they also visited sites for the proposed location of the college in Topsham, Gorham, Augusta, Fairfield, Newport, and Orono, but no decision was made during the year. At a meeting held in Janu- ary, 1866, the offer made by the towns of Orono and Oldtown, accom- panied by an offer of $10,000 from the citizens of Bangor, was ac- cepted, it being considered by a large majority the most advantageous offer that had been made. In April of the same year, Dr. J. C. Weston, of Bangor, was elected clerk of the Board of Trustees, and in Sep tember, Mr. Hamlin having previously resigned, Hon. W. A. P. Dillingham, of Sidney, was elected President of the Board. This Board, at a meeting held January 22, 1867, elected as President of the College, Hon. Phineas Barnes, of Portland, a gentleman who had previously been elected Treasurer, and who had from the first inception of this movement taken a deep interest in its success, having written a series of articles on the establishment and management of the Colle ge which had attracted wide attention. The election of Mr. Barnes was the last act of this Board. It had found, from its large number and the difficulty of calling meetings at which a quorum would be present, that a re-organization would be desirable. Accordingly a new Board was constituted, consisting of seven members, of which Hon. Abner Coburn, of Skowhegan, was elected President, and Hon. Lyndon Oak, of Garland, Clerk.

In 1867 a college-building, now known as White Hall, and used for recitation purposes, was built, and the general farm buildings thoroughly repaired. At the meeting of the trustees held July 2, 1868, M. C. Fern- ald, A. M., was elected to the position of Professor of Mathematics, and Samuel Johnson, of Jackson, was elected farm superintendent. The necessary arrangements having been made, and with these two instructors, Prof. Fernald acting as president, the institution was opened, in September, with a class of 13 students. The erection of a laboratory building was commenced this year, the same being built upon the plan, somewhat improved, of the laboratory of Brown Un- iversity, Providence, Rhode Island.

The towns of Orono and Oldtown had given a warranty deed of the farms, in which was inserted the condition that the property should revert to the town of Orono, should the location of the college ever be changed. The trustees desired to change the conditions of this deed so that they might have the alternative of paying the present worth of the land, or abandoning the property if the location of the college was changed. Pending the settlement of this matter between the trustees and the town of Orono, a year went by, during which the legislature refused to make further appropriations to the institution till the change was made in the terms of the deed, conveying the land to the State without qualifications. Of course this action suspended all building operations for the year, but with the giving of a satisfactory deed to the State, the Legislature, in 1870, made an appropriation of $50,000.

Įn 1869, the statute concerning the board of agriculture was so amended that its secretary was created a trustee ex officio of the Institu- tion; and one of the two sessions of the board to be held annually was fixed at the college, or near enough for the students to attend. Through

the courtesy of the presidents and superintendents of the several rail- roads in the State, free passes have been obtained for the students to attend meetings in the different counties, this being regarded as coming within the requirements of the statute, and the meetings so held have been very interesting and profitable to the students. Besides, by visiting the different parts of the State, the students have been enabled to make decided friends for the institution, and to give a good idea of its course of study and discipline to those who could not well visit it.

The college, since its establishment, has received the following ap- propriations from the State: In 1867, $20,000; in 1868, $10,000; in 1870, $50,000; in 1871, $6,000; in 1872 $18,000; in 1873, $24,000; in 1874, $12,500; in 1875, $10,500; and in 1876, $8,000-a total of $159,- 000. If the above amounts seem large, it must be borne in mind that they are small compared with the appropriations which other States have made for institutions of a similar character. Thus, Michigan has given its college $419,000 in 18 years; Iowa, $329,000 in 7 years; Massa- chusetts, $313,000 in 7 years; Illinois, $235,000 in 5 years; and Penn- sylvania, $270,000 in 4 years.

The laboratory building was completed in 1870, and the dormitory and boarding-house built in 1871. The dormitory is 3 stories high, and has 48 rooms. The president's house was built in 1872, a professor's house in 1873, and the large barn in 1874. The students erected a building for their own purposes in 1876. The total number of build- ings belonging to the college is as follows; 3 for college purposes, 1 boarding-house, 4 dwellings for the use of instructors, and 4 barns and stables.

The following table represents the number of students in each year since the opening of the college: *

Years.

Seniors.

Juniors.

Sophomores.

Freshmen.

Special.

Total.

