USA > Oregon > Marion County > Salem > Oregon and its institutions; comprising a full history of the Willamette University, the first established on the Pacific Coast > Part 16
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Stone of the most durable quality was procured to lay the foundation three feet high. This precaution was entered into to protect the brick from the damp- ness of the earth. While these things were moving forward Mr. Waller was enlarging the subscription for the building, so that when the bricks were ready, and the stone-masons were laying the foundation, and the time approached to lay the corner-stone of our college, the subscription amounted to about twenty- five thousand dollars. The corner-stone of the uni- versity was laid July 24, 1864, with somewhat im- posing ceremonies. Governor Gibbs delivered an address on the occasion, and a historical sketch of the institution was read before a very large assem- bly of the citizens of Salem and vicinity by Gustavus Hines. Rev. David Leslie, the venerable president of the Board of Trustees, performed the ceremony of laying the corner-stone, various other gentlemen as- sisting in the services. The historical sketch, Bible, Hymn Book, Methodist Discipline, and the names of many of the old pioneers, with various other docu- ments and trinkets, were deposited in an excavation in the corner-stone, according to the usual custom in such cases, and then the blessing of Almighty God, without whose aid
"The best concerted schemes are vain, And never can succeed,"
was devoutly invoked upon the enterprise by the Rev. William Roberts, that it might be carried for- ward to a triumphant and glorious success. And
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now the walls begin to assume shape and form, and gradually to rise from their foundation. At length the last brick is laid, the timbers are all adjusted to their places, the roof covers the beautiful superstruc- ture, the symmetrical dome crowns the pile, and the whole stands forth in its beauty and grandeur as a monument of the indomitable perseverance and energy of the few men who were the active members of the Board of Trustees, whose plans and policies and instructions were faithfully carried out by Rev. A. F. Waller, perhaps the most indefatigable agent with whom an institution of learning was ever favored.
The plan of the building is that of a Greek cross, and was recommended to the agent by Bishop Janes when he last visited the Oregon Conference. The two parts of the cross are each eighty-four feet long and forty-four feet wide. These cross each other exactly in the center, so that the building presents about the same appearance from which ever side you take your observation. The height of the building from the base to the top of the dome is one hundred feet, and from the base to the eaves fifty feet. The basement story is twelve feet, the first story above is sixteen feet, the second twelve feet, and the third twelve feet. There are three entrances to the building, the main entrance into the chapel being in the end of the north wing, and the other entrances being in the east and west wings. These wings are mainly occupied by a broad and commodious winding stairway which lead to the school rooms above, so that the members
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of the school on entering are not obliged to pass through the chapel. The chapel is very commodious, occupying the entire story of the cross above the basement, running north and south. That is, the chapel is forty-four by eighty-four feet, with the walls taken ont. It is nicely finished, with a broad platform at the south end, and finely and comfort- ably seated throughout. At each side there is a door which passes into the east and west wings to the stair- ways. One of these doors is designed for the ingress and egress of the ladies, and the other for the gentle- men of the school. The school rooms in the second and third stories are large and very neatly finished, and furnished with seats of the latest improvement. They are of sufficient capacity to accommodate about four hundred pupils. The house is judiciously arranged for the accommodation of the different departments, together with the literary societies, of which there are three connected with the institution. Until other arrangements can be made by the Med- ical Faculty, the Medical Department will occupy one room in the third story.
The faculty and students of the institution had often, during the last year, been flattered with the idea that they would soon be able to remove from their uncomfortable quarters in the old building into the new building; but up to this period (October 14,) the progress of the building toward completion was so retarded by circumstances that the Board of Trustees seemed unable to control, that the rooms remained in so unfinished a condition that no one of
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them could consistently be occupied. At this time, however, it was announced that on Monday, the 21st of October, the removal could be made.
