History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 18

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592

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" The University forms the culmination of the school-system of Cincinnati. Tuition is free to all residents of the city, and even necessary expenses, such as lab- aratory fees, are reduced to the lowest practicable limits. An opportunity is afforded to every citizen to obtain a thorough education at a minimum of expense. From its inception the University has admitted on equal terms persons of either sex, with eminently satisfactory results. It has constantly been the aim of the Faculty to carry out, to the best of their ability, the spirit of the passage quoted above from the will of the honored founder of the University.

" The University offers eight courses of study, of four years each. On the one hand, it recognizes the fact that the same studies and the same routine are not suited to all minds. It admits that different tastes and powers on the part of students call for diversity of instruction. On the other hand, the University, led by its own experience, and by that of similar institutions, perceives clearly that college students need guidance in the selection of their studies, and that such guidance is best provided in the presentation of symmetrical and distinctive courses of study from which the student is to make his choice.

"Each of the several courses here offered is planned to meet the wishes and needs of a different body of students. The freedom of the student is properly exercised in the selection of that course which best accords with his talents and aims in life. To the Faculty is reserved the duty of determining, in the main, what particu- lar studies will best promote a broad and symmetrical development in each of the given directions. It may be added that while all the studies of the first two years are prescribed, there are some hours in the third and fourth years which are to be occupied with elective studies. In the matter of Biblical instruction, the University has endeavored to comply with all existing requirements. By the terms of Charles McMicken's will, the Bible, in the Protestant version, is to be used as a book of in- struction; but, as a public institution, supported in part by taxation, the University can not insist upon any form of religious compliance from its pupils. The Protest- ant Bible is taught by the professor of philosophy. ' The instruction is expository, and is believed to be in full accord with the spirit of the founder's will. In order that all pupils may avail themselves of the instruction, the hour in which it is given is declared vacant of other University exercises. Attendance is voluntary. Those who attend may count the study in making up the required number of hours of their respective courses.

"The University has no dormitories. Excellent homes may be found in different parts of Cincinnati. The price varies for boarding and lodging from five to seven dollars a week. Lists of desirable places are kept by the Registrar, and can be had on application.

" Besides the departmental libraries of the University Cincinnati has the follow-

Engraved by J R.Rice & Sons, Philada.

Lewis Glein

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ing libraries: The Public Library, which, besides the current newspapers and per- iodicals, has extensive collections of standard works in literature, the classics, theology, art, the sciences, medicine and engineering, aggregating over two hundred thousand volumes. Its privileges are open to all students of the University free of charge. The Mercantile Library contains over sixty thousand volumes, and in its reading room is found a carefully chosen collection of newspapers and periodicals. The collection of the Historical and Philosophical Society contains over eight thousand volumes, and its books may be freely consulted by all. The Young Men's Christian Association building contains a reading room and free library, as well as a complete gymnasium and health department. Other public institutions having collections of special value to the student are the Art Museum, the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, with its extensive museum, the Ohio Mechanics' Institute, and the Zoological Gardens. The Cincinnati Gymnasium, with its athletic grounds and fine equipment, offers every advantage for physical culture."

The University originally comprised three departments, the Academic, the Observatory, and the School of Design. The last of these was transferred to the Cincinnati Museum Association in 1884. There are now affiliated with the Univer- sity a Medical Department embracing the Miami Medical College, established in 1852; and the Medical College of Ohio, established in 1819; and the Clinical and Pathological School of the Cincinnati Hospital, established in 1821; also a Dental Department, consisting of the Ohio College of Dental Surgery; and a Pharm- aceutical Department, consisting of the Cincinnati College of Pharmacy.

The Academic department, now embracing the Observatory, conducts well- organized courses of University Extension Lectures, and sustains a Philological Society.

The chairmen of the Board of University Trustees have been Hon. Rufus King, Hon. George Hoadly, Hon. Alphonso Taft and Hon. Samuel F. Hunt. The present chairman is Dr. Cornelius G. Comegys. The first clerk of the board was William T. Disney; the second, Joseph F. Wright, still holds the position.

