USA > Michigan > Hillsdale County > History of Hillsdale county. Michigan, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 24
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The Agricultural Society also defrays the expenses of a Farmers' Institute, held every year, and occupying two days; designed for social intercourse, and for the discus- sion of subjects pertaining to agriculture. The first was held in 1874. The second was under the direction of the State Board of Agriculture ; but since then they have been kept up by the farmers of the county, acting through the Agricultural Socitey. Several essays are read each day, each being followed by a general discussion on the subject pre- sented. They have been very successful, and Underwood's Hall, at Hillsdale, is usually filled during the meetings with farmers eager to hear and willing to take part in the proceedings.
We have given considerable space to the history of the Agricultural Society, because Hillsdale is pre-eminently an
agricultural county, and a very public-spirited one, which takes great interest in that institution. The facts have been derived entirely from the reports of Frederick M. Holloway, the secretary, and from a historical sketch read by that gentleman before the association in 1874. During the first three years of the existence of the society (1851, 1852, and 1853) Isaiah H. McCollum was secretary, and in 1862 and 1863, Albert Collins held that position ; with these exceptions Mr. Holloway has been the secretary from the beginning to the present time, his years of service numbering twenty-four. The fact speaks for itself. We close our sketch with a list of the presidents of the asso- ciation, with their years of service :
Henry Packer, 1851; Frederick Fowler, 1852; Ben- jamin Fowle, 1853; Levi Treadwell, 1854; Lewis Emery, 1855 ; Phineas Howland, 1856; H. B. Chapman, 1857 ; William H. Miller, 1858; Ira B. Card, 1859 ; Daniel 'S. Pratt, 1860; A. B. Slocum, 1861 and '62; D. L. Pratt, 1863 and '64; John Fitzsimmons, 1865 ; George W. Un- derwood, 1866; Haynes B. Tucker, 1867; Goodwin Howard, 1868; George C. Munro, 1869; Henry L. Hall, 1870; Frederick Fowler, 1871; Rorbert Worden, 1872; William J. Barnard, 1873; Frederick E. Curtis, 1874 and '75; Daniel Timms, 1876 and '77 ; Alexander Hewitt, 1878 and '79.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE COUNTY GRANGE AND THE PIONEER SOCIETY.
The Patrons of Husbandry-The County Council-First Officers- The County Grange-Its Officers-Other Items-Inception of the Pioneer Society-Its Organization-First Officers-Subsequent Offi- cers-Its Success.
HILLSDALE COUNTY GRANGE.
IN the various township histories, mention will be found of the numerous "granges" of the order of " Patrons of Husbandry," which have sprung up in this county within the past ten years. At first these were connected directly with, and sent delegates to, the State grange.
As the local granges became numerous, however, this was found extremely inconvenient, and county granges were accordingly established to form a connecting link between the State grange and the subordinate societies.
The Hillsdale County Council (since called County Grange) was established in 1874. The principal officers on its organization were F. M. Holloway, Master ; A. L. Davis, Sec. ; Joel B. Norris, Treas. The same officers were re-elected the succeeding year.
After two years' existence as a council, the form of the organization was somewhat changed, and it became the Hillsdale County Grange. Henry D. Pessell was chosen Master; E. J. Hodges, Sec .; and Joel B. Norris, Treas. ; all being re-elected for the two succeeding years. For the present year R. W. Freeman has been elected Master ; George Gardner, Sec. ; and Joel B. Norris, Treas.
The grange meets on the first Wednesday of every month except July. Its headquarters have been at Hills- dale until the winter last past, when they were changed to
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Jonesville. There are now about eighty members of the County Grange, representing seventeen subordinate granges in active operation.
HILLSDALE COUNTY PIONEER SOCIETY.
The inception of this association, as stated in the chapter devoted to the agricultural society, was the invitation ex- tended by the officers of that society, in 1871, to all the surviving pioneers of the county to become the guests of the association during the fair, and to partake of a public dinner. The idea was carried out, and was deemed such a happy one, that in the forepart of the following year the Hillsdale County Pioneer Society was organized for the purpose of providing for yearly reunions of a similar char- acter, and to aid in preserving from oblivion the pioneer history of the county.
