USA > Ohio > Ohio's progressive sons; a history of the state; sketches of those who have helped to build up the commonwealth > Part 28
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Kenyon College
The State of Ohio possesses many denominational institutions of higher learning. Not less than twenty-six are operated within her limits, some of which have attained very great importance. The oldest of the colleges, Kenyon College, situated at Gambier, Knox County, was organized as early as 1824, and is the pioneer of the Ohio denominational col- leges. It was founded by the Right Rev. Philander Chase, first Bishop of Ohio in the Prot- estant Episcopal Church, and uncle of Salmon P. Chase, United States Senator and Secre- tary of the Treasury of the United States during the War of the Rebellion. The first articles of incorporation were dated December 29th, 1824, under the name of the "Theological Semi- nary of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Diocese of Ohio." On the 24th of January, 1826, the charter was amended so that the President and professors should constitute a faculty with the usual collegiate powers. Under this amended charter the college was operated until 1839, when another change was made so as to provide for the establishment of a col- lege and a preparatory department. The power to confer collegiate degrees was given to the college faculty, and the degrees in theology to the theological faculty. In August, 1891, the name of the college was changed to "Kenyon College," and the three heretofore independ- ent institutions were consolidated into one. The college now consists of three departments, a Theological School, a Collegiate School and a Preparatory School. In 1898 another amendment was made providing that the Bishop and Bishop Co-adjutor of any diocese out- side of the State of Ohio may become members of the board by filing with the Secretary a written acceptance of an offer by the board of such membership; upon such acceptance by its Bishop, one additional trustee may be appointed for the term of three years, by the diocesan convention of such diocese. Under these provisions the government of Kenton College is vested in a group of Bishops, together with additional trustees elected by the sev- eral affiliated dioceses.
In the development of his plans Bishop Chase went to England with letters of introduc- tion from Henry Clay to Lord Gambier, whom Mr. Clay had met as commissioner of the Treaty of Ghent, in 1815. Thirty thousand dollars was realized from this trip. He returned to Ohio in the autumn of 1824. The preparatory school was opened on the Bishop's estate at Worthington a few miles north of Columbus. The choice of location was made by the purchase of a tract of eight thousand acres of land in Knox County at two dollars and twenty-five cents an acre. Here with much hard labor, many trials, some disappointments and some controversy, the new college was started. The village was named Gambier and the chief building, Kenyon College, thus recognizing Bishop Chase's most ardent friends. The corner-stone of Kenyon College was laid with appropriate ceremonies June 9th, 1827. The college now has ten buildings and possesses considerable endowments and a number of scholarships. The institution is not co-educational, but Harcourt Seminary, of Gambier, offers facilities for the education of young women.
St. Xavier College
The institution, known at present as St. Xavier College, was established October 17th, 1831, by the Right Rev. Edward D. Fenwick, D.D., the first Bishop of Cincinnati, under the name of the "Athenaeum." in the year 1840 it was transferred by the Most Rev. Archbishop John B. Purcell, D.D., to the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, who have conducted it ever since under the title first mentioned. It was incorporated by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio in 1842, and on May 7th, 1869, an act was passed which secures to the institution a perpetual charter and all the privileges usually granted to universities. During the first
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twenty-three years of its existence the institution was conducted as a boarding college, and its repute for excellence, in the moral and literary training imparted to its pupils, col- lected within its walls students from all the neighboring States, from Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and even from Cuba, Mexico and South America. In 1854, however, it was deemed advisable that the institution should henceforth be exclusively devoted to the educa- tion of day-scholars. The reasons for this decision were the rapid growth of the city round about the college site and the difficulty of sup- plying a sufficient number of profes- sors and prefects to meet the increase of students in the boarding colleges of the Missouri Province (of the Society of Jesus), to which St. Xavier College belonged.