Accordingly, at 9 o'clock of the 21st day of October, 1867, the school was marched, by the acting president, to the sound of martial music, from the old house to the new, where some of the members of the Board of Trustees, and friends of the institution, were as- sembled to receive them. There was no formal dedication of the house, as is usual on such occasions ; but the venerable president of the Board of Trustees, Rev. David Leslie, by an appropriate address to the faculty and students, opened so much of the house as had been finished for their occupancy, and, with other members of the Board present, gave the school a most cordial and hearty welcome and greeting to the neat and commodious halls of the new college edifice.
The financial condition of the building which we have thus described, according to a close estimate, is as follows :
Cost of the building thus far. $40,000
Subscriptions collected ¥ 30,000
Subscriptions on hand
8,000
Liabilities
10,000
Finishing the building will cost
7,000
Besides this, we need to furnish the building with additional apparatus, a library, a good piano, warm- ing apparatus, and other things necessary, say ten thousand dollars.
This showing, and the figures are very moderate,
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presents the fact that the university needs for pres- ent use to set it fully in working order twenty thou- sand dollars.
The question here arises, How is this twenty thou- sand dollars to be obtained ? The people of the city of Salem, and the community generally where the institution is located, have contributed already to the extent of their ability.
The lands that have been donated with a view to the permanent endowment of the institution cannot be used for building purposes, neither would it be wise to so use them, even if the Board had the right to do it. The Board indulged the hope that consider- able material aid might be afforded them from the Centenary collections within the bounds of the Oregon Conference; but the territory embraced within the limits of the conference was new and thinly settled, and each community had its own Church and educational interests to promote, and, consequently, most of the offerings made were designed to promote interests of a local character, and hence the assist- ance from this quarter will be very limited.
Sometimes the Board has looked with hope toward the East, when they have heard of the millions of money that have been placed as Centenary offerings upon the altar of the Church, and have wondered whether, in the general distribution of Centenary gifts, a struggling, feeble people on the Pacific coast might not be remembered. We have also thought of those wealthy members of the Church who are always ready to every good work, and have most
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ardently desired an opportunity to set clearly before them our necessities, believing that if we could do so they would extend their generosity even to us. If it be the object of wealthy men in the bestowment of money to do good, surely there never was a better opportunity than to relieve the Willamette Univer- sity in its present needs, and place it upon a proper basis, by bestowing upon it a suitable endowment.
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CHAPTER XII.
MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS CONNECTED WITH OUR HISTORY.
IN a previous chapter we have spoken of the estab- lishment of a Medical Department in connection with the Willamette University; but as a few changes have occurred in that department since its first organ- ization, it will be proper to refer to it again. The first session opened, in the spring of 1867, with twenty students in attendance, a very encouraging number for so young an institution. We have already stated that three of the students received the honors of the institution.
The second session was to open on the fifth of November, with the prospect of an increase of one third in the number of students in attendance. The announcement for the session of 1867-8, sets forth the following as the Medical Faculty for the present year :
DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY. J. H. WYTHE, A. M., M. D., President.
MEDICAL FACULTY.
H. CARPENTER, M. D., professor of Civil and Military Surgery ; E. R. FISKE, A. M., M. D., professor of Pathology and Practice of Medicine; J. BOSWELL,
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M. D., professor of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children ; J. H. WYTHE, A. M., M. D., professor of Physiology, Hygiene, and Microscopy ; D. PEYTON, M. D., professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics ; J. W. M'AFEE, M.D., professor of Chemistry and Toxicology ; A. SHARPLES, A. B., M. D., professor of Descriptive and Surgical Anatomy ; M. B. LINGO, M. D., demonstrator of Anatomy ; Hon. J. H. MITCHELL, professor of Medical Juris- prudence.
The gentlemen composing the above faculty are mostly persons of long practical experience in the med- ical profession, and are well qualified to sustain the department, and to carry it forward until it shall be placed in the highest rank of schools for the promo- tion of sound medical learning and practical acquire- ments.
The requirements for graduation are as fol- lows :
The candidate must be twenty-one years of age, and must present proper testimonials of a good moral character, and satisfactory evidence of having studied medicine three years, lectures included, with a repu- table practitioner of medicine. He must have at- tended two full courses of lectures, the last of which must have been in the Medical Department of the Willamette University. He must pass a satisfactory examination, and submit to the faculty an accept- able thesis on some medical subject in his own hand- writing.
