USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Waterville > The centennial history of Waterville, Kennebec County, Maine, including the oration, the historical address and the poem presented at the celebration of the centennial anniversary of the incorporation of the town, June 23d, 1902 > Part 27
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A tract of land eighty-six rods wide, extending from the Ken- nebec to the Messalonskee was purchased of R. H. Gardner in 1818 for $1,797.50 which amount was contributed by citizens of Waterville. This lot, containing 179 acres, was afterward increased by the purchase of the Briggs estate adjoining it on the south. The southern boundary of this land, which also extended from the Kennebec to the Messalonskee, coincided with the south line of the lot on which the Dutton house, owned by the College, now stands.
In June, 1818, upon petition of the trustees a bill was reported granting four additional townships of land and $3,000 annually for the maintenance of the Institution, but was referred to the next legislature for final action. At that session a number of printed petitions signed by citizens in several towns in Maine and
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Massachusetts, were offered urging the passage of the bill. The language of these petitions, presented by Hon. Wm. King, a trustee and later governor of Maine, was severely criticised, and Gen. Alford Richardson, a trustee and member of the legislature expressed great dissatisfaction on that account. This trivial circumstance led to the failure of the bill by a vote of 13 to 10, and entailed upon the Institution many years of poverty and sacrifice.
Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin of Danvers, Mass., who had charge of the theological students of the Massachusetts Baptist Education Society was chosen professor of theology in February, 1818. Accompanied by his wife, two children, and several of his pupils, he sailed from Beverly, Mass., on board the sloop "Hero" which brought the little company as far as Augusta. The remaining twenty miles to Waterville were accomplished in a long-boat, which Mrs. Chaplin in her journal describes as provided with sails and having a booth or cabin at one end. When the breeze failed them, the young men of the party landed and dragged the boat by a rope. On their arrival at Waterville they were met by a number of citizens, among whom was Hon. Timothy Boutelle who made a short address of welcome and provided for their entertainment. Mrs. Chaplin's journal gratefully records the courteous reception accorded them by Mrs. Boutelle, Mrs. Clark and Mr. Partridge at this time, and it is mentioned that she found friendly neighbors who did not "seem to be such ignorant, uncul- tivated beings as some have imagined." It is gratifying also to read the following statement: "Many of those whom I have seen appear to be people of education and refinement, nor have we been destitute of Christian company."
The new seminary was opened and instruction by Professor Chaplin commenced July 6, 1818, in a house standing where the Elmwood Hotel is now situated. In May, 1819, there were seventeen students in the theological department. Tuition was fixed at $4.00 per quarter, board was obtained for $1.00 a week, and wood for $1.50 per cord. An "Address to the Public," issued in 1819, proves that the school was established not as a theological seminary, but also for "those who are desirous of engaging in any of the learned professions."
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Rev. Avery Briggs was chosen professor of languages and the literary department was opened by him in October, 1819, with twenty-five students. The first session of the legislature of the State of Maine in 1820, authorized the college "to confer such degrees as are usually conferred by universities,"-the sum of $1,000 annually for seven years was also voted, one-fourth for the tuition fees of needy students, a principle which was gener- ally followed in all the money grants to the College made by the legislature, which only amount to $14,500.
The collegiate character of the young seminary was definitely declared in 1821 when the name of Waterville College was adopted. In May, 1822, Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin was elected president and on August 21 the first commencement exercises were held. A large concourse of people from towns in the vicin- ity assembled to witness the literary exercises. The procession, which continues to be a prominent feature of the day, was led by a band of music and a company of militia in uniform. George Dana Boardman and Ephraim Tripp constituted the graduating class, and both served the College as tutors.
Two buildings had now been erected on the College grounds after cutting away the dense growth of trees. A dwelling house for the president had been completed in 1819 on the site now occupied by Memorial Hall. In 1821 the South College was built and eighteen rooms finished besides fitting up a part of the building for a chapel. The second dormitory, known as the North College and now called Chaplin Hall, was built in 1822. The mason work of both college buildings was done by Mr. Peter Getchell and the carpenter work by Mr. Lemuel Dunbar.