I868

1869

1870

1871

1872

1873

103

I874

I21

1875

115

1876

The appropriations made by the State have been ex- pended for the erection of buildings, the purchase of scientific apparatus, implements, and farm stock, and for supplementing the income from the National grant in defraying the expenses of salaries. While the income from the grant is but $8,400 per annum, the salaries of professors and teachers amount to $12,500 per annum, the balance of which has to be made up from the sums appropriated by the State from time to time. It has been found necessary, in order to keep up the character of the institution, to furnish the instruction demanded by the increased number of pupils and to sustain teach- ers of positive ability, to pay as good salaries as are paid by other institutions of a similar nature; consequently the annual expenses in this direction have exceeded the income for the purpose provided by the endowment of the National Government, and the assistance of the State has been necessary. The college farm is worth $15,000, while the value of the scientific apparatus is $9,000; of the library, $4,000; of the farm stock, $3,800; and of farm implements, $1,500.

In 1878 the system of workshop instruction in the mechanic arts, according to the Russian plan, which was contemplated in the very foundation of the college, was put into successful operation. The shops were opened wholly through means obtained by private sub-

*The students in the academic year 1880-81 were: Freshmen, 31; sophomores, 20; juniors, 27; seniors, 25; post-graduates, 3; special, 4; total, IIO.

MC. Fernando

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

scription, led, in both amount and influence, by ex- Governor Coburn, of the Board of Trustees. The vise shop was opened for practical operations May 4th, with Mr. Valentine Walburg, of Boston, in charge as instruc- tor. The forge shop followed October Ist, under the direction of Professor W. A. Pike. The work upon the building for this was done almost wholly by the students of the College. The first classes in these shops made remarkable progress, and they now constitute a most successful and approved department of the instruction. Mr. Wilbur F. Decker, B. M. E., a graduate of the Col- lege in 1879, is regularly installed as "Instructor in Vise- work and Forge-work."

The following extracts are made from the last cata- logue of the College:

DESIGN OF THE INSTITUTION.

It is the design of the Maine State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts to give the young men of the State who may desire it, at a moderate cost, the advantages of a thorough, liberal and practical education. It proposes to do this by means of the most approved methods of instruction, by giving to every young man who pursues the course of study an opportunity practically to apply the lessons he learns in the class-room, and by furnishing him facilities for defraying a part of his expenses by his own labor.

By the act of Congress granting public lands for the endewment and maintenance of such colleges, it is provided that the leading object of such an institution shall be, "without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts.', While the courses of study fully meet this requisition, and are espe- cially adapted to prepare the student for agriculture and mechanical pursuits, it is designed that they shall be also sufficiently comprehen- sive, and of such a character as to secure to the student the discipline of mind and practical experience necessary for entering upon other callings or professions.

COURSES OF INSTRUCTION.

Five full courses are provided, viz : A course in Agriculture, in Civil Engineering, in Mechanical Engineering, in Chemistry, and in Science and Literature.

The studies of the several courses are essentially common for the first two years, and are valuable not only in themselves, but also as fur- nishing a necessary basis for the more technical studies and the prac- tical instruction of the Junior and Senior years.

Physical Geography, taught in the first term of the freshman year, serves as a suitable introduction to Geology, which is taken up later in each of the courses. Physiology serves as an introduction to Com- parative Anatomy, and Algebra, Geometry, and Trigonometry are need- ful preliminaries to the higher mathematics and the practical applica- tions required in Surveying, Engineering proper, and Astronomy. Botany, Chemistry, and Physics are highly important branches, com- mon to all the assigned courses, and hence taken by all the students who are candidates for degrees.

Rhetoric, French, and English Literature, form the early part of a line of studies which later includes German, Logic, History of Civiliza- tion, United States Constitution, Political Economy, and Mental and Moral Science; branches, several of which relate not more to literary culture than to social and civil relations, and to the proper preparation for the rights and duties of citizenship.

Composition and Declamation are regular exercises in all the courses throughout the four years.

MILITARY INSTRUCTION.

Thorough instruction is given in military science by a competent offi- cer. It extends through the whole college course, the freshman, soph- omore, and junior classes receiving instruction in infantry tactics, and the senior class in artillery drill.

Arms are furnished by the State. The uniform is navy-blue yatch cloth, sack coat, and pants, without brass buttons or trimming that at- tract attention, and is required to be worn during the military exercises.

LABOR.