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For an ad eundem degree, a diploma from a regular medical college and a satisfactory examination in the practical branches, and the payment of the usual fee.
Though this medical department is in its infancy, yet from the manner in which it has been conducted thus far, and the confidence reposed in the faculty by the profession and the public generally, it has doubt- less become a fixed fact in connection with our uni- versity, and its future history will run parallel with that of the parent institution so long as the healing art shall be needed among men.
In the progress of our history we have had occasion to record the deaths of but very few who have been connected with our institution either as trustees or as teachers ; and here we will take occa- sion to mention some in this regard whose names have been omitted. In the list of teachers the name of S. B. Wilber should not be forgotten. Mr. Wilber was a very efficient and successful teacher in the Academical Department of the university, and could have retained his position to an indefinite period, but resigned his place, and returned to his home in the state of New York, where he soon after passed from the labors of earth to the rewards of eternity. He was a relative of the Rev. James H. Wilber, who was the founder of the Umpqua Academy, the prin- cipal agent in the establishment of the Portland Seminary, and at the present writing is the la- borious and successful missionary and Indian agent in the Yakima nation.
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Mrs. Jones, formerly Mary Leslie, the amiable and excellent daughter of "Father Leslie," the venerable president of the Board of Trustees, who received her education mainly in connection with the university, and for some time was employed as a teacher, and was very successful in her department, has also gone to her reward.
Miss Lucia A. N. Jordan is another who should not be passed in connection with this history simply with the mention of her name. She left a large circle of friends and acquaintances in Newbury, Ver- mont, where she had received her education, and took passage in a steamer for Oregon by the way of Panama and San Francisco. At the latter place she went on board the ill-fated Northerner, bound for Portland, which was wrecked on the Pacific coast midway between the two ports. She endured all the horrors and perils of that most fearful disaster, and witnessed hundreds of her fellow-passengers sink to their watery graves. Calmly and quietly she ad- dressed herself to one effort to save herself from the terrible fate of most of her comrades, clasped a life- preserver around her, and knowing that it was the only chance, committed herself to the angry billows. Her life-preserver buoyed her up, though the rolling surges often broke with violence over her. She neared the shore, retaining her consciousness until within a few yards of land. Having been so often submerged by the breaking waves, she received so much of the briny element as to experience all the sensations of drowning, and losing herself, she sunk
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as into the arms of death. At length a friendly wave bore her to the shore, and she was snatched from the under-current by the persons who had been so fortunate as to reach the shore in safety, and borne away to the dry land. The usual resuscitating means in cases of drowning were resorted to, and at length, to the great joy of all, signs of life appeared. She survived the terrible ordeal, and after partially re- covering from the shock which her sensitive nature had received, she proceeded on to Washington Ter- ritory, where she engaged in teaching for a season, and then, in answer to a call from the Board of Trustees of the university, she came to Oregon and became associated with the faculty as a teacher of the ornamental branches, occasionally assisting in other departments. But it is thought that she never entirely recovered from the injury received from her shipwreck. After a few months of very accept- able and efficient service as a teacher, her Master called and found her ready to obey the summons. Though mysteriously removed, in the vigor of youth and amid scenes of great usefulness, from the associ- ations of earth to the realities of eternity, she did not fail to leave the impression of her many excellences upon the minds of the youth she taught, as upon all who knew ler.
The present Board of Trustees is very large, and will compare well in every respect with any similar board in any portion of the country. For the in- formation of all interested, both east and west, where their friends reside, I would here append their names.
