USA > New York > Dutchess County > History of Duchess county, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 81
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The project at once commended itself to Mr. Vassar's judgment and awakened a desire to carry it out on a scale commensurate with his liberal im- pulses. A correspondence, oral and epistolary, was opened with some of the leading educators of the land, chiefly of the Baptist denomination, with which he had enjoyed life-long associations. This gave color to the idea that he purposed placing the College under the control of the Baptists, but when asked if such was his intention, his catholic spirit
* The materials for this sketch are drawn from Vassar College and Its Founder, by Benson J. Lossing, LL. D. ; a Historical sketch of Vassar College ; Catalogue of Vassar College, 1880-'81 ; and the Treasurer's Report to July 1, 1860.
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instantly dissented ; and in his address to the trus- tees of the College at the organization of the board, five years later, he expressed his wishes on that point in the following brief sentence : "All sectarian influences should be carefully excluded ; but the training of our students should never be intrusted to the skeptical, the irreligious or immoral."
Architects were consulted ; plans for buildings were submitted and examined with the most rigid scrutiny ; and the result was a determination to erect and endow, during his life-time, a college for young women, on a large scale, in the most per- fect manner then attainable, and upon the most liberal basis, in which no sect, as such, should have a controlling influence.
In the spring of 1860, Mr. Vassar, then nearly seventy years of age, determined to carry out his long-cherished plan at once. On the 18th of January, 1861, a charter was obtained, and named as his associates in the first board of trustees, the following named gentlemen, all of whom were his personal friends, and half of them his fellow-towns- men : Hon. Ira Harris, Hon. William Kelly, Hon. James Harper, Martin B. Anderson, LL. D., Hon. John Thompson, Rev. Edward Lathrop, D. D., Hon. Charles W. Swift, Rev. Elias L. Magoon, D. D., Stephen M. Buckingham, Milo P. Jewett, LL. D., Nathan Bishop, LL. D., Matthew Vassar, Jr., Benson J. Lossing, LL. D., Rev. Ezekiel G. Robinson, D. D., Samuel F. B. Morse, LL. D.,
(HIS FIRST RESIDENCE IN POUGHKEEPSIE.)
Samuel S. Constant, John G. Vassar, Rev. William Hague, D. D., Rev. Rufus Babcock, D. D., Cor- nelius DuBois, John H. Raymond, LL. D., Mor- 'gan L. Smith, Cyrus Swan, Hon. George W. Sterl- ing, Hon. George T. Pierce, Smith Sheldon, Joseph C. Doughty and Augustus L. Allen.
Mr Vassar formally transferred to the trustees, bonds and mortgages, certificates of stock, and a deed of conveyance, representing $408,000.
Matthew Vassar, Jr., a nephew of the founder, was chosen treasurer of the board, a position he held at his death, the present year (1881.) Prof. Milo P. Jewett was elected the first president of the college, John H. Raymond, LL. D., was elected
(HIS LAST RESIDENCE.)
his successor. Dr. Raymond remained at the head of the institution until his death, August 14, 1878. Rev. Samuel L. Caldwell, D. D., was chosen his successor in September, 1878, and still retains the position.
A part of the property conveyed by Mr. Vassar consisted of two hundred acres of land, lying nearly two miles east of the court house in Pough- keepsie healthfully situated in the midst of beau- tiful rural scenery. This had been selected as the site for the college, and on Tuesday, June 4, 1861, Mr. Vassar "broke ground" for that structure-lifting a spadeful of earth from its bed, and tracing with the plow a portion of the trench which was to receive its foundation stones. That spadeful of earth was placed in a jar, and, with the implement with which it was raised, is preserved in the college museum. The college building was built after plans and under the supervision of the distinguished architect, James Renwick, Jr., by William Harloe, of Poughkeepsie, and the first collegiate year of Vassar College was begun Sept. 20, 1865, with more than three hundred students, a faculty of eight professors, besides the president and lady principal* and twenty assistant teachers in the various departments of instruction. Three of the faculty and all the assistants, were women. This
* The first lady principal was {Hannah | W. Lvman, who held the position till her demise in 1871, when Harriet W. Terry was chosen her successor. Mrs. Julia A. Ray is the present incumbent
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was in accordance with the expressed wish of the founder, who especially desired the full co-opera- tion of women in the institution and discipline of the college.