The theological department of the College was of short dura- tion. The first triennial catalogue, issued in 1825, gives the names of fifteen graduates in theology. No record of any other students in this department appears in subsequent triennials.
President Chaplin resigned in 1833, leaving the College pro- vided with two brick dormitories, two dwelling houses for col- lege officers, a large boarding house, a farm of 180 acres, two workshops, a good chemical and philosophical apparatus obtained at a cost of $1,500, and a library of about 2,000 volumes.
After his death in 1841 the trustees passed resolutions "in grateful remembrance of the able, untiring and successful labor
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of the late President Chaplin," and a memorial tablet was placed on the wall of the College chapel.
In 1831 a manual labor department was established to enable students to earn part of their College expenses by manufacturing doors, blinds, sashes, tables, chairs and similar articles. Three workshops were built for this department by the students them- selves, who also in 1832 built the large boarding house long known as the Commons House, and now occupied by the college superintendent of buildings and grounds. In 1835 a printing office was added, with a valuable press under the charge of Edgar H. Gray of the class of 1838. A variety of job work, the annual catalogues, and a thirty-four page catalogue of the library were issued from the "College Press." The enterprise proved unprofitable and the shops were removed from the College grounds in 1842.
Rev. Rufus Babcock, Jr., succeeded President Chaplin in 1833. It was a critical period. The College was in debt $18,000 and could not meet more than three-fifths of its current expenses. The popularity and efficiency of the new president soon com- pleted a subscription to pay the debt and the catalogue for 1834 recorded the names of over one hundred students. The central brick building now called Champlin Hall was erected in 1836. The basement story was divided into four recitation rooms, above which was the college chapel reached by a broad flight of steps outside. The story above the chapel was occupied on the north side by the library and on the south by the apparatus and class room for natural philosophy. The value of the College property was now $50,000. Rev. John O. Choules returned from Eng- land in 1836 with gifts of 1,500 volumes for the library, includ- ing a set of the folio volumes of the Records Commission and the Royal Observatory.
An attempt was now made to resume instruction in theological studies, but it was not continued after the resignation of Dr. Babcock in July, 1836, who was obliged to seek a milder climate. The resolutions adopted by the trustees are expressive of their sense of the "zeal and ability, the dignity and urbanity, with which he discharged the arduous duties confided to him."
Rev. Robert E. Pattison, who had served as professor of mathematics in 1828-29, was chosen to succeed Dr. Babcock.
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Under his care the attendance was largely increased and the quality of the instruction rose to a high rank. Another effort was made to relieve the College from financial embarassment but without success. Dr. Pattison resigned the presidency in December, 1839, and several of the professors also tendered their resignations. By the influence of Prof. George W. Keely, the acting president, instruction was maintained and one more attempt made to secure funds. The citizens of Waterville responded liberally and $10,000 was at once subscribed, of which the ill-paid professors subscribed $2,000. Agents were sent out through Maine and Massachusetts and by December, 1840, sub- scriptions amounting to $50,000 were obtained.
In August, 1841, Mr. Eliphaz Fay, an eminent teacher in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., was chosen president. The recent crisis affected the attendance, reducing the number of students in 1841- 42 to only seventy-six. The resignation of President Fay was accepted in August, 1843, and Rev. David N. Sheldon, then pastor of the Baptist church in Waterville was chosen his suc- cessor. Under his care and with the co-operation of an able and devoted faculty three of whom were subsequently eminent as college presidents, the earlier prestige of the College was revived and students presented themselves in larger number.
Ten years passed in comparative quiet. The small income of the College was yet sufficient to meet its wants. In 1853 Dr. Sheldon retired to resume the work of the ministry, and Dr. Pattison, the beloved president of the College in 1836-1839, was recalled to the direction of its affairs. His second term of three years was marked by the intellectual vigor and devotedness of a Christian character of rare excellence.
Prof. James T. Champlin, whose text-books on the Orations of Demosthenes were for thirty years in general use in American colleges, was promoted to the presidency of the College in 1857. Some efforts were made to solicit endowment funds. The classes entering in 1858 and 1859 were unusually large, but before graduation the outbreak of the War of the Rebellion had called many into the service of the nation. Only sixty-two students remained in 1864-65. Professors Smith, Lyford, Foster and Hamlin constituted the faculty of instruction.
