USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > College Hill > Historical sketch of Farmers' College > Part 7
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XVIII. SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE CHANGE-THE SEQUEL DISSAPPOINTING.
The curtain has dropped on the good old name of "Farmers' College." The venerable edifice has weath- ered the storms of over three-score years, and is still well preserved and doing service in the cause of edu- cation, and is the only one left of the College group of structures except a few remnants. The "Old Boys" note a few changes in the arrangement of the Chapel and Recitation Rooms. They see the old bell still over- looking the building like the sentinel of a past age, and are stirred with its peals of welcome. But it is not the
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original bell most of them were familiar with, suspended over the center of the building in a graceful tower, but the substitute of 1859 removed to the south wing and hanging in a little open belfry without a spire. The most marked change that greets the eye at a glance is the conversion of the once green campus into a barren military parade ground. A few of the shelter- ing oaks that stood as sponsors at its christening still linger near. Farmers' College had a corporate ex- istence under that name from 1846 to 1884,-a period of thirty-eight years. The same corporation under the name of "Belmont College" is still in existence. Un- fortunately the blotting out of the word "Farmers" failed to bring the renewal of life to the Institution its earnest advocates had hoped. They sincerely believed the change would be beneficial. They were, however, doomed to disappointment. The seed from which the College sprang came from the farm many years before, and took root in the Academy. The old name served as a potent magnet in the fields and on the hills, and the farmers'. sons fairly flocked from the plow and the hoe to the College.
We know of one Farmer's household, the head of which was on the Board of Directors, that sent five of its sons to the College, and other branches of the family sent in all twice that many more. Such was the prac- tical interest manifested by the tillers of the soil in this new enterprise, because it appealed to them directly and practically. They became its main pillars of strength. They imparted to it a vigorous growth and a wide fame. They maintained it in prosperity until the de- pression of the Civil War came as a blight. No, that great farming element will hardly consent that the name was the incubus that dragged it down. It was rather 8
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the old story of allowing the expenses to exceed the income and supplying the deficiency from "the perma- nent endowment fund," thus gradually but surely de- stroying the efficiency of the school. Under such con- ditions ruin was inevitable.
XIX. BELMONT COLLEGE-ITS STRUGGLES AND FINAL MERGER INTO THE O. M. I.
The first Commencement under the Belmont banner was on June 12th, 1884. A class of four graduated, and Rev. Silas Bennett, A. M., received the degree of D. D.
A list. of the Alumni and Alumnæ of Belmont Col- lege will appear in its appropriate place in the Appendix.
At this time there appeared the first catalogue issued after the change. It contained a concise historical résumé of the College, which is worthy of reproduc- tion, and follows :
"Belmont ( formerly Farmers') College was incor- porated by a special Act of the General Assembly of Ohio in the year 1846. The nucleus of the Institution was the Cary's Academy, founded in 1832, and known for a time as Pleasant Hill Academy. In 1852 the Col- lege was reorganized in conformity with a statute then in force, and the original stock was converted into cer- tificates of scholarships, which exempt the holder from the payment of tuition fees. The sessions of the College were suspended from 1870 to 1873, on account of the disorganizing effects of the Civil War. In March of the present year (1884) the Directors of the Institution, in accordance with a request made by the holders of the certificates of perpetual scholarship, at a called meeting held in the chapel of the College, January 31st, 1884, secured by petition to the Court of Common Pleas of Hamilton County, Ohio, a change of name from 'Farmers' College' to Belmont College. The Institu-
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tion at present rests on what is known as the scholarship basis, but an effort is being made to place it upon a regular endowment foundation."
The foregoing statement speaks of the suspension of the sessions of the College from "1870 to 1873." Virtually, the suspension began at 1865 for College cur- riculum work.
It is of interest to note the Faculty as it was organ- ized in 1884, and as partially reorganized in 1886-87 :
FACULTY.
P. V. N. MYERS, A. M., · President and Professor of Philosophy and English Literature.
WILLIS O. ROBB, A. B., Succeeded by Wm. A. Merrill, A. M.) Professor of Ancient Languages and Literature. JAMES M. JONES,
Succeeded by A. D. Morrill, A. M. and he later by H. S. Voorhees, S. M .. McMicken Professor of Chemistry, Philosophy, and Higher Mathematics. WM. P. THORNTON, M. D., (Succeeded by Wmn. H. Wilder, A. M.). Lecturer on Physiology and Hygiene. MRS. IDA C. MYERS, Teacher of Rhetoric, and Ancient and Modern History.