In December, 1877, Thomas Vickers was made rector of the University, and held the office until June, 1884, when he resigned. Hon. Jacob D. Cox was chosen president, April 13, 1885. He resigned in June, 1889. Prof. H. T. Eddy was then elected acting president or dean. Prof. Eddy being called to the presidency of Rose Polytechnic Institute, withdrew from the University, when the directors elected Prof. W. R. Benedict to assume the duties of dean for one year, then to be succeeded by the professor next in seniority. At the close of Prof. Benedict's administration, December, 1891, he was succeeded by Prof. E. W. Hyde, who gave place at the end of the year, 1892, to Prof. William O. Sproull, the present dean.

The Faculty and assistant instructors of the Academic department of the Uni- versity of Cincinnati at the present time are: William Oliver Sproull, Ph. D., LL. D., professor of Latin language and literature and of Arabic; Wayland Richard- son Benedict, A. M., professor of philosophy; Edward Wyllys Hyde, C. E., pro- fessor of mathematics; Thomas French, Jr., Ph. D., professor of physics; Thomas Herbert Norton, Ph. D., professor of chemistry; Jermain Gildersleeve Porter, Ph. D., director of the Observatory and professor of astronomy; William Everett Waters, Ph. D., professor of Greek and comparative philology; Edward Miles Brown, Ph. D., professor of English language and literature; Philip Van Ness Myers, LL. D., L. H. D., professor of history and political economy; Ward Baldwin, C. E., M. S., professor of civil engineering; James Playfair McMurrich, Ph. D., professor of biology; Charles Frederick Seybold, A. B., LL. B., professor of French and German; Everett Irving Yowell, C. E., instructor in mathematics; Paul Francis Walker, in- structor in Spanish; Herman Elijah Newman, Ph. D., assistant in chemistry; Charles Henry Turner, M. S., assistant in biology; Ellis Guy Kinkead, B. A., LL. B., assistant in Latin; William Osgood Mussey, A. M., assistant in English.

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

It is a matter of great public interest in the Queen City that on the 20th of September, 1889, the common council passed an ordinance giving to the University forty-three acres of land in Burnet Woods Park, on condition that $100,000 be ex- pended in the construction of buildings, etc., upon this tract, within five years, and that the main building be begun within three years of the date of the agreement.

CINCINNATI OBSERVATORY.

The Cincinnati Observatory, now part of the University, demands special treat- ment in this sketch, being one of the most important astronomical stations in the country. Its telescope has the distinction of being the first "at all commensurable · with the needs of a modern observatory, to be erected upon the soil of the Western continent."

In the winter of 1841-42 an enthusiastic public interest was aroused in Cincin- nati, by a course of eloquent lectures on astronomy, delivered before the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge by Ormsby Mcknight Mitchel, then professor in Cincinnati College. An Astronomical Society was organized, and Mitchel proposed to raise seven thousand five hundred dollars, in shares of twenty-five dollars each. The stock was subscribed within three weeks, and on May 23, 1842, the shareholders organized a society, adopted a constitution, and elected the following officers: Presi- dent, Hon. Jacob Burnet; treasurer, William Goodman; secretary, Milo G. Williams; directors, E. Poor, James H. Perkins, E. D. Mansfield, H. Starr, John P. Foote, T. J. Brooke, J. Jonas, G. P. Torrence, J. P. Harrison, Miles Greenwood, M. T. Williams.

Prof. Mitchel was authorized to procure a telescope, and he immediately went to Europe, where, after much search, he found, in Munich, a lens of nearly a foot in diameter, which he purchased. The sum of at least ten thousand dollars was re- quired to mount the glass properly, and Mitchel undertook to increase the subscrip- tions to this amount. On his return to Cincinnati, a site was secured for the Ob- servatory, on Mount Adams, near the present "Highland House, " a tract of land being donated to the society by Nicholas Longworth. The corner stone of the Observatory was laid November 9, 1843, on which occasion an oration was delivered by John Quincy Adams, who, in 1825, had vainly urged Congress to found a National Ob- servatory. The erection of the building was begun in June, 1844, and was carried on, under many difficulties, under the direct and constant supervision of Prof. Mitchel. The building was at length completed, and Mitchel continued to act as director of the Observatory until 1860, when he was called to take charge of the Dudley Observatory, Albany, N. Y. Soon after this the Civil war broke out, and the fame of the astronomer was merged in the glory of the soldier. The brilliant mili- tary career of Gen. O. M. Mitchel fills a splendid page of the nation's history.