The main college building is five hundred feet in length, with a breadth through the center of about two hundred feet, and at the transverse wings of one hundred and sixty-four feet. It is constructed of dull red brick, the joints pointed with black mortar. The water-tables, and trim- mings of the doors are of blue freestone. The center building and the wings are five stories high, and the connecting portions, four stories. Within the edifice are six independent dwellings for resident officers ; accommodations for about four hundred students ; apartments for a full complement of managers and servants ; suites of rooms for class recitations, lectures, and instruction in music and painting; a chapel, dining-hall, parlors, and other appurtenances of a first-class college. The height of the center building from the foundation to the top of the dome is ninety-two feet. All the partition-walls are of brick, and are carried up from the ground to the top of the upper story. There is a corridor in each story twelve feet in width and five hundred and eighty-five in length, affording room for exercise in inclement weather. These corridors may be instantly divided into five separate parts, by iron doors connected with eight fire-proof walls. The latter are in pairs, standing ten feet apart, and cut the building into five divisions. They are connected only at the corridors, where the floors are of brick and stone, over which the iron doors may slide and be closed, so that, should a fire occur in one portion of the building, the other parts would be secure. For further security from accident by fire, iron pipes, from water tanks on the attic floor, pass down through the different stories. To these hose is attached on each floor, and conveys water with great force. A steam or water pump may be speedily brought into use, if needed. A watch- man traverses the building at night, and the engineer or his assistant is always within call. There are nine stairways from the top to the bot- tom of the building, and eight passages for egress. The building is protected by 6,000 feet of light- ning rods ; and running through it are pipes for con- veying gas, heat, water and waste, about twenty- five miles in the aggregate length. The general arrangement throughout the building is to have one study-parlor for the common use of the occu- pants of three lodging-rooms connected with it.
About 800 feet north-east of the college build-
ing is the observatory, standing on the summit of a knoll, at the eastern verge of the campus. It consists, in altitude, of a basement, principal story and dome; and in area, of an octagonal center and three wings, each of the latter being twenty-one by twenty-eight feet in extreme dimensions; making the entire length of the building eighty-two feet. The vertex of the dome is thirty-eight feet above the foundation, which is about ten feet above the general level of the plain, which is 200 feet higher than the Hudson. All the walls are of brick. The piers for the instruments are of stone, except those for the small collimating telescopes, which are built of brick. The dome is made to revolve by an ar- rangement of cast-iron pulleys, running on a circu- lar track of iron.
Southward of the observatory, and 350 feet east- ward of the college building, is the steam and gas house. Four boilers, whose furnaces consume about 1,600 tons of coal in a year, send steam suf- ficient through an iron main to give to all the buildings (except the observatory,) a temperature not lower than 65° F. A fifth boiler, larger than the others, and set apart from them, serves as a relay in emergencies, and in the hot season may perform the entire service required.
The museum, still further to the south, was for- merly known as the gymnasium, and contained rooms for a riding-school, calisthenic hall and bowl- ing-alley, a society hall, music rooms and apart- ments for employés; but the experience of eight years having satisfied the trustees that the riding- school could not be made for the students gen- erally an economical and efficacious means, either of exercise or of instruction, it was determined to discontinue that school, and to utilize for other much-needed purposes the large portion of the gymnasium which it occupied. In the summer of 1874, therefore, the building was altered at an ex- pense of $27,000, and put into complete order for the departments of natural history, drawing and music, (the former two of which had been accom- modated in the main college building,) with their valuable collections and necessary lecture-rooms, laboratories and studios. The center building, sixty by one hundred and twenty feet in area, and forty-six feet in height, formerly the riding-arena, was divided into two spacious halls, the larger of which, seventy-eight by fifty-four feet, is appropriated to all the collections connected with the department of natural history.
The cabinet of minerals, rocks and fossils is especially remarkable for completeness and sym-
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metry, numbering more than 10,000 specimens, besides models, restorations, relief-maps, sections, landscapes, etc.
The cabinet of zoology illustrates all the sub- kingdoms, comprising about 500 mammals, birds, and reptiles from South America; representative vertebrates from our own country ; a collection of insects ; a choice collection of shells and corals, and other radiates ; a fine osteological series, and some of Auzoux's elastic anatomical models for illustrat- ing structural and comparative zoology. The cabi- net is especially rich in ornithology, as it includes the Giraud collection of North American birds well known as one of the most valuable in the United States. It contains about 1,000 specimens, all mounted, representing over 700 species, among which are several type specimens and many of historical interest as the originals of Audubon's drawings. The representation of South American birds, though not so complete, is rich, embracing probably the largest series of humming-birds in any college museum.