MRS. M. J. PYLE,
Teacher of Botany, Geology, and Physical Geography.
MISS ELIZABETH CALDWELL, Succeeded by Miss Leila F. Collins). Teacher of Drawing. MISS AUGUSTA BORK, (Succeeded by Miss Mary O. Harris, and later by Miss Anna Langenbeck . Teacher of French and German.
MISS ALICE AIKEN, S. B., Teacher of Music.
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At its meeting, September 26th, 1884, the Board passed the following resolution of interest to the Literary Societies :
"The libraries and furniture of either Society, accum- ulated during the past by purchase or through dona- tion, constitute a trust property, held for the use of the present and future students of the Institution, and shall not be taken from the Halls of the College, with the view of permanent removal, without the consent of the Board of Directors."
Early in 1885, at the instance of Theophilus Wilson, measures were adopted "to procure legislation author- izing the loan of the funds on security by mortgage on. real estate."
The owners of scholarships held their regular meeting on April 13th, 1885 (no list of names given), and re-elected the old Board of Directors, with the ex- ception of James A. Green in place of Edward DeSerisy, as follows :
Lowe Emerson, . College Hill, Ohio.
Rev. J. M. Walden, D. D., LL. D .. . Cincinnati, Ohio.
Edward Henshaw,. · College Hill, Ohio.
John W. Caldwell, A. M., College Hill, Ohio.
Josiah Wilder, . College Hill, Ohio.
Chas. E. Brown, A. M. . College Hill, Ohio.
Joseph F. Wright, Mount Healthy, Ohio.
Benjamin J. Richer, A. M., Locust Corner, Ohio.
E. W. Coy, A. M., . · College Hill, Ohio.
Geo. S. Blanchard, College Hill, Ohio.
Theopilus Wilson, . . Avondale, Ohio.
Alexander B. Huston, A. M., Cincinnati, Ohio.
Robert Simpson, . College Hill, Ohio.
John R. Davey, College Hill, Ohio.
James A. Green, .
· College Hill, Ohio.
On the organization of the Board by the election, the same day, of Lowe Emerson as President, John W. Caldwell as Secretary, and Theophilus Wilson as
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Treasurer, Mr. Caldwell resigned as Secretary, and James A. Green was elected in his place.
The new Board promptly adopted the policy of the retiring Board as regards the voluntary exchange of outstanding certificates of perpetual scholarship for certificates of limited duration, and that said policy should be steadily pursued.
On May 8th, 1885, the Treasurer reported to the Board endowment securities aggregating $57,924.08, and exhibited a certified copy of an Act passed by the General Assembly of Ohio, April 29th, 1885, permit- ting the Directors to sell bonds, stocks, etc., and place the proceeds in mortgages on real estate worth double the amount loaned, without the improvements, and yield- ing an interest of not less than six per cent.
John W. Caldwell resigned as Director, and upon his earnest request his resignation was accepted. He had been a faithful and useful member from the begin- ning, and was always courteous in his manner.
On June 17th, 1885, was Commencement, and a de- gree was conferred on a class of one.
At the Board meeting of December 30th, 1885, there was a general discussion of the project of incorporating Belmont College with the Cincinnati University, and moving the latter to College Hill. It was the unanimous. opinion of the members present (Messrs. Emerson, Blanchard, Henshaw, Brown, Simpson, Coy, Green, and Myers), that such a move would be highly desirable. A committee, consisting of Simpson, Henshaw, and Wil- son, was appointed to look into the matter and confer with any similar committee the University Board might appoint. Messrs. Wright and Huston were asked to investigate the legal status of the proposed consolidation as it would affect Belmont College. It does not appear
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what labors or conferences this committee had, if any, but we know that the Cincinnati University did not merge with Belmont College, nor even move to College Hill. We are not surprised that Belmont was willing to take some desperate chances at that time! Her en- dowment fund lacked the element of growth. The ex- pansion expected from the revival of 1877 proved more alluring than real. A score or so were added to the enrollment only for a few years. Even the e.valtation of the name in 1884 failed to lift it out of the local character the school had assumed. Here was a time when, if ever, its friends might have confidently looked for a genuine revival. The old Board had been re- elected and its former policy continued. The Faculty had been in part reorganized and was thoroughly com- petent, and, with its superb President, whose ideals of a College education were of a high order, did excel- lent service. But no marked permanent success in the growth of the school rewarded these efforts. While there was a graduating class of six at the Commencement on June 16th, 1886, the patronage had fallen in num- bers to the lowest ebb in its history-forty-five.