As a day-college, the institution sustained its high reputation as a seat of learning and continued to receive the increasing patronage of those who desired a thorough relig- ious education for their sons. To meet the growing exigencies and to keep pace with the development of the times, three additions, which con- TECHNICAL SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI CINCINNATI, OHIO stitute the present college buildings, were made to the original structures ; the first, at a cost of two hundred thousand dollars, in 1867; the second in 1884, at a cost of thirty thousand dollars, and the third in 1890, at a cost of one hundred thousand dollars. To-day the college affords its students every facility for mental, moral and physical devel- opment. Its class rooms and lecture halls are spacious, airy and well lighted ; it has a thor- oughly equipped gymnasium, an auditorium, known as "Memorial Hall," for college theat- ricals and literary entertainments, and a chapel of marked architectural beauty, capable of seating six hundred and fifty students. In the department of science, the lecture halls are fitted out with the latest improved devices. The physical cabinet is generously provided with suitable physical apparatus and contains a valuable collection of mineralogical and geological specimens; and the chemical laboratory is supplied with every requisite appli- ance for students in qualitative analysis and general chemistry. The library numbers about twenty-seven thousand volumes.
Denison University
Denison University, located at Granville, Licking County, was founded in 1831. On the 13th of December of that year the Granville Literary and Theological Institution was opened. The incorporation occurred in January, 1832, and the official signatures were affixed on the 3d of February of that year. The institution was operated under its original name until June, 1856, when, in recognition of the generosity of William Denison, of Adams- ville, Ohio, the name was changed to Denison University. Eleven years later the university was re-incorporated under the general law of 1852.
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The agitation for the institution was begun in the Ohio Baptist Education Society, and at a meeting held in Lebanon in May, 1830, it was decided to proceed to the establishment of a college. The original thought was to prepare an educated ministry for the church and to provide a college of literary character. At the meeting of the society in Lancaster, May, 1831, a report was submitted, naming certain trustees. Applications were received at this meeting for the location of the college. Granville offered a farm valued at $3,400 and the offer was accepted. Among the early provisions was one that required each student to work at agriculture or some mechanic art four hours a day for five days in the week. The proceeds of this labor were to go to the maintenance of the school, the student's board, wash- ing, etc. But the manual labor feature failed, and was abandoned.
The university now includes the following departments: Granville College, Shepardson College, Doane Academy, a Conservatory of Music and a School of Art. Shepardson Col- lege for women had been in operation for a number of years, and was presented to the Bap- tists of Ohio in 1887 by Dr. Daniel Shepardson. In June, 1900, an arrangement was made by unanimous consent of the boards by which the work of Denison University covers the work of both colleges. Shepardson College maintains its legal existence, but the membership of its board is identical with that of Denison, and thus a complete co-operation is secured. The property and funds of Denison University now exceed a million of dollars in value. The government of the institution is by a board of thirty-six trustees. Formerly the trustees were chosen by the education society, but the self-perpetuating plan is now in operation.
Muskingum College
Muskingum College, located at New Concord, Muskingum County, was founded in 1837. Local conditions led to the organization of this institution. New Concord and vicinity were chiefly settled by Scotch and Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, who believed in an educated min- istry and in education alike for boys and girls. As early as 1836 they began the agitation for the organization of a school of higher learning. The public school system at that period was in its infancy, and college privileges were unusual. The matter was thoroughly dis- cussed by the people, and finally, in 1836, it was decided to proceed with the organization of a college. On the 18th of March, 1837, Muskingum College was incorporated with a board of nine trustees, and the school was opened in rented quarters, where it remained until the community had raised the necessary funds and erected the college building. Until 1877, management and patronage of Muskingum College were purely local. In the latter year the board proposed to affiliate more closely with the United Presbyterian Church by putting the college under the control of Muskingum Presbytery, in which the college was located, and the adjacent Presbytery of Mansfield. When this was agreed to, a change of charter was secured to meet the new conditions. In 1883 the United Presbyterian Synod of Ohio took formal control. The Board of Trustees consists of twenty-one persons elected in three classes for three years. The change of Muskingum College into a denominational institu- tion widened its scope of usefulness and its constituency. The United Presbyterian Church furnished its patronage as well as the money for its support. At the beginning the college was for men, but in 1854 the board decided in favor of co-education, and the first woman graduate was in the class of 1855. The college participates in the benefits of the quarto centennial fund.