For a short time the Observatory was under the care of Henry M. Twitchell, who had been the assistant of Mitchel. Mr. Twitchell resigned in 1861, and for some years the telescope was in the careful keeping of Mr. Davis, father-in-law of Dr. Rickoff, but not much astronomical work was done until 1868, when Mr. Cleve- land Abbe, of the National Observatory at Washington, was called to the director- ship. The officers then controlling the Astronomical Society were: President, Robert Buchanan; secretary, William Hooper; treasurer, William Goodman; direc- tors, Alphonso Taft, Miles Greenwood, Samuel Davis, Jr., Edmund Dexter, L. B. Harrison, Rufus King, T. D. Lincoln, John Shillito.

Prof. Abbe carried on the scientific work of the Observatory with vigilance, much retarded in his work by the smoke and dust of the city. In 1869 he organized a party to observe the total eclipse of the sun at Sioux Falls. But the peculiar genius of Prof. Abbe was exercised in giving system and practical value to meteoro- logical observations concerning the weather. Prof. Jermain G. Porter, who is now the efficient director of the Observatory, in an admirable historical sketch to which

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we are indebted for our facts, says: "Probably the most important work which Prof. Abbe did during his connection with the Observatory was the establishment of , a system of daily weather reports and storm predictions. Having secured the cooperation of observers stationed at various points, throughout the country, he began to issue this bulletin on September 1, 1869. Although the Observatory only maintained this service for a few months-it passing then temporarily into the hands of the Western Union Telegraph Company-still the experiment had the effect of arousing popular interest in the subject, and led to the speedy establish- ment, by the General Government, of the Weather Bureau. To the Cincinnati Observatory thus belongs the honor of being pioneer not only in the field of astron- omy, but also in this important field of weather prediction. Upon the establish- ment of the National Signal Service, it was but natural that Prof. Abbe's ability and experience in meteorological work should be in demand at Washington. He resigned the directorship of the Observatory in 1870, to accept the professorship of meteorology in the Government Weather Bureau, a position which he still holds."

Important action was taken in 1872, by which the Astronomical Society surren- dered its trust to the city, and by which the Observatory became an adjunct of the University. The first annual report of the directors of the University states the conditions of the transfer as follows: "The property on Mount Adams, which was donated by the late Nicholas Longworth, Esq., for an Observatory, having become unsuitable for that purpose, his heirs have joined with the Astronomical Society in an agreement to give and convey the ground to the city, upon the specific trust that it shall be leased or sold, and the proceeds applied toward endowing the School of Drawing and Design, which is now established in connection with the University; the city agreeing, as a condition of the gift, to sustain an Observatory, also to be connected with the University. To enable the city to comply with the latter engagement, Mr. John Kilgour has agreed to give four acres of land as the site for a new Observatory, and also the sum of ten thousand dollars for building and equipping it. The Astronomical Society also gives to the city, for the same object, the equatorial and other instruments, with all the apparatus and astronomical records and books belonging to the present Observatory." A new building was erected on the summit of Mount Lookout, and by act of legislature the board of education was authorized to assess and levy an annual tax for the support of the Observatory. A meridian circle was purchased in 1888, and a new dome was con- structed in 1892.

Prof. Ormond Stone, of the National Observatory, was called to Cincinnati as professor of astronomy in the University and director of the Observatory, in 1875. He resigned in 1882, to accept the directorship of the Leander McCormick Observa- tory of the University of Virginia; and Mr. Herbert C. Wilson remained in charge until 1884, when the present director, Jermain G. Porter, was appointed director. Prof. Porter had been connected with the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.

OHIO MECHANICS' INSTITUTE.