With the invested funds reduced to $15,000 and rapidly grow- ing less, the outlook was indeed dark. The dawn of brighter
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days, however, was approaching. Mr. Gardner Colby of Boston, part of whose childhood had been spent in Waterville, came for- ward with an offer of $50,000 on condition that the friends of the College raise $100,000. Much enthusiasm was awakened by this generous offer, and Dr. Champlin, aided by members of the . faculty, canvassed the state vigorously, completing the required subscription in about two years. In recognition of Mr. Colby's munificent gift, the trustees obtained from the legislature in 1867 an act changing the name of the College to Colby University.
Mr. Colby's gift called forth other considerable gifts. Aided by the alumni a memorial building was built of stone in 1869 at a cost of $50,000. Here the library found a home especially designed for its use, though its 9,000 volumes seemed lost on the spacious shelves built to contain 30,000 in the far distant future. The new chapel accommodations wrought a marked change in the daily services, now held at eight o'clock instead of at six in the morning and five in the afternoon. In the Memorial Hall was placed by the alumni a marble tablet inscribed with the names of twenty College men who had laid down their lives for the Union.
The commencement dinner in 1870 was marked by great enthusiasm, culminating in pledges of $50,000 for a building for the department of natural sciences then directed by Prof. Charles E. Hamlin. The building was finished in 1872 and styled Coburn Hall. The old chapel was remodeled into convenient lecture rooms and named Champlin Hall. The early six o'clock recitations were abandoned. Steam heating was introduced into the renovated North College now called Chaplin Hall. These improvements were made under the direct supervision of Presi- dent Champlin and paid for by subscriptions solicited mainly by him, and yet the invested funds had increased to $200,000.
The semi-centennial of the College in 1870 was the occasion of an address by Dr. Champlin in which he reviewed the early history of the College and its prospective advancement. Hon. D. L. Milliken of Waterville, a trustee and benefactor of the College, was instrumental in obtaining from the State in 1864 a grant of two half townships of land, the last gift from that source.
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In July, 1872, Dr. Champlin tendered his resignation but remained in office at the request of the trustees one year longer, when he retired to devote himself to literary pursuits.
Rev. Henry E. Robins, D. D., of Rochester, N. Y., came to the presidency in 1873. He aroused new interest in the College especially among the Baptist churches of the State, being firmly convinced that only in this way could a permanent and growing constituency be gained. New courses of instruction were added and those long established infused with new life. The South College was renovated, the gymnasium made an important factor in college training, and the library, in the year of the great awakening of library interest, was placed in charge of a paid librarian. The collection of the two literary societies, the Liter- ary Fraternity which was maintained from 1824 to 1878, and the Erosophian Adelphi from 1836 to 1876, were united with the College library. A gratifying increase in attendance followed, the highest number being 157 in 1879. On the death of Mr. Colby in 1879 the College received a bequest of $120,000. The arduous labors of President Robins so undermined his health that he was obliged to spend the year 1880-81 in foreign travel, leav- ing Prof. S. K. Smith, D. D., as acting president, and in 1882 he resigned his position. Hon. Percival Bonney was chosen treas- urer in 1881 and served twenty-one years in that office.
Rev. George D. B. Pepper, D. D., succeeded President Robins in 1882 and administered the affairs of the College with great fidelity until failing health compelled him to resign in 1889. The average attendance during this period was about 120. Dr. Pepper developed measures for the improvement of the work and finances of the College and advanced its reputation. Hon. Abner Coburn, dying in 1885, bequeathed $200,000 to the College of which he had been a faithful trustee for forty years. Hon. Richard C. Shannon, who was graduated in 1862, erected in 1889 the brick building called the Shannon Observatory and Physical Laboratory, for the department than in charge of the eminent astronomer, Dr. William A. Rogers. President Pepper, in 1885, obtained the establishment of a new professorship of geology and mineralogy, to which Dr. W. S. Bayley of the U. S. Geological Survey was called. The professor of history, Dr. A. W. Small, devoted a year's leave of absence to university
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study in Baltimore, supplementing an earlier course in Berlin. At Dr. Pepper's retirement the endowment funds had risen to $505,767. His unexpected resignation was accompanied by a strong recommendation that Prof. Albion W. Small, Ph. D., be appointed his successor. The suggestion was at once ratified by the board of trustees and President Small, the first graduate of the College to be chosen to that office, assumed his duties in August, 1889. His intimate knowledge of the conditions and limitations of the College enabled him to devise measures for improving its educational facilities and exerting a wider influ- ence. To meet the growing demand for the higher education of young women Dr. Small conceived the plan which was at once put into successful operation, of arranging for the instruction of the young women in separate classes, thus forming a co-ordi- nate college system.