The first officers were as follows : President, John P. Cook ; Vice-Presidents, Seaton Flint, Benjamin Fowle, Charles Mosher, Samuel Riblet, Benjamin W. Brockway, E. O. Grosvenor, John Swift, Norman S. Sharp, Thomas Robbins, Elijah B. Seeley, William Hickox, Warren Smith, John Fitzsimmons, E. T. Chester, William Bryan, Thomas Burt, Russell Coleman, William Drake, Henry Waldron, Franklin French ; Secretary, F. M. Holloway ; Treasurer, Henry Waldron.
Mr. Holloway has continued to be the secretary until the present time. The following gentlemen have successively been chosen presidents of the association for the years affixed to their respective names : Frederick Fowler, 1873; C. T. Mitchell, 1874; George C. Munro, 1875; W. J. Baxter, 1876, 1877, and 1878.
The objects before mentioned have been attained in an eminent degree; the annual meetings having been numer- ously attended and extremely enjoyable, while a voluminous record has been compiled under the direction of the secre- tary, containing brief mention of hundreds of individual pioneers, and many incidents of early life.
CHAPTER XXV.
HILLSDALE COLLEGE .*
Beginning of the Institution at Spring Arbor-Its Object and Success -Necessity of Removal-Indignation at Spring Arbor-Building the College at Hillsdale-The Contributions of Hillsdale Village and County-The College Edifice-The First Faculty-Extracts from Constitution, etc .- Organization of the Board of Trustees-Organi- zation of the School-The Academic and Preparatory Departments -The Various Courses-The Successive Members of the Board of Instruction-Financial Prosperity-Action of the Free-Will Bap- tist Conference-The Chair of Theology, etc .- Instrumental and Vocal Music-Art-The Commercial Department-College Socie- ties at Spring Arbor-Those at Hillsdale-The Attendance at va- rious Periods-Students who entered the Army-Occupation of Graduates -- The Alumni Association-Destruction of the College by Fire-The Rebuilding -- Description of present Buildings-The Library, Museum, etc .- Expenses-Tendency of the Institution.
AMID the December snows of 1844, in an old deserted store at Spring Arbor, Jackson County, Mich., with one teacher, and with four boys and one girl as undergraduates,
was opened the institution which has since become Hills- dale College. This institution owes its origin to the efforts of a few Christian men, who deeply felt the need of a school where they could educate young men for the ministry. With this end in view the work began, and it was not long before the old store was too small to accommodate the students who gathered there. This led to the erection of two new buildings, costing about a thousand dollars each, and to an increase in the teaching force.
As there were at this time but few union schools, and only one college in the State, it is not surprising that a large number of young persons eagerly availed themselves of the educational advantages thus furnished. It soon be- came evident that more room would be needed. This forced upon its directors the question, Where shall the institution be permanently located ? After carefully weigh- ing the subject, it was decided to remove from the site then occupied to some town which was situated on a rail- road. Propositions were received from several places, but the one from Hillsdale was accepted by the trustees. The people of Spring Arbor were greatly incensed, and did all in their power to prevent the execution of this plan. Some of them threatened the teachers with violence, con- cealed books and apparatus, while others served an injunc- tion to prevent the removal of the college charter. Hence but little more of the college was removed than its prestige, students, and faculty.
Twenty-six years ago the eminence north of the village of Hillsdale, now known as " College Hill," was alternately crowned with waving grain and used as a pasture-ground for the cattle of its owners. The view from its top over the wooded, rolling country which surrounded it was beau- tiful and far extended. Here rose, in 1853, the walls of Hillsdale College, the corner stone being laid on the 4th of July in that year. The twenty-five acres which constitute the college grounds were the gift of Esbon Blackmar. The proposition of the town, referred to above, included the gift of fifteen thousand dollars for building purposes, pro- vided that an equal sum be put into buildings by the trus- tees. The proposition was accepted, on condition that this amount should be raised in the county, which was done, and the subscription of the citizens was even increased to thirty-one thousand five hundred dollars.
The first college edifice consisted of five adjoining build- ings, four of them forty feet by sixty, and one sixty by sixty. They were so far completed that the school was opened on the 7th day of November, 1855, with four pro- fessors, besides a principal of the ladies' department. These were Rev. Edmund B. Fairfield, A.M., President ; Rev. Ransom Dunn, Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy and Natural Theology ; Rev. C. H. Churchill, A.M., Pro- fessor of Latin and Greek Languages ; Rev. H. E. Whip- ple, A.M., Professor of English Literature and History ; aud Mrs. V. G. Ramsey, Preceptress.