To the Board, at its meeting on May 6th, 1887, President Myers made a suggestion, unanimously recom- mended by the Faculty, that the Collegiate classes be gradually dropped, and the Institution be changed into an Academy or High School. Messrs. Brown, Coy, and Davey were appointed to consider this suggestion and report at the next meeting. This was held on May 20th, 1887, and the committee reported certain reso- lutions, which were adopted, reducing the course of study from six to four years, and the Teachers or Pro- fessors to four, for the ensuing year.
Later in the year the Faculty sustained a very great
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loss in the death of Mrs. Mary J. Pyle, who was a noble woman and highly esteemed for her abilities as a teacher. She had been an honored member of the Fac- ulty as teacher of Botany and Geology for over ten years. A suitable notice of her death was entered on the minutes of the Board October 28th, 1887.
On the 9th of April, 1888, was held the regular Tri- ennial meeting of Scholarship Holders (no list given), who elected fifteen Directors, mostly the old Board, but including as new members Peter G. Thomson, John E. Bruce, and Theodore W. Pyle. This Board, to relieve a little the financial strain, imposed on each pupil an incidental fee of $10 per term, and authorized the main- tenance of such a charge, not to exceed $20 per term, which the Law Committee justified if "strictly for in- cidentals."
On May 3rd, 1888, the Board appointed a committee to draft By-Laws, consisting of Simpson, Wright, and Pyle. These "By-Laws" appear to have materialized some two years later in printed form, and were ap- proved. We have not been able to see a copy.
Commencement occurred on June 13th, 1888, and degrees were conferred on a class of seven. The at- tendance during the year was fifty-six.
The Faculty, as reduced, stood in 1888-80, as fol- lows :
P. V. N. MYERS, A. M., President, and Professor of Philosophy and English Literature.
MISS LUCY M. BLANCHARD, B. A., Teacher of Ancient Languages and Literature.
HERBERT S. VOORHEES, S. M., McMicken Professor of Chem- istry, Philosophy, and Higher Mathematics.
WM. H. WILDER, A. M., M. D., Lecturer on Philosophy.
MISS ANNA LANGENBECK, Teacher of French and German.
MISS LEILA F. COLLINS, Teacher of Drawing.
MISS ALICE AIKEN, S. B., Teacher of Music.
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The Annual Catalogue of that year (which seems to have been the last issued by Belmont College), made the following announcement :
"The classes of the Collegiate Department have been temporarily suspended, and two years added to each of the several courses of the Preparatory Depart- ment."
On account of this readjustment there were no Com- mencement exercises, and no degrees conferred in the succeeding year.
It was in that year (1889) that the last act in the "Belmont" drama came upon the stage. It was intro- duced by a special committee to the Board on May 23rd, 1889, by recommending a radical change in the Institution : "First, that it be made into a Military Acad- emy ; second, that the change take place by September, 1890; and third, that various committees be appointed to visit similar Institutions elsewhere, erect new build- ings, get certain privileges from the Village Council, and employ competent teachers."
This was no ordinary proposition, and provoked much serious discussion, finally resulting in the appoint- ment, November 19th, of Messrs. Emerson, Davey, and Green as a committee to visit Military Schools and re- port. In addition a special committee went to Hillsboro to see Col. J. H. Mckenzie and inspect his military school. This last committee reported November 26th favorably, and Mr. Bruce, of the Law Committee, was of the opinion "that there was nothing in the deeds to the College of the campus to prevent the leasing of any portion upon a mortgage."
Thereupon Mr. Emerson moved "that the Board favored the renting of a portion of the campus for the
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purpose of establishing a Military School. It was unanimously carried."
Steps were at once taken to incorporate "The Ohio Military Institute," which was soon accomplished.