The plan of giving to the students some participation in the government of the collegiate body, proposed by Dr. Pepper, was developed and set in operation by President Small. In 1891 the number of students was 184. The University of Chicago called Dr. Small in 1892 to be the honored head of its department of sociology.
An able successor to President Small was found in the young pastor of the Free Street church in Portland, Rev. Benaiah L. Whitman, D. D., in whose first year, 1892-93, 206 students were enrolled. A department of Biblical instruction, with Dr. Pepper at its head, was maintained largely by special contributions from 1892 to 1899. Courses in university extension work were offered by several of the Colby professors between the years 1892 and 1900. The gymnasium was enlarged and furnished with baths and modern equipment in 1893 and physical training became an important adjunct to the curriculum. The vigorous and efficient administration of President Whitman attracted the notice of Columbian University in 1895, and he was called to the presidency of that institution.
A second graduate of the College, Dr. Nathaniel Butler, whose father and grandfather had served as trustees of Waterville College, was induced to leave an important position in the Uni- versity of Chicago to become president of Colby. Dr. Butler entered upon his duties in January, 1896, bringing a wide experi-
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ence in college instruction and high ideals of the function of the college in the American educational system. Under his com- petent direction intellectual, physical and social education each received due consideration. The misleading title of "university," assumed when our country had no real universities, was exchanged in 1899 for that of "College" at his instance.
A subscription to raise $60,000 for new buildings and other purposes, received the approval of the citizens of Waterville at a public meeting called by the board of trade. The desired amount was obtained, Rev. N. T. Dutton acting as financial agent. The Alumni Chemical Hall was erected in 1898 at a cost of $30,000. A pledge that in due time a building for the Women's College should be built and furnished was received from a friend whose name is not yet made public. Rev. C. E. Owen, after the decease of Mr. Dutton, was given charge of a second subscription of $60,000 and his appeals have met with favorable response.
President Butler gradually brought the manifold details and diverse interests of all departments of college activity into har- monious and systematic working. A marked improvement in , College spirit and loyalty was awakened in the student body. His scholarly addresses at many literary and educational gather- ings reflected great honor upon the College and made its name more widely and honorably known.
But the University of Chicago which reluctantly parted with Dr. Butler in 1896, again claimed him in June, 1901, to take charge of an important division of its work. His resignation seemed like a public calamity, affecting not only the College, but the entire community, which had through him been brought to take an unusual interest in the welfare of the College.
A farewell dinner was given to Dr. Butler by the citizens of Waterville and a silver loving-cup presented as a token of their high esteem.
The trustees elected as the successor of President Butler, Rev. Charles L. White, D. D., of Hampton Falls, N. H., a graduate of Brown University, who entered upon his duties September first, 1901, and consequently at this centennial of Waterville is at the beginning of his presidential career.
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CHAPTER XII.
THE SECRET FRATERNAL ORDERS OF WATERVILLE.
By NORMAN KEITH FULLER, ESQ.
The time is not far distant when it will be proper to add to that trite expression, "The permanence of our republican govern- ment rests on the school, the church and the home," a fourth institution, the secret fraternal order. The large number of fraternal orders in the country, their remarkable growth and the prominence of many of the men who are members, bespeak for them a prosperous future and a yet larger influence in the devel- opment of our republic.