The objects sought by the founders of the college will be seen by the following extracts from the Constitution and Articles of Association :
" The object of this institution is to furnish to all per- sons who wish, irrespective of nation, color, or sex, a liter- ary and scientific education as comprehensive and thorough
* By a committee of the Faculty.
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
as is usually pursued in other colleges in this country, and to combine with this such moral and social instruction as will best develop the mind and improve the hearts of the pupils. ... A majority of the board of trustees, not less than two-thirds nor more than three-fourths, and the ma- jority of the faculty,-in which majority the president shall be included,-shall always be members in good standing in the Free-Will Baptist denomination."
The idea of exerting upon the student a moral influence has ever been a prominent feature in the history of the institution ; nor have the efforts of the board of instruction to carry out the wishes of the founders of the college been entirely unsuccessful, as may be seen by the large number of students who date the commencement of their religious life back to their connection with this school. All the in- terests of the college are committed to the care of a board of thirty-five trustees, who are divided into five equal classes, one of which passes out of office every year. The board fills its own vacancies at each annual meeting, which is held in June.
The school at the time of its opening at Hillsdale was composed of two departments, the academic and the pre- paratory. The first contained three courses of study, the classical, the scientific, and the ladies', each of which in- cluded the studies which are usually found in a four-years' course in American colleges. The last two were united in 1872, and called the scientific and ladies' course. The same year an academical course was arranged to meet the wants of those students who wished to complete some reg- ular course of study, but were unable to devote the full time required of candidates for degrees. A philosophical course was added in 1878, and the scientific course some- what changed. Both of these omit the Greek and retain but little of the Latin, in order to give more prominence to the modern languages, mathematics, and elective studies.
The courses in the preparatory department correspond to those in the academic. But since it was first organized, numerous changes have been made in regard both to the character of its studies and its length. Previous to 1860 one year of study was sufficient to enable a student to com- plete any one of its three courses, but between that date and 1871 two years were necessary, and since the last date three years are required in the classical preparatory. But one year was required in the scientific preparatory until 1875, at which time the course was lengthened to two years. This department now contains three courses,-a scientific, occupying one; a philosophical, two; and a classical, three years. In 1876 a two-years' normal course was formed, which aimed to be thoroughly practical, and included all those branches of study which must be under- stood by persons who would receive certificates for teaching.
Since the opening of the institution, a number of changes have been made in the board of instruction. The college has had four presidents, Rev. Edmund B. Fairfield, A.M., elected 1855; Rev. James Calder, D.D., of Harrisburg, Pa., 1869; Rev. Daniel M. Graham, D.D., of Chicago, Ill., 1871 ; Rev. De Witt C. Durgin, of New Market, N. H., 1874. The chair of mathematics was occupied for twenty years-beginning in 1857-by Spencer J. Fowler, A.M. He was extremely efficient in raising funds for the
benefit of the institution, and was no less diligent in the class-room. He was succeeded after his decease by one of his former pupils, Arthur E. Haynes, in 1877. The pro- fessorship of chemistry and natural history was assumed in 1855, by Prof. James Dascomb ; in 1865, by Hiram Col- lier, A.M .; in 1872, by Daniel M. Fisk, B.P. Rev. Henry E. Whipple, A.M., was elected to the chair of logic and belles-lettres in 1855, and Wayland Dunn, A.M., in 1870. The early death of the latter was a great loss to the department, as he was unusually well qualified for the position by sound piety, broad scholarship, extensive travel, and previous literary work. He was succeeded by Rev. J. S. Copp, A.M., in 1875. The chair of ancient languages was transferred to George McMillan, A.M., in 1860; and to George H. Ricker, A.M., of Rhode Island, in 1875. In 1876 this professorship was divided, so that the Latin lan- guage has constituted a separate department since that date, having been taught by John H. Butler, A.M. The chair of Greek language and literature has been occupied since 1877 by J. William Manck, A.M. The position of preceptress has been occupied by the following ladies : Mrs. V. G. Ramsey, beginning in 1855; Miss Delia Whipple, in 1856; Miss E. A. Sanford, in 1859; Miss Jane Hoyt, in 1861 ; Miss Julia A. Moore, in 1864; Miss Marie M. Cooper, in 1865 ; Mrs. Julia M. Jordan, in 1867 ; Miss Jane W. Hoyt, in 1869; Miss H. Laura Rowe, in 1870 (this lady died in the fall of 1874). Mrs. Marie C. Pierce succeeded Miss Rowe in 1873, and occupied the position until 1874, when Miss Mary B. Phillips was appointed.