The herbarium consists mainly of plants from New York and New England, arranged on a unique plan for convenient reference. A cabinet of archæology and ethnology has recently been commenced, including thus far for the most part South American antiquities, collected by Professor Orton.
To the east of the hall of natural history, and occupying the rest of the riding-arena, is the art gallery, fifty-six by thirty-seven feet. The original art collection was purchased by Mr. Vassar in 1864-'5, just before the college opened, from Rev. Elias L. Magoon, D. D., then of Albany, for nearly $20,000, and presented to the college as a supple- mentary gift. It comprised more than 400 pic- tures, mostly of cabinet size, in oils and water- colors, representing many of the best known con- temporary artists, American and English.
By a generous gift from Matthew and John Guy Vassar, nephews of the founder, a large and com- modious laboratory of chemisty has recently been erected. It is of two stories, with attic and base- ment, and has rooms of ample size for lectures, laboratory practice, and chemical and philosophi- cal apparatus. It is completely arranged and equipped for all demands of the course in chem- istry and physics. The college library is located in the main building, contains 14,000 volumes, se- lected with special reference to the needs of the various departments.
Bishop's Select School for Boys, located at 50
Academy street, was established about 1860, by Col. John R. Leslie, who conducted it about one and one-half years, when he entered the army as Lieutenant in the 20th regiment, of which he after- wards became Colonel. The school was afterwards continued by William McGeorge and George W. Mc Lellan until 1870, when S. H. Bishop became principal and has since managed it. Col. Leslie erected a small brick building on the site of the present one, most of which is still standing, and forms the rear part of the present school, the front portion of which was erected by Mr. Bishop in 1875. This addition nearly doubled the capacity of the school, which will now accommodate from forty to fifty pupils.
Dr. Warring's Boarding School, (for boys of all ages,) located on the corner of Smith and Mansion streets, was established as The Poughkeepsie Mili- tary Institute, by Charles B. Warring, Ph. D., who withdrew in 1862 from the Poughkeepsie Colle- giate School, which he had conducted in company with Otis Bisbee, and in that year erected a build- ing at his present location, in which he opened his school Jan. 14, 1863. From the outset the school was very popular. It filled so rapidly with pupils that within a few months an additional building became necessary. It was continued with marked success until 1871, when it was closed for a year during Mr. Warring's absence in Europe. It was then sold to Prof. H. S. Jewett, under whose charge it remained until August, 1878, when it was re- purchased by Mr. Warring, who still conducts it. Pupils are prepared for college, West Point, or the Naval Academy. The average number in attend- ance is about fifty.
Pelham Institute, 108 Montgomery street, was established about 1866, as Cary Institute, and acquired its present name from Stewart Pelham, who assumed its management in 1871, and has since conducted it. Mr. Pelham was for several years principal of the old Duchess County Acad- emy. The school rapidly grew into considerable prominence, and has a present attendance of about fifty pupils, most of whom are residents of the city, the non-resident pupils being boarded in the house. The school is designed for boys, who are prepared for college and for business.
Bockees School for Young Ladies, 106 Mont- gomery street, was established in 1866, by the pres- ent proprietor, Mrs. C. W. Bockée, who has since conducted it, and with her husband, Dr. Jacob Bockée, and daughters, Phebe and Mary, as assist- ant teachers, students are prepared for college.
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
The average attendance is thirty-five to forty, most of whom are residents of the city.
The Home Institute, conducted by Miss Sarah V. H. Butler, at 82 and 84 Academy street, was established at Stanfordville, in 1870, by the present proprietor, and removed to Poughkeepsie in 1878. It is designed to educate young ladies and prepare them for college, and at the same time surround those who attend from abroad with the comforts and safe-guards of a good home. It provides three courses of study, primary, intermediate and classi- cal, and a special course is prepared for those who do not wish to take the full course.
The high character of Poughkeepsie's literary institutions are but in keeping with its educational interests.