The Ohio Mechanics' Institute is one of the oldest, most efficient and most praise- worthy of Cincinnati's popular agencies for the advancement of civilization. It is decidedly an educational organization, bearing directly upon the interest of indus- try and art. Founded, in 1828, by a few philanthropic men who devoted their leis- ure, their money and their hearts to its objects, the Institute has been fostered and sustained, now for nearly three-quarters of a century, by the unfailing zeal and stubborn energy of its friends, among whom have ever been found the best and most generous of our citizens. To the Mechanics' Institute the public owes the inaugu- ration and successful development of the system of Industrial Fairs or Expositions, for which Cincinnati is distinguished, and which furnished the model after which so many other cities and States patterned similar displays. The vast influence of

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HISTORY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY.

these expositions as modes of objective instruction to the masses entitle them to be regarded as schools for the diffusion of useful knowledge. But these expositions, however valuable, and however imposing, were but grand incidents in the history of the Institute, not the regular staple of its yearly work. The institution was organ- ized as a means of enlightening and training working people, especially mechanics, through the instrumentality of books, lectures, teachers, and by study and manual skill. It has come to be accepted as a motto of the members of the old Institute that they

Live for those who need them; For the good that they can do.

A journalist reporting his impressions of the academic department, in 1890, describes it as " A school where the son of the millionaire elbows the bootblack." The description conveys the literal truth, for the winter evening sessions of the school bring together all sorts of learners, from college graduates to street cripples, and six or seven hundred youths may be seen amicably and diligently at work, with perfect democratic equality of rights, all bent to acquire some special knowledge.

The prime mover in forming a Mechanics' Institute in Cincinnati was John D. Craig, who, at the close of a course of popular lectures on physics, suggested the propriety of organizing a society for the promotion and practice of the mechanic arts. A meeting was held on the evening of October 25, 1828, at which John P. Foote, Luman Watson, John Locke, J. Bonsall and W. Disney were selected as a committee to report a plan for carrying Mr. Craig's suggestion into effect. At a succeeding meeting, held November 20, 1828, over which Rev. Elijah Slack, presi- dent of Cincinnati College, presided, Mr. Craig explained the nature and purposes of Mechanics' Institute, and John P. Foote presented the report of the committee, and submitted a constitution which was adopted. The Ohio Mechanics' Institute was duly incorporated on February 9, 1829, though the charter was amended in 1846-47. The names of the charter members are John D. Craig, John P. Foote, Thomas Riley, Luman Watson, William C. Anderson, David T. Disney, George Graham, Jr., Calvin Fletcher, Clement Dare, William Disney, William Greene, Tunis Brewer, Jeffrey Seymour, Israel Schooley and Elisha Brigham.

In the winter of 1828-29, classes were formed in chemistry, by Dr. Cleveland; in geometry, by Dr. John Locke; and in arithmetic, by John L. Talbott. The lec- tures in chemistry were given in College Hall and in the city council chamber; the mathematical instruction was imparted in Mr. Talbott's school room. In 1830 the Institute purchased the Enon Baptist church, on Walnut street between Third and Fourth. The main room of the church was used as a lecture hall, and the ground floor was divided into three apartments, to be used as library, reading room, and recitation room. After some years, not being able to pay for the quarters which had been bought on credit, the Institute was obliged to abandon the church and to seek new accommodations, which were found in Cincinnati College. Meanwhile, occasional lectures were given by Prof. Calvin Stowe, of Lane Seminary; Judge James Hall, the western author; Dr. Craig, and others, for the benefit of the strug- gling Institute. In February, 1838, a grand "Mechanics and Citizens" ball was held, at the National Theater, the profits of which put about twenty-four hundred dollars into the treasury. This was followed in May by a fair, in the locally famous Bazaar building, erected by Mrs. Trollope. About four hundred articles were on exhibition, and the rooms were crowded with visitors for three days. This fair was the precursor of the long series of "Expositions," the latest of which took place in the Centennial year, 1888. The Bazaar, facetiously called "Trollope's Folly," was purchased by the Institute, in February, 1839, for ten thousand dollars. However, as in the case of the Enon church, the Institute was unable to discharge its obliga- tions, and the Bazaar property reverted in February, 1847, to Messrs. Longworth

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and Blachly, who foreclosed the mortgage which they held on it. After many finan- cial misadventures, and many enforced removals "from pillar to post," the long . suffering, courageous Institute at last secured a permanent home, and entered upon a new career. A lot on the southwest corner of Sixth and Vine streets was pro- cured, and on the Fourth of July, 1848, the corner stone of the present Mechanics' Institute building was laid. Though burdened with a heavy debt, the Institute, by the generosity of Miles Greenwood, Marston Allen and others, and by the vigorous energy of its trustees, was eventually put on a solid financial basis. It does not owe a dollar.