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University, located in the pretty city of Delaware, Delaware County, was founded in 1844. Now it is one of the most important colleges in Ohio. A number of years previous to the organization of Wesleyan University an attempt had been made to
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establish a watering place at the famous White Sulphur Spring, at Delaware. This enter- prise had not been as successful as was hoped and the owner concluded to abandon his project. At this time Rev. Adam Poe offered the suggestion of purchase and the estab- lishment of a Methodist college at the place. The proposal was favorably received, and on the Ist of September, 1841, a joint committee of the North Ohio and the Ohio Conferences met and accepted the proposed location. On the 7th of March, 1842, a charter for the new college was granted by the Legislature. A preparatory school was opened in 1841, and in 1842 Dr. Edward Thomson was elected to the Presidency, but was not expected to enter actively upon his duties for some time. Meantime, plans were matured for opening the col- lege and efforts made to procure necessary funds. In 1844 the board proceeded to organize a faculty and the school was opened on the 13th of November, 1844, with a President and four members of the faculty. The early days of the college.were, as usual in the Western coun- try, surrounded with discouraging features, but inspired by the devotion and loyalty of the faculty and friends.
Ohio Wesleyan began on the old lines of separate education. At the beginning twenty- nine young men appeared and the college continued on these lines until the union with the Ohio Wesleyan Female College, in 1877. In those years co-education was not popular. As early as 1850 a movement for the education of young women was started in Delaware by Rev. William Grissell and wife. This movement was abandoned two years later, and in 1853 the property of Mr. Grissell was bought and "The Ohio Wesleyan Female College" was incorporated by twenty men, among whom was the late Prof. William G. Williams, so long identified with the university. The discussion of co-education continued throughout the country and sentiment steadily changed until the Church in the West has almost unani- mously declared for the policy. It was inevitable that the union should come, and in 1877 the Female College, which had acquired a fine property known as Monnett Hall, with a body of more than four hundred alumna, was united with the Ohio Wesleyan University, and then began the most vigorous and progressive life in the history of the two movements.
The government of the university is vested in a board of thirty-one trustees. The Pres- ident of the university is a member ex-officio. As previously stated, the Wesleyan Uni- versity is one of the most important in Ohio and in the Central West. All the buildings are modern and adequate ; the funds and endowments have increased liberally, and the students' roll has grown steadily, while the faculty is able and progressive.
Baldwin University and Wallace College
Baldwin University, located at Berea, Cuyahoga County, was founded in 1845. It owes its existence to the generosity of John Baldwin, who had come to Berea a young man with- out property, and located upon lands that proved to be exceedingly valuable, owing to the stone quarries, among which were stone suitable for grindstones. A seminary had been in operation at Norwalk, Huron County. Mr. Baldwin proposed the removal of that seminary to Berea and offered fifty acres of land, including most of the grindstone quarries, and promised to erect a building for college purposes, to be finished by September, 1845. In June, 1845, he offered fifty lots, to be sold at a fair valuation and the proceeds used as an endowment. This offer was accepted, and Baldwin Institute was chartered in 1845. In 1855 the name of the institution was changed to Baldwin University, in honor of its bene- factor. The quarries have made it possible to erect the buildings of stone. From its begin- ning the institution has been co-educational. In 1858, a German department was organized, with a view of meeting the needs of the German Methodists. Five years later, in 1863, it was organized as a separate institution, and named German Wallace College, in honor of
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James Wallace, who gave the first building. Bv a cordial co-operation of the trustees of the two institutions no professorships are duplicated and the professors teach in both institu- tions. Tuition in one gives full rights in the other. The university furnishes instruction in Latin, Mathematics and Science, while the college furnishes instruction in German, French and Greek. At different times unsuccessful efforts have been made to widen the scope of the university by organizing other departments, such as a college of pharmacy and a law school.