On the 21st of January, 1890, scholarship owners to the number of 166 met pursuant to call, and con- sidered the proposition of leasing a portion of the cam- pus to the Ohio Military Institute and of loaning $30,000 to erect buildings thereon, to be secured by mortgage. It passed unanimously.
On March 26th the Law Committee reported to the Board "that there was no legal objection to the spend- ing of $25,000 of the endowment fund for the erection of a new building." And thereupon the following resolution was carried nem. con., to-wit :
"Resolved, That a sum not to exceed $30,000 from the Scholarship Endowment Fund be invested in the erec- tion and furnishing of a building on the south side of the campus, the same to be adapted for general College purposes ; it being agreed that no part of the McMicken bequest be thus expended."
About this time President Myers having accepted a call to a Professorship in the University of Cincinnati, the Board, on May 14th, adopted and spread upon its record a fitting testimonial, especially expressing its high appreciation of his eleven years of efficient and faithful services as President of the College, and of his elevating influence as a teacher.
His departure was soon followed by a transforma- tion of the Institution into a Military School under the name of "The Ohio Military Institute." To effect this change the College corporation entered into contracts for buildings and took from its Endowment Fund-of
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which there remained April Ist, 1891, the sum of $57,570.70-the sum of $32,132.49, and as an investment for income, put it into the construction of improve- ments suitable for the Military School. These con- sisted of a large, stately brick dormitory on the south side of the campus, and a capacious Gymnasium and Drill Room in the rear of the College (the latter some two years after the former), and in equipping the whole, according to the Treasurer's report at this time, there was left of said original endowment of Farmers' College, after deducting the cost of the new buildings and paying liabilities, a balance of $22,179.70.
On May 14th, 1890, Col. J. H. Mckenzie and a corps of teachers were engaged for the next year at salaries aggregating $6,680.00. Subsequently, on August 4th, a contract was entered into whereby The Ohio Military Institute became practically the lessee of Bel- mont College, and agreed to take charge of the new building when completed and organize a Military School, to commence September, 1890. Among the provisions it agreed to pay to Belmont College $20 at the beginning of each College term, or $60 per College year, for each and every cadet, and all running ex- penses. And then the following stipulation appears :
"We make this proposition with the express under- standing that the O. M. I. is holding and using this property in trust and for the benefit of Belmont College, and after all current bills are paid all net profits are to be paid to the Treasurer of Belmont College; and the loss, if any, the College must sustain."
"We know that Belmont College has invested the endowment funds in the Military Building with the purpose and expectancy of getting return of 6% interest ; all possible effort shall be made for that result."
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On the 14th of May, 1890, Mr. Green resigned as Secretary of the Board, and Theodore W. Pyle was elected in his place.
A committee, consisting of Messrs. Emerson, Coy, and Bruce, was appointed to recommend the names of those they thought worthy of receiving honorary degrees, and on June 12th, 1890 (the regular time for Commence- ment), this comittee recommended the following de- grees, which were approved, to-wit :
Charles L. McCrea, M. S. in course ; F. D. Emerson, A. M .; J. A. Green, A. M .; H. S. Voorhees, A. M. ; P. V. N. Myers, LL. D .; Murat Halstead, LL. D.
This appears to have been the last official act of Belmont College in the way of conferring degrees, or in Commencement exercises, prior to the reign of The Ohio Military Institute.
On the 13th of April, 1891, the Triennial Meeting of the Scholarship Holders fully ratified the action of the Board respecting the erection and furnishing of the building known as The Ohio Military Institute, and the investment of endowment therein. Thereupon the fol- lowing resolution, offered by James A. Green, was unan- imously passed, to-wit :
"That this meeting recognizes from the report of the Treasurer of this Institution that there has simply been a change in the placing of a part of its invest- ment, and that the endowment fund has not been de- creased, but has been carefully and intelligently hus- banded."
Also an amended by-law was passed giving to cach Scholarship Holder one vote on each scholarship owned by him, and the same transferred to him on the books of Farmers' College, now Belmont College, which may be given personally or by proxy.
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We infer that this "amended by-law" had reference to Section I of the "Articles" adopted at the Stock- holders' meeting held on May 8th, 1852, and herein- before set forth, restricting the voting power of every owner of one perpetual scholarship or more to one vote.