In the years 1856-57, arrangements were completed by which the directors of the Institute provided accommodation, in their edifice, for " The Cincinnati Common School and Family Library," and for offices of the public schools, and session hall of the school board. In 1870 the Public Library and school offices were removed to the new library building, on Vine street.

Courses of lectures have been given, from time to time, ever since the Institute removed into its permanent home. The lecture room, Greenwood- Hall, was, for years, the scientific headquarters. Among the lecturers who appeared on its plat- form were Prof. H. E. Foote, Dr. W. W. Dawson, Dr. J. C. Zachos, W. M. Davis, Prof. Daniel Vaughan, Dr. Sam Silsbee; and, later, Dr. T. C. Mendenhall.

The School of Design of the Ohio Mechanics' Institute was founded in 1856. It. supplied an actual need, and won merited success. In the Annual Report for 1870 we read: "The Board of Directors desire to call special attention to the successful results and practical workings of the School of Design. It has, in reality, proved itself the pioneer in the several branches which have been taught in its different departments. It has been, without doubt, the forerunner of the school in connection with the McMicken University, and the means of the introduction of drawing in the public schools of Cincinnati." The attendance at its first session, 1856-57, was only fifty-two, but it has steadily increased, and, at the thirty-sixth session, 1891-92, it numbered eight hundred and forty-five. The total enrollment, since organization, amounts to about eleven thousand.

The sessions of the school are now held from October to March. The instruction given falls in the several departments, viz .: Mechanical, architectural, artistic, practical mechanics, carriage drafting, and mathematics.

The Institute possesses a reference library, and a reading room well stocked with periodicals, many of which are of a scientific character.

The Institute has been peculiarly fortunate in the blessing of good officers. The- first president, John P. Foote, held the responsible position for nineteen years, and was succeeded by Miles Greenwood, who was in office seven years. The next presi- dent, Charles F. Wilstach, continued in office seventeen years, and was succeeded by Thomas Gilpin, who died in office after serving seventeen years. James Allison was president from 1889 to 1892, when James Leslie was elected. The success of the Institute, of late years, has been largely due to the zeal, fidelity and genius of the clerk or superintendent, R. E. Champion, than whom no public officer in Cin- cinnati deserves more praise, or enjoys the meed of a more genuine love.

TECHNICAL SCHOOL.

. The Technical School, Cincinnati's special school for manual training, entered upon the seventh year of its existence, September 11, 1893. From a printed sketch of the history of the institution, we take the following paragraphs: "The need of a Technical School in Cincinnati had been felt for some years, and was the subject of serious thought with a number of our public-spirited men-among whom were M. E. Ingalls, Julius Dexter, John V. Lewis, Maj. L. M. Hosea and others-who had from time to time been calling attention to the desirability of establishing such a school. However, no definite results came of these deliberations until at a meeting held by

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the Order of Cincinnatus, July 8, 1886, a committee was appointed to investigate the subject and the feasibility of organizing a Technical School.

"The members of that committee were Col. William L. Robinson, Adolph Plue- iner, William F. Gray and other citizens. The committee making a favorable report, an association was formed and incorporated under the laws of the State of Ohio, July 27, 1886, under the name of 'The Technical School of Cincinnati.' The Association completed its organization October 25, 1886, by electing a board of fif- teen directors.

"The school was formally opened for the admission of pupils November 1, 1886, in the art rooms of Music Hall. The practical work of the school began on the fif- teenth day of the month, with a class of three pupils, and closed the year, June 22, 1887, with eighteen. The second year opened September 5, 1887, with an enroll- ment of forty pupils, which has since increased to 161.

"The Commercial Club of Cincinnati took formal action, as a body, on the sub- ject of the Technical School in November, 1887-although a number of its members had been interested in the movement since its beginning-and has since borne nearly half of the expense of the school.

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History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 18

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1592

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592