Wittenberg College
Wittenberg College is located at Springfield, Clarke County. Its organization occurred in 1845, when, on the IIth of March of that year, a charter was granted to a company of Lutheran gentlemen representing the General Synod of the United States. The original purpose of the founders was to provide education for the sons and daughters of the Church and to educate the ministry. The work of the college has been broader than the first con- ception without losing emphasis upon the distinctive principles of the founders. The students come chiefly from Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio where Lutheran churches are found. The Board of Directors is composed of members elected by five Synods-East Ohio, Miami, Wittenberg, Northern Indiana and Olive Branch. It is required that two members be from Clarke County, and provision has been made that the alumni shall have two members. The college organization includes the Collegiate Department, the Theological Department, the Wittenberg Academy, the School of Expression and the Conservatory of Music. Wit- tenberg College has a beautiful campus of about forty acres, within easy reach of the center of Springfield, and has in recent years made substantial growth.
Mt. Union College
Mt. Union College, located at Alliance, Stark County, was founded in 1846 by Rev. O. N. Hartshorn, who, in rented quarters, started a school of six. The number of students increased, and early in the '50's steps were taken for the organization of a college. On the IIth of March, 1853, a charter was granted. The purpose of the college was:
"To found for the people a cosmic college, where any person may economically obtain a thorough, illustrative, integral instruction in any needed studies. To enable any persons of either sex to take any general course, or a special or elective course, or such study or studies in any department or course and for such time as their choice and life-character may need. To make the college a voluntary, representative, patriotic, philanthropic, Christian and progressive institution-not compulsory, sectarian, antiquated, arbitrary or partial."
Among the leading provisions were that the property should be held in trust ; contribu- tors were allowed to vote for trustees ; the college was to be conducted according to the prin- ciples of the Christian religion as revealed in the Bible; the college was not to be a close corporation, but trustees were to be elected for terms of three years, and the college was to rely upon voluntary support for its needs.
The college aimed to be a public institution from the start, free from the methods of the close corporation and the strictly denominational college. The work continued until 1864, when the Methodist Episcopal Church came into control of the institution, and now the Pittsburg, the East Ohio, the Erie, the West Virginia and North Ohio Conferences unite in supervision and visitation. As early as 1850 the college organized a normal department. The organization at present includes the collegiate department, the academic department. the normal department, the department for oratory and physical culture, the commercial department, the departments of music and of fine arts.
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Otterbein University
Otterbein University, located at Westerville, Franklin County, was founded in 1847. The institution is owned by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, and the name of the institution was taken from Philipp William Otterbein, the founder of the Church. As early as 1845 the General Conference of that Church resolved that proper measures be adopted to establish an institution of learning, and that it be recommended to the attention of the different Conferences.
The Miami Conference was the first to act, in March, 1846. Subsequently other Con- ferences acted favorably, and on the 26th of October, 1846, the Scioto Conference decided upon the establishment of an institution, purchased the Blendon Young Men's Seminary, then operated by the Methodist Episcopal Church, invited other Conferences to co-operate, and on the 26th of April, 1847, the trustees appointed by the Scioto and Sandusky Confer- ences met and founded the "Otterbein University of Ohio." The following September the school was opened as an academy. In 1849 the charter was granted by the State of Ohio. The work done was that of an academy until 1854, when the first college class was formed. In 1857 the first class, consisting of two ladies, was graduated, since which time no year has passed without a graduating class.
In many ways Otterbein is a typical denominational college. Its origin was in the Church; its declared purposes were to further the interests of the Church through the edu- cation of her children; co-education from the founding was heartily approved. Its origin was at a time when the denomination was not well organized, and the sentiment in the Church was in many instances hostile to the cause of learning. Nevertheless, the early founders saw that "regular communicants when they left their homes for the theater of lit- erary training were in a large majority of instances carried away by the force of surround- ing influences, and either fell into the ranks of other denominations, or else made shipwreck of their faith, and were thus lost to the Church." It is significant, also, that the founding of the college was followed by the more complete organization of the Church in its enter- prises for missions, Sabbath schools, theological education, church extension and other agencies for the promotion of the interests of the denominations. Like all other schools the influence of Otterbein College has not been confined to the Church. A large proportion of the alumni have entered the ministry, but with the growth of the college increasing num- bers have gone into the various callings of life. The university has had a steady growth. Its buildings are in a good condition, faculty and trustees are active in the interest of the insti- tution, and the roll of students is ever increasing. In 1870, the institution suffered from loss by fire, but it has survived the early struggles against poverty and indifference, and its prospects for the future are as bright as ever.