The Poughkeepsie Lyceum of Literature, Science and Mechanic Arts, the oldest of Poughkeepsie's literary institutions, was incorpo- rated April 6, 1838, " for the purpose of establish- ing and maintaining a library, cabinet, philosophical apparatus, reading-room, literary and scientific lectures, and other means of promoting moral and intellectual improvement, and of accumulating a fund for the benefit of its members, and the fami- lies of deceased members, as a resource in case of sickness, infirmity or misfortune ; with power for such purposes to take by purchase, devise or other- wise ; and to hold, transfer and convey, real and personal property to the amount of twenty thou- sand dollars ; and also further, to take, hold and convey, all such books, cabinet, library, furniture and apparatus, as may be necessary for attaining the objects and carrying into effect the purposes of the said corporation."
It is an outgrowth of two similar institutions- the Mechanics' Literary and Benevolent Associa- tion and the Lyceum of Natural Sciences-which had been in existence for several years. A friendly conference was had by many of the active members of the two associations, and at a joint meeting held March 5, 1838, of which Alexander J. Coffin was chairman and E. F. Grant, secretary, a union was effected under the above name. A constitution and by-laws were unanimously adopted, and on motion of B. J. Lossing, a committee was appoint- ed to obtain a charter, and another, of which Thomas L. Davies was chairman, to nominate officers.
At the next meeting, held March 12, 1838, the first officers were elected, as follows : Paraclete Potter, president ; Edward K. James, first vice- president ; Alexander J. Coffin, second vice-presi-
dent ; Virgil D. Bonesteel, corresponding secretary ; James H. Fonda, recording secretary ; William Wilson, treasurer ; Thomas L. Davies, Edmund F. Grant, Albert Ball, Benson J. Lossing, Charles W. Swift, Robert B. Fanning, Charles Delafield, John Reed and J. D. Williamson, directors. The first lecture committee consisted of Charles W. Swift, Rev. F. W. Hatch and Jacob Von Benthuysen.
Among the members were : Matthew Vassar, John Adriance, Charles Bartlett, W. Cunningham, Henry Conklin, William A. Davies, Richard D. Davis, Peter P. Hayes, James Hooker, Gideon P. Hewitt, Thomas W. Harvey, Egbert B. Killey, Henry A. Livingston, George P. Oakley, William I. Street, Elias Trivett, Nathaniel P. Tallmadge, Richard A. Varick, Jacob Van Ness, Matthew Vassar, Jr., Alex. M. Mann, William Wilkinson, Josiah Williams, William W. Reynolds, Charles H. Ruggles and Charles Johnson, nearly all of whom have since deceased.
At the time of the union, the Lyceum, besides the furniture of its rooms, had a cabinet of 1,500 choice minerals, some curiosities and a few books, all in six cases ; and the Mechanics' Association had a library of 270 volumes, in a single case.
In July, 1847, the reading room was closed, debates were abandoned, and the furniture was sold. The relics and library were distributed, in part to the Board of Education, and in part to the Young Men's Christian Association. On the final distri- bution, in 1873, one hundred and sixty-seven vol- umes were given to that Association and one hundred and thirty-seven volumes, with fifty un- bound numbers of Blackwood's Magazine were placed in the city library. The Lyceum now maintains only an annual course of lectures. The receipts during the year ending April 13, 1881, were $2,003.32; the expenditures, $1,952.12. The amount of invested funds was $3,207.66.
The present officers, elected April 18, 1881, are : Rev. J. Elmendorf, D. D., President ; M. Vassar, Jr., First Vice-President ; J. P. Adriance, Second Vice-President; G. Dudley, Recording Secretary ; S. H. Bishop, Corresponding Secre- tary ; J. V. Wright, Treasurer.
St. Peters' Library and Literary Society was or- ganized in 1862. The library contains 1, 600 volumes of a miscellaneous character, and is kept in a room in the rear of St. Peters' church. It is open on Sundays only, from 10 A. M. to 8. P. M., and is in charge of a Librarian. The membership is limited to Catholics, but non-members may enjoy its benefits by the payment of ten cents per month, The
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society meets for literary exercises every Monday evening during the fall and winter months, no meetings being held in warm weather. Until the winter of 1880-'81, meetings were held in the library room, but the society has outgrown that, and now meets in the basenient of St. Peters' church. Richard Beck, now Mayor of Vicksburg, was an early member and officer of the society. The officers are : Patrick E. Owens, President ; Michael Doyle, Vice-President; Thomas Shana- han, Recording Secretary ; Thomas Tobin, Finan- cial Secretary ; Charles J. Rook, Treasurer ; Felix Gallagher, Librarian.