It will be observed that we have considered Far- mers' College as having had some half dozen eras, more or less defined, in its development and career, and we add a distinct era for the "Belmont" period to the O. M. I. Each era was marked by some definite policy, effort, or ambition. The treatment of them has been far from complete. We have traversed the course of the College from its infancy to its stalwart manhood, familiar with its baptismal name, that appealed to the common people,-on through its glory of success, its patriotic fire, and its financial blight,-on through its brave effort to stem the tide, its struggle for resusci- tation under its new æsthetic name that appealed to a sense of beauty and the higher ideals, and finally on through gradual decline to its submergence. We noted the leading landmarks along the way, and these pages essay to bring them out in relief, especially as exempli- fied by the recorded acts of the corporate managers and Faculty, and the published literature of the College. In the days of the Academy, over sixty years ago, there was a growing desire among the people of Hamilton and adjoining counties for more education. Farmers' College sprang up, as from the soil, to meet that de- sire. The farmers, mechanics, and merchants of these counties as they became acquainted with Freeman Cary's plan of practical and general education, readily gave their approval and supplied the means to build the Col- lege, and became its enthusiastic friends and supporters. We have spoken elsewhere of the rapid growth and
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remarkable success of the school for that time. As the Academy soon lost its identity in the College, so "Pleasant Hill" yielded to the name of "College Hill," which became the post-office address.
There is a tradition that the Hill acquired that name upon the establishment of the "Ohio Female College" on an adjoining eminence in 1849, soon following that of its manly neighbor, which was described in its cata- logue of 1850 as "located at College Hill, hitherto Pleasant Hill." The incorporation of College Hill did not follow until in 1866.
The writer came down from those early days, and he always felt it fortunate to have spent his College life on a spot so favored of nature. The spirit of health and vigor permeated the air, and there was a charm every- where that conduced to study. And now, after this long lapse of time, he finds himself "renewing his youth" by living again within the shadow of its old vine-covered walls, conning the story of his Alma Mater. Strong, indeed, is the tie that binds one to his school- life scenes and associations. The mention of one is typical of all. Those who were ever students of the College, under whatever name, can not but feel a pe- culiar interest in its history, as, at one time, a part of its very fibre. The memories of that experience, how- ever brief, "last till doomsday." Welcome, indeed, should be the return to the Hill of that broad, aggres- sive spirit of education that signalized the early career of Farmers' College and made it "The Pride of the West."
We learn, with satisfaction, that the present young lessee of the property has caught the spirit of progress, and that a brighter prospect beckons on. Thorough work and a high standard is a winning motto, which
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the rainbow of promise will span. Surely this famous Hill, that from pioneer cabins has blossomed into palatial mansions, should forever foster the old College that gave it fame.
XX. SOME REMINISCENCES.
This sketch would be too incomplete without refer- ence to some matters pertinent to the life and operation of the College, but independent of its corporate man- agement.
The Institution was favored from the beginning with a superior corps of teachers,-none better in the land, although few in number. Its course of study was not inferior to that of any similar Institution in the West, and while adequate from a classical standpoint, its leading aim was to give an extensive and thorough course of scientific instruction. Uniformly it may be said the students came with an earnest purpose to ac- quire an education suitable to the vocation they in- tended to pursue. Most of them were products of the. soil and belonged to that sturdy class that overcame obstacles by perseverance and self-denial.
A large number of them boarded themselves, or "bached" as the boys called it, some of them living on fifty cents per week. The writer can attest the truth of this from personal experience. It was an economical custom, but not regarded in the least humiliating. Although their fare was often meagre, Mr. Cary said of them :
"They enjoy good health, and I need not say that as a class they are most efficient and successful stu- dents, needing no coercive measures to incite them to proper exertion."
JUDGE A. B. HUSTON.
No one will be surprised except the Judge himself on seeing this excellent reproduction of his features. The balance of the Com- mittee, knowing his innate modesty, obtained this picture surreptitiously and have inserted it without his knowledge.
To Judge Huston is due all the credit for the literary work of this history.
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It was a mode of living objectionable to the fas- tidious, but it furnished opportunity to many worthy young men to get an education which they would other- wise have been deprived of.
And yet none more than they entered into and enjoyed the College sports and became imbued with the College spirit. And none contributed more to the substantial growth and prosperity of the Institution.
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