The college at the time of its removal from Spring Ar- bor was destitute of chemical and philosophical apparatus, museum, library, and endowment. But by the time the school opened at Hillsdale the agents, who had been solicit- ing funds while the buildings were being erected, reported that the notes and cash which had been collected amounted to nearly fifty thousand dollars. Of this sum Professors Dunn and Fowler raised twenty thousand dollars each, and Revs. D. L. Rice and L. S. Parmelee the remainder. At the same time President Fairfield, Professor Whipple, and others were collecting the building fund. Since 1856 the increase of the endowment has been as follows: In 1861 the pledges amounted to eighty-seven thousand dollars; in 1866 to one hundred and eighteen thousand dollars; in 1871 to one hundred and twenty-one thousand dollars, of which sixty-nine thousand dollars had been collected and invested; in 1876 to one hundred and sixty-two thousand dollars, of which eighty-two thousand dollars had been col- lected and invested. The invested fund at this time (1879) amounts to eighty-eight thousand dollars.
In the fall of 1862 the Free-Will Baptist General Con- ference voted to appropriate three thousand dollars towards the endowment of a chair of theology, to be known as the Burr Professorship. Additions to this amount were made from time to time, largely by friends in Iowa, and in the fall of 1863 Professor Ransom Dunn was transferred from the chair of mental and moral philosophy to this new de- partment. No regular course of theological instruction was attempted, but lectures on natural and systematic theology and class recitations in church history and homiletics were · continued as far as practicable. In the spring of 1873
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
Professor J. J. Butler, D.D., of Lewiston, Me., was elected to the professorship of sacred literature, and Rev. J. S. Copp, A.M., to the chair of ecclesiastical history and sacred rhetoric. A course of theological study was now arranged and classes organized. After the transfer of Professor Copp to the alumni professorship, Dr. R. S. James, of Zanes- ville, O., occupied the chair of history and rhetoric one year. In 1878, Rev. G. H. Ball, D.D., of Buffalo, N. Y., was elected to the vacant professorship, but has not yet entered upon the duties of his position. This department now has two courses of study, each occupying three years, -the regular course which contains, and the English which omits, the Greek and Hebrew languages.
Ever since 1855 instruction has been given in vocal and instrumental music, but it had been very irregular, and of varying degrees of excellence, previous to 1863, when Fene- lon B. Rice took charge of the department and, with the assistance of his wife, placed it on a more secure basis. Since that time it has been well sustained. In the fall of 1869, Melville W. Chase succeeded Professor Rice. Classes in vocal music, both elementary and advanced, have been maintained, and a choral society has held weekly rehearsals for the study of the best glee, chorus, and church music. Public concerts have been given annually, in which works of the best character have been performed. The depart- ment gives instruction in two courses, the instrumental occupying five years and the vocal one.
In many respects the early history of art in the college is like that of music. It had a long struggle before it could support a thoroughly competent teacher. This was not done until the spring of 1867, when George B. Gard- ner took charge of the art department. It has two courses of study, one in drawing, which includes work in crayon, pencil, and Indian ink, and one in painting, both in water colors and in oil. Prominence is given also to designing and perspective. Over four hundred young men and women have received instruction in this department. Some of these have become successful professional artists, while others occupy responsible positions as teachers of art in institutions of learning.
The commercial department began in the fall of 1866 as an independent school, known as the " Hillsdale Commer- cial College." Although meeting with several misfortunes in the form of fires, yet it continued to enjoy a good degree of prosperity. In the summer of 1870 it was removed from the business part of the town into one of the college buildings, since which time it has been a department of Hillsdale College. It embraces three courses,-the com- mercial, the telegraphic, and that of penmanship. Alex- ander C. Bideout, LL.D., is Principal, Warren A. Drake, A.M., Associate Principal, and Hon. Daniel L. Pratt, Lec- turer on Real and Personal Property.