It is a peculiarity of the college, that it makes provision for labor, thus combining practice with theory, manual labor with scientific cult-

ure. The maximum time of required labor is three hours a day for five days in the week. In the lowest class the students are required to work on the farm, and they receive compensation for their labor according to their industry, faithfulness and efficiency, the educational character of the labor being also taken into account. The maximum price paid is ten cents an hour. The labor is designed to be as much as possible educational, so that every student may become familiar with all the forms of labor upon the farm and in the garden.

The students of the three upper classes carry on their principal labor in the laboratory, the drawing-rooms, the work-shops, or in the field, and for it they receive no pecuniary consideration, since this labor is of a purely educational character.

SPECIAL COURSES.

Students may be received for less time than that required for a full course, and they may select from the studies of any class such branches as they are qualified to pursue successfully. Students in Special Cour- ses are not entitled to degrees, but may receive certificates of proficiency.

DEGREES.

The full course in Civil Engineering entitles to the Degree of Bache- lor of Civil Engineering ; the full course in Mechanical Engineering, to the Degree of Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering ; the full course in Agriculture, Chemistry, or Science and Literature, to the Degree of Bachelor of Science.

Three years after graduation, on presentation of a satisfactory thesis with the necessary drawings, and proof of professional work or study, the Bachelors of Civil Engineering may receive the Degree of Civil En- gineer ; the Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering, the Degree of Me- chanical Engineer ; the Bachelor of Science, the Degree of Master of Science.

FARM AND BUILDINGS.

The college farm contains three hundred and seventy acres of land, of high natural productiveness and of great diversity of soil; and is therefore well adapted to the experimental purposes of the institution.

White Hall, the building first erected, affords excellent accommoda- tions for a limited number of students. The lower rooms of this build- ing are appropriated to general and class purposes.

Brick Hall contains forty-eight rooms, and has connected with it a boarding-house for students. With these buildings, the institution furnishes desirable accommodations for one hundred and twenty-five students.

The Laboratory contains two apparatus rooms, a lecture room, a cabinet, a library and weighing room, a recitation room, and rooms for analytical and other purposes, and is in all respect admirably adapted to the wants of the chemical and mineralogical departments.

APPARATUS.

The college is furnished with new and valuable apparatus for the de- partments of Physical Geography, Chemistry, Physics, Surveying, Civil Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, to which additions will be made as the exigencies of the several departments require. Models have been obtained from the United States Patent office, and others have been purchased, that serve for purposes of instruction.

LIBRARY.

The Library contains 4,855 volumes, the largest proportion of which have been obtained through the generosity of ex-Governor Coburn. Valuable additions have also been made to it by other friends of the college, only a small number having been purchased with money ap- propriated by the State. It is earnestly hoped that so important an auxiliary in the education of the student will not be disregarded by the people of the State, and that liberal contributions will be made to the library, not only of agricultural and scientific works, but also of those profitable to the general reader. The reading-room is supplied with a number of valuable newspapers and periodicals.

CABINET.

Rooms have been fitted up with cases of minerals and specimens of natural history, and several hundred specimens have been presented to the College. The valuable private cabinets of Prof. C. H. Fernald and Ex-President C. F. Allen are placed in these rooms, and are accessible to the students. All specimens presented will be properly credited and placed on exhibition. Rocks illustrating the different geological forma- tion and minerals found within the State are particularly solicited.

EXPENSES. "

* Since this Catalogue was issued, the trustees have been required by law to make charge of tuition. They have fixed the rate at $30 a year, to be divided equally between the two terms. They say: "In deciding upon this

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HISTORY OF PENOBSCOT COUNTY, MAINE.

Bedding and furniture must be supplied by the students, who also furnish their own lights. Tables, chairs, bedsteads, sinks and husk mattresses can be purchased at the college at moderate rates.

The price of board is two dollars and sixty cents per week; washing averages not more than sixty cents per dozen.

The warming by steam of single rooms (each suitable for two occu- pants) has averaged for the past four years about ten dollars a room for each term. The expense of heating recitation rooms and rooms for general purposes has been about two dollars a term for each student, and the incidental expenses including pay for the services of janitor, pay for bringing mail, for cleaning and renovating rooms, for general re- pairs, etc., have been less than three dollars per term for each student.

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History of Penobscot County, Maine; with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 48

Author: Williams, Chase & Co., Cleveland (Ohio) Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Cleveland, Williams, Chase & Co. Number of Pages: 1100

Author: Williams, Chase & Co., Cleveland (Ohio)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams, Chase & Co.
Number of Pages: 1100