Hiram College
Hiram College, located at Hiram, Portage County, owes its existence to the members of the Church of the Disciples of Christ, and was founded in 1850. Members of that Church formed a considerable proportion of the population of the Western Reserve, and they early felt the need of a denominational college. In 1849, at a yearly meeting held at Russell, Geauga County, Mr. A. L. Soule, a leading member of the Church, invited those interested to his home, and in that meeting, on the 12th of June, 1849, it was decided to take the neces- sary steps toward founding a school. Other meetings were held at Bloomfield and Ravenna, and it was finally decided to locate the school at Hiram and give it the name "Western Reserve Eclectic Institute." Articles of incorporation were drawn, and on the Ist of March, 1850, the charter was approved by the Legislature. The first meeting of the board under
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the charter was held on the 7th of May, 1850. The first building was erected during that year, and the first session of the school began on the 27th of November. The charter gives the object to be "instruction of youth of both sexes in the various branches of literature and science, especially of moral science as based on the facts and precepts of the Holy Scriptures."
One peculiar belief of the Disciples was that the Bible had been obscured through theo- logical speculations and debates and their movement was a revolt from the formalism of the creeds to a simpler life based on the Scriptures. This added to their desire to emphasize its importance in education. The institute opened with eighty-four students, and grew in favor until in a short time there were as many as three hundred in attendance in a single term. On the 20th of February, 1867, the name was changed to Hiram College, and the work of the college dates from the 31st of August, 1867. In 1872 the charter was amended so as to increase the number of trustees to twenty-four. By provision of the charter the trustees are elected by stock holders for a term of three years. In this respect Hiram is not exactly par- alleled by any other Ohio college. The system has worked well. The college maintains a collegiate department, a preparatory department and a conservatory of music. In recent years substantial development has been made in buildings, equipment and funds. The col- lege is on a firm footing.
Urbana University
Urbana University, located at Urbana, Champaign County, was founded in 1849. In that year a number of New Churchmen, or persons holding to the doctrines set forth in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, conceived the plan of establishing at Urbana, Ohio, "an institution of learning under the management and direction of persons known and recog- nized as belonging to the New Church, or attached to the principles thereof." Ten acres of ground, finely wooded and affording eligible sites for the college buildings, were donated by John H. James, a resident of Urbana, and at a meeting convened at Urbana by Rev. James P. Stuart of those interested in the enterprise, donations were secured for the erection of a col- lege building. The charter bears date of March 7th, 1850, and is very liberal in its provisions, giving the institution authority to establish whatever schools or department may be desired and of conferring the usual college or university degrees. The incorporators named in the charter were as follows: Milo G. Williams, James P. Stuart, John H. Williams, Benjamin F. Barrett, E. Hinman, William E. White, David Gwynne, George Field, Sabin Hough, Samuel T. Worcester, John Murdoch and Richard S. Canby. The corporation is governed by twelve trustees, the persons named above constituting the first board, and vacancies in the board are filled by the remaining members. By the terms of the charter the trustees are required to be members of the New Church or attached to the principles thereof. The name "university" was assumed before any schools existed to form it, and it was decided that the institution should embrace the entire course of school training, from the lowest to the high- est. Primary and preparatory departments were first organized, in which boys and girls were taught together. A separate school for girls was at the same time resolved upon to be carried on in conjunction with the academic classes of a college. In one of the early cata- logues, published in 1860, it is stated that "the union of boys and girls in the same school may be viewed with distrust by those who have no chance to witness its working. With the experience which they have now had, the trustees and faculty unite in opinions as to its benefits. The benefits have been so obvious, in the formation of manner and character- and this with girls no less than boys-that the present arrangement will not willingly be dispensed with." The plan of co-education was thus early adopted by the institution, and among the graduates of the classes of 1857, 1858 and 1859 appeared the names of several
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