USA > Virginia > Rockbridge County > Rockbridge County > A history of Rockbridge County, Virginia > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62
The name now given to the academy, Liberty Hall, was adopted May 13. 1776. It is believed to have been suggested by Graham. The Revolution was now in progress. Rockbridge did not come within the theater of military opera- tions, and the school was not closed on their account. But in another way the effect of the war was disastrous. The Continental currency began to depreciate
190
A HISTORY OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA
and this process went on with accelerated speed. Prices rose correspondingly. At length the steward was no longer to give board at the original figure of $2167 a year. The price was raised, but he resigned. Board was then given at the rate of $50 a year in the homes of Samuel McDowell. Alexander Stuart. David Gray, Samuel Lyle, and John Lyle. The financial embarrassment com- pelled Graham to remove to the farm he had purchased at Mulberry Hill near Lexington. lle left the school to be carried on by his assistant, whose name was Willson and who became a minister. Willson was an excellent classical scholar and could repeat hundreds of lines from Homer, But partly because of his ill-health and partly because of the bad times, the number of students sauk to five or six. The school was suspended in 1780 and was never resumed at Timber Ridge.
As early as 1777 Archibald Alexander often saw companies of militia from the lackwoods pass the academy wearing brown hunting shirts and deer-tail cockades. The company of Captain John Tate, that served in the Carolinas in 1780-81, was composed almost wholly of students from Liberty Hall. On the field of Guilford they fought with the proverbial bravery of students, and their gallantry drew words of praise from the British commander-in-chief.
The next chapter in the history of the institution carries us to Mullberry Hill, a mile north west of Lerington. It was only by bringing the school to the vi- cinity of his home that Mr. Graham was able to reopen it in 1782. Incorporation was granted in October of this year. The petition asking for it states that "your petitioners believe that a seminary may bere be conducted to very general advantage, when (we) consider the extensive fertile country around the place, the fine air, and pure water with which it it blessed .- 120 acres (have been ) procured in the neighborhood of Lexington for the Academy, also a valu- ab'e library of well-cho en b oks, and a considerable mathematical and philo- soplical apparatus. They a k incorporation, also exemption to the professors and master from militia service." Incorporation took the school out of the Hands of the Presbytery, and it was thenceforward undenominational. Though styled only an academy, the institution was placed on a level with colleges in its ability to confer degrees.
The first trustees were John Bowyer,' William Alexander .. Arthur Camp- bell, Alexander Campbell,. Wilham Christian, John Hays,. Samuel Lyle, James McCorkle, Samuel McDowell, William McKee," William Graham," George Moffett,. John Montgomery, Andrew Moore,. Archibald Stuart, John Trimble." Joseph Walker.º Caleb Wallace. John Wilson, . William Wilson. Those whose nene appear with a star were present at the first meeting of the board, January 30, 1783. Grabam, Montgomery, Wallace and Wilham Wilson were ministers of the Presbyterian Church. Bowyer and Moore held the title of general.
191
WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY
The site on Mulberry Hill was where three farms came together, each own- er contributing a portion of the ground. The new schoolhouse stood on a high spot and in a grove of oaks. It was soon destroyed by fire, and incendiarism was suspected. Another building, sixteen by twenty-four feet, was put up in the same place in 1784. The Timber Ridge property does not seem to have realized more than one-third of its cost. Mr . Graham canvassed for help, and outside of his expenses he collected $2589.67 in paper money. But in specie it was worth only three cents on the dollar. A new subscription effort was productive of little result. - -
When the academy was opened under the charter, it was with William Gra- ham as rector and James Priestly as assistant. Priestly, who has already been mentioned, was a good teacher and an eager student. But because of the de- moralization bred in the camps, there was a great change for the worse in the character and behavior of the young men who now presented themselves. Pro- fanity, drunkenness, card playing, and malicious tricks were the order of the day among them. A better standard of behavior was slow to appear.
It was in November, 1784, that the trustees petitioned the Assembly for help. They speak of their school as having "very flattering prospects," and that its greatest need was funds. But their appeal fell on deaf cars.
The first commencement was held on September 13, 1785, and the degree of Bachelor of Arts was conferred on the following young men: Samuel Black- burn, Samuel Corrick, Moses Hoge, Samuel Houston, William McClung, Andrew McClure, John McCue, James Priestly, Adam Rankin, Archibald Roane, Terah Templin, and William Willson. Corrick, Hoge, McClure, McCue, Templin, and Willson became Presbyterian ministers. Hoge at length became president of Hampden-Sidney College, and Corrick of Blount College in Tennessee. Gener- al Blackburn settled as a lawyer in Bath county. He was an eloquent orator and a master of ridicule and sarcasm. Roane was governor of Tennessee in 1801-3. McClung was a circuit judge in Kentucky, and Priestly became presi- dent of Cumberland College.
Lexington wished the academy moved within its boundaries. The trustees declined at this time, thinking the students were unruly enough where they were without placing them in a less favorable environment. The town was much in- fested with quarrelsome drunkards, by whom the few earnestly religious citi- zens were feared and hated.
In 1793, a stone building was erected, William Cravens of Rockingham be- ing the contractor. It was thirty by thirty-eight feet in the clear, three stories high, and contained twelve rooms, each nearly fifteen feet square. The cost was about $2