Waterville was only in its infancy when the first fraternal order, the Masonic, was established here ; it had been incorporated as a town only eighteen years, its first church had been estab- lished only two years and a bridge across the Kennebec, connect- ing it with Winslow, was not constructed until four years later. It will thus be seen that from its early history the secret fraternal orders have been a part of the life of the city, growing and devel- oping with it, until to-day one is surprised at the large number which not only exist, but thrive, in a place the size of Waterville. Not all orders, however, have found Waterville a fertile field. Some have met an early death. But when we contemplate the large number that find a welcome home here to-day we have ample proof that Waterville people are not slow to appreciate an institution which, regarded in all its varied phases, represents so much that is indispensable to the highest happiness and wel- fare of our citizens.
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"I think, am sure, a brother's love exceeds All the world's loves in its unworldliness."
The various orders are treated in the order of their establish- ment in this city.
WATERVILLE LODGE, No. 33, F. & A. M., was the thirty-third Masonic lodge formed in the State and was so numbered. Its organization dates from the summer of 1820, in which year the grand lodge of Maine was formed, and the district of Maine separated from Massachusetts, and erected into an independent State. The charter of the lodge, bearing date June 27, 1820, was granted in compliance with the petition of thirteen brethren then living in Waterville, Fairfield, Clinton and Winslow. It is worthy of mention that the charter of the lodge bears the signa- ture of William King, as grand master of the grand lodge, who was also the first governor of the new State of Maine; of Simon Greenleaf, as deputy grand master, who became a distinguished jurist and author, and a professor in the Harvard Law School ; of William Swan, as senior grand warden ; of Nathaniel Coffin, as junior grand warden ; of William Lord, as grand secretary.
Of the charter members Jephthah Ames was an axe-maker. He resided in Waterville but a short time and removed to New Hampshire. Major Ebenezer Bolkcom was a highly esteemed and wellknown citizen. He died in Georgia whither he went to recuperate his health about 1850. Elias Cobb was studying law with Mr. Boutelle. Ellis Burgess was keeper of a public house at West Fairfield. Col. Ephraim Getchell came from Berwick and afterwards removed to Carmel. Henry Johnson came from the state of New York to Clinton, and there is a tradition that he was concerned in some way in the Hamilton and Burr duel in 1804, and that that was the occasion for his emigrating to the then district of Maine. General William Kendall, the father of Capt. William Kendall, of circular-saw celebrity, was a man of much importance. He owned nearly all of the land on which is now located Fairfield village. In honor of him, the village was for many years called Kendall's Mills. Thomas Stinchfield was a clothier, Hezekiah Stratton was a merchant. Calvin Wood was a mill-man and lumber-man. Capt. Nahum Wood lived in Winslow, and was a carpenter. David Nourse was a boatman. Dr. Stephen Thayer was a wellknown physician.
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The meetings of the lodge have been held in eight different places. The lodge was organized October 26, 1820, in Thomas Kimball's hall in the tavern kept by him on the western side of Maine street. It stood very nearly on the site of the building now occupied by Mr. Harriman for a jeweller's store and Mr. Dunham for a shoe store. The meetings were held here for nearly four years. From July, 1824, until suspension of work in 1831, when the anti-masonic excitement prevailed, the lodge met in the Bank house, so-called, a large wooden structure sit- uated at the foot of Main street, on the western side. For the next fourteen years only one meeting was held and that was held in the office of Alpheus Lyon. From the resumption of work in February, 1845, until about 1850, the lodge met in the hall of the Waterville Liberal Institute, on Elm Street, corner of School street, in a building which still stands on the same site, converted into a dwelling. From December 16, 1850, to February 3, 1851, the fraternity had temporary quarters in Phoenix hall, the same room which is now used for the typographical and printing work of the Waterville Mail. The next meeting place of the lodge was in the third story of the building now occupied by Ward- well's dry goods store. The fraternity used this room for twenty-four years from February 10, 1851, to April 12, 1875. The Commandery newly organized, held the last meeting here on the 25th of March, 1875. The sixth hall, which was occupied by the lodge from 1875 to 1890, was in the old Plaisted building which was located on the site of the new brick Plaisted building. The seventh place of meeting was in Ware's hall, on the upper floor of the building now occupied by the Merchants' National Bank.
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