The Poughkeepsie Literary Club was organized Oct. 18, 1869, with Dr. E. W. Avery as President, and under the successive presidencies of Edward Elsworth, Dr. Dewitt Webb, C. A. Brewster and J. I. Jackson, it maintained in an unostentatious way the object for which it was founded, viz: in- tellectual and social improvement. In 1876 the club reorganized, and its by-laws were changed and its object made to promote the study of liter- ary, philosophic and social topics by its members, by means of public discussions, essays and read- ings. Edward Burges was elected President, and with a membership of sixteen active workers soon drew the attention of the community to its worthy character and work. The year was a successful one and marked a new era in the history of the club. In 1877, W. G. Stevenson, M. D., was elected President and increased the membership to thirty-nine. The merits of the club were now fully recognized, and its weekly literary exercises called forth large and appreciative audiences. In 1878, Dr. Stevenson was re-elected and inaugur- ated the plan of arranging in advance the appoint- ments for the season extending from October to May. The membership was increased to seventy. The club had made a deep impression on the thinking minds of the community and was recog- nized as a local institution, whose influence had awakened thought, stimulated the intellectual ener- gies and advanced knowledge in the community. In 1879, Edward Elsworth Esq., was elected Pres- ident and advanced the interests of the club, in_ creased its membership and maintained its intel- lectual status. Mr. Elsworth was re-elected in 1880, and closed another successful year leaving the club a strong and substantial factor in the intellectual world of Poughkeepsie. In 1881, Prof. T. J. Backus was elected President, but prior to the time for the literary exercises to begin, the club was merged into the Literary Section of
Vassar Brothers' Institute, over which Prof. Backus was elected chairman.
The Poughkeepsie Society of Natural Science .- Sept. 28, 1874, the following named gentlemen met at the office of Dr. W. G. Stevenson to con- sider the expediency of organizing a society of natural science, viz : Dr. W. G. Stevenson, C. Van Brunt, W. R. Gerard, H. T. Hickok and L. V. Cortelyon. After choosing Dr. Stevenson chair- man and Mr. Gerard secretary, the question was discussed and it was decided to organize such a society. Sept. 30, 1874, the same gentlemen with the addition of Rev. Dr. A. P. Van Gieson and Dr. J. Bockée met at the rooms of Mr. Van Brunt and appointed Dr. Stevenson and Mr. Gerard a committee to draft a constitution and by-laws. Dr. Bockée presented two stellate crystals of calcite, which were the first contributions to the museum of the Society. Oct. 27, 1874, the Society was organized by the election of C. Van Brunt Presi- dent, Dr. W. G. Stevenson Vice-President, W. R. Gerard Secretary and C. N. Arnold Treasurer. The constitution and by-laws as reported by the committee were adopted. Dr. Stevenson, Mr. W. R. Gerard and Mr. C. N. Arnold each donated a number of specimens, and thus started what has since grown to be a large and valuable collection in the various departments of natural history and mineralogy.
Oct. 12, the Society met for the first time in its rooms in the club house in Garden street. Oct. 28, 1874, the Society resolved to become incorpo- rated, and appointed a committee to revise the constitution and by-laws and to take the necessary steps to effect the incorporation. Dec. 14, 1874, the revised constitution was adopted, and Dec. 28th the incorporation was effected. The incor- porators and first trustees were Cornelius Van Brunt, W. G. Stevenson, W. R. Gerard, A. T. Hickok and C. N. Arnold.
May 17, 1875, the Society moved into a room in the Pardee building and occupied that until May, 1878, when they removed to their present rooms in the Young Men's Christian Association building. The Society met every two weeks from October to June, and papers prepared by the mem- bers on all subjects pertaining to natural science were read and discussed. The Society has done original work and presented many papers of in- terest, and its meetings were kept up with a good degree of enthusiasm. A system of exchange was established with other scientific societies in this country and Europe. The present membership is
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HISTORY OF DUCHESS COUNTY.
about forty. The museum contains about 5,000 mineralogical, paleontological and archæological specimens.
Mr. Van Brunt was succeeded in the presidency by Dr. W. G. Stevenson in 1878, by Dr. E. H. Parker in 1879, and by Rev. A. P. Van Gieson in 188I.
In January, 1882, the Society discontinued all regular meetings and practically became absorbed in the Vassar Brothers' Institute, to whose custody all its property was transferred.
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