The students at Spring Arbor organized two societies,- the Eunomian and the Philogrammatian,-each composed of both ladies and gentlemen. When the school opened at Hillsdale, on account of a regulation forbidding the asso- ciation of the sexes in the same society, these organizations were disbanded, and out of them grew, in 1857, the Am- phictyon and the Alpha Kappa Phi societies. The Ladies' Literary Union was formed at the close of the same year,
soon afterwards the Germanæe Sodales. The Theological Society was organized in the spring of 1866. During most of their history each of these societies has held weekly exercises in its hall, and two public exercises annually, which, with their triennial and quinquennial reunions, have formed a prominent part of the public exercises of the col- lege. They have all manifested great spirit, and although they were burned out of their beautiful rooms in 1874 they have provided themselves with more commodious and more richly-furnished halls than they had before the fire.
The average annual attendance upon the four college classes, from 1855 to the present time, has been about a hundred and fifty-seven. During the first five years it was a hundred and thirty-three ; the second five, a hundred and sixty-nine ; the third, a hundred and eighty-eight ; the fourth, a hundred and sixty-four. The average annual at- tendance in all the departments during the same time has been nearly five hundred and sixty-five. The first five years it was six hundred and nine; the second five, or during the war of the Rebellion, four hundred and sixty- one; the third, five hundred and eighty-two ; the fourth, six hundred and fifty-two. The number of students who enlisted in the army was one hundred and eighty-three, and twenty-six of these either fell upon the battle-field or died in the hospital.
About three thousand six hundred students have been members of the regular college classes, and over thirteen thousand have been connected with the various depart- ments. Between four and five hundred have graduated, and are now occupying, or working their way up into, po- sitions of responsibility and usefulness. Seventy-nine of these are teachers in graded schools or professors in col- leges ; sixty-eight, attorneys-at-law ; forty-three, clergymen ; eleven, physicians ; four, editors ; four, authors ; and forty- six, business men. Over twenty per cent. of the graduates who have entered any of the six professions named above are clergymen.
The graduates organized an alumni association in the spring of 1865. Its principal gathering was called the General Assembly, which at first met annually, but in 1870 it was decided that it should meet every five years. Soon after its organization, the question of endowing a professor- ship was agitated. But little, however, was accomplished until 1872, when the alumni began to push the enterprise more vigorously. The work had so far succeeded in 1875 that the General Assembly selected the chair of Logic and Belles-Lettres as their professorship, and nominated to the position Rev. J. S. Copp, A.M. The nomination was confirmed by the college board of trustees, and thus the association assumed the support of the professor elect.
Early in the morning of March 6, 1874, three of the five college buildings were burned, causing a loss of some fifty thousand dollars, besides the destruction of the chemical and philosophical apparatus, the museum of natural history, and considerable damage to the library. As the college was still struggling to do its work with an inadequate en- dowment, this was a heavy misfortune; but steps for re- building were immediately taken. The plan which was finally adopted by the trustees embraces five disconnected buildings, which occupy the centre of a park of twenty-
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HISTORY OF HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
five acres, adorned with well-grown shade-trees and ever- greens. The buildings are of brick, three stories high, besides the basements, and are arranged on three sides of a quadrangle, with the principal front to the south. The building in the centre of the group, College Hall, is eighty feet front, and contains the chapel, library, and reading- rooms, president's room, treasurer's office, and four classical and two mathematical recitation-rooms. It is of the com- posite style of architecture, and is surmounted by a tower a hundred and forty feet in height, which contains the bell and a four-dial tower clock. The west building, Knowlton Hall, which is forty-eight feet by seventy-two, contains the museum of natural history, the chemical lecture-room, two fire-proof laboratories, the Alumni Hall, and three large and elegantly furnished society halls. Between Knowlton and College Halls is Griffin Hall, fifty-two feet by seventy-two. It contains the recitation-rooms and office of the department of commerce and telegraphy, and twenty-seven suites of gentlemen's study and sleeping-rooms. The east building, Fine Arts Hall, forty-eight by seventy-two, contains the philosophical lecture-room, apparatus-room, preceptress' recitation-room, one classical recitation-room, the art gal-
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