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Rev. David Leslie, President ; Hon. S. E. May, Secretary ; J. H. Moores, Esq., Treasurer ; Rev. Wm. Roberts, Hon. A. C. Gibbs, Rev. A. F. Waller, Hon. L. F. Grover, A. M., Rev. G. Hines, Hon. J. C. Peebles, Rev. J. H. Wilber, Hon. J. R. Moores, Rev. J. Dillon, A. M., F. R. Smith, Esq., Rev. C. S. Kingsley, A. M., Rev. J. L. Parrish, Rev. H. K. Hines, A. A. M'Cully, Esq., L. Heath, Esq., Rev. D. Rutledge, J. N. Gilbert, Esq., Jos. Waldo, Esq., T. M. Gatch, A. M., Hon. E. N. Cook, Hon. J. S. Smith, J. II. Nicklin, Esq., Thos. Cross, Esq., L. S. Dyer, Esq., W. R. Patty, Esq., E. Strong, Esq., Jos. Holman, Esq., Hon. C. N. Terry, D. Waldo, Esq., C. Craft, Esq., Hon. R. Mallory, Hon. J. Lamson, Hon. J. H. Harrison, Hon. J. H. Mitchell, E. R. Fiske, A. M., M. D., Rev. N. Doane, Rev. L. T. Woodward, A. M., Rev. C. G. Belknap, Hon. Wm. Watkins, M. D., W. S. Ladd, Esq., Hon. E. D. Shattuck, Hon. G. H. Williams, W. Hauxhurst, Esq., Hon. G. Abernethy, J. R. Robb, Esq., Dr. A. M. Belt, Rev. T. H. Pearne, Rev. J. H. Wythe, A. M., M. D., W. B. Gray, Esq., Rev. J. F. Devone, Rev. J. B. Calloway, Rev. C. S. Strattan.
Four only of the present Board of Trustees were members of the original Board elected in 1842 when the Oregon Institute received its birth, namely, Rev. David Leslie, Hon. George Abernethy, Rev. J. L. Parrish, and Rev. Gustavus Hines. With the ex- ception of the latter name these have been members of the Board from the beginning, and he also, with the exception of a few years, during which he was
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absent from the country. 6 Three of the original nine members of the first Board have died, Rev. Jason Lee and Alanson Beers, whose departure has already been noticed, and Rev. Hamilton Campbell. It should be observed in reference to Mr. Campbell that he was for many years an efficient and active member of the Board, and a liberal patron of the institution. His children he mainly educated in the institute, and his girls, most of whom are now in the care of families of their own, are all of them adorning society in the city of Portland.
Mr. Campbell unfortunately failed in business, and in his efforts to raise himself from his shattered con- dition he went to the silver mines of Northern Mexico, and while in the act of washing out the shining dust he met with a violent death at the hands of a treacherous peon.
While speaking of those members of the Board who have taken their departure, we should not be doing justice to the memory of one who, though not among the original nine, was early connected with the Board, and contributed much to promote the inter- ests of the institution without naming John Force, a relative of Rev. Manning Force, of the New Jersey Conference. For years he was among the most active, efficient, and stirring members of the Board. He also has passed away, but his name is recorded in the list of the true friends and patrons of the school.
With this record of the dead, it may not be im- proper to refer to some who are yet among the living,
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who have been cognizant not only of everything connected with the history of the school from its first incipiency, but also with the growth and prog- ress of the entire country. I now refer to Rev. J. L. Parrish, Rev. A. F. Waller, and Rev. David Leslie. The first mentioned was one of the original nine, and has ever taken a very prominent part in every enterprise involving the interests of the university. He was one of the large reinforcement to the Oregon Mission of 1840, and from that period until the present has never left the Pacific coast. He has occupied prominent positions in the country, and has been identified with many extensive business operations, and Providence has greatly smiled upon him in the bestowment of wealth; but whether in want or abundance he has remained the unchangeable friend and supporter of the Oregon Institute and Willamette University. Rev. A. F. Waller was elected a member of the Board of Trustees in 1843, one year from the time of its organization. He also arrived in Oregon in 1840, and has always taken an active part in all the moral, religions, and educa- tional enterprises which have promised success since that period. For many years he has been the inde- fatigable and successful agent of the university, and besides being a liberal contributor to its needs from time to time, he performed some three years of laborious service as agent of the school without fee or reward.
Rev. David Leslie arrived in Oregon in 1837, and -constituted one of about a dozen Americans at that
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time on the Pacific coast. Perhaps the incipient measures which led to the establishment of an insti- tution of learning are attributable more to him than to any other individual now living. Identified with all the interests of the country from its infancy, and especially with those connected with our rising semi- nary, and consecrating all of his energies in the pro- motion of those interests, he has ever been rightfully esteemed as the father, the patriarch of the institu- tion. With the exception of one year, when he per- formed a voyage to the Sandwich Islands on account of the health of his family, he has occupied the very responsible position of president of the Board of Trustees from the beginning to the present time. Ready always to relinquish personal and family interests and make great sacrifices for the benefit of the institution, he has proved himself worthy of the honor that has been conferred upon him by an annual election to the presidency of the Board for twenty-three years.
Being cognizant of all the trials and reverses through which the institution has passed, and sym- pathizing with it in all the struggles connected with its rise and progress, the needle is no truer to the pole than these persons have been to all the interests of the Willamette University. And, though it would not be proper to speak of them while living as we would feel at liberty to do if they had entered into rest, yet we will take the responsibility of saying as it is, that they are closing up a record in regard to the Willamette University, and education in general
18
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in Oregon, of which their descendants to all genera- tions will have occasion to be proud.
There are many other gentlemen who have become connected with the Board since 1850, who, by their counsel, their liberality, and their untiring devotion to all the interests of the institution, are engraving their names upon this educational monument so deeply that all the revolutions of time itself, that great obliterator of human record, will not be able to erase them. Identified with this noble enterprise, and consecrated to the truly patriotic and Christian work of promoting the educational interests of Ore- gon, and filling it with a true Christian civilization while living, when they shall have filled up their earthly record, and shall have passed from the labors of time to the rewards of eternity, their names will be cherished in the grateful recollection of posterity, so long as virtue is lovely, and patriotism, phi- lanthropy, and sanctified learning are appreciated among men.
The alumni of our institution would be creditable to one even of higher pretensions. Twenty-two young gentlemen and twenty-eight young ladies have al- ready graduated from our young university, having completed the regular course. They have now gone forth from their alma mater into the various depart- ments of active life, and, with scarcely an exception, are now doing honor to themselves and to the insti- tution that nourished them. They are to be found in the different professions, and wherever found they occupy enviable positions. As aspirants after mili-
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tary and naval honors, they stand an equal chance with those who boast a higher parentage. As minis- ters of the Gospel, some of them are winning golden opinions from their contemporaries, and others, hav- ing shone brightly amid the dark scenes of earth for a season, have passed from those scenes to the glories of an eternal day. Of them it may be said,
"Nor fade those stars in empty night; They hide themselves in heaven's own light."
The university is under the patronage of the Ore- gon Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and though denominational, is not strictly sectarian. Great care is taken to exert within its walls a most wholesome and controlling moral and religious influ- ence, yet efforts to give a sectarian bias are carefully avoided. The result is, that there may be found within the walls of the institution students from almost all the Christian Churches in the land, and already young men have graduated from our college who were trained in other communions, and who designed to enter the ministry in other Churches so soon as they received the honors of our institution. Three excellent young men, sons of an Episcopalian clergyman, claim our institution as their alma mater.
As a result of the religious influence exerted among the students, there are occasional seasons of revival, in which awakenings and conversions often occur. In the winter of 1866-67, under the labors of Dr. J. H. Wythe, there was a very gracious re- vival, in which nearly thirty of the students professed religion, and united with the Methodist Episcopal
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Church. An incident this, truly worthy of note in the history of our rising institution.
The university is furnished with an ordinary set of philosophical apparatus, which cost $1,500. The library, however, is very deficient. It contains but six hundred volumes, and these mostly composed of a very indifferent collection of books. We have also in the institution a cabinet of natural history, com- posed of specimens of minerals, fossils, and conch- ology, furnished by the Smithsonian Institute at Washington. Contributions to all these departments are needed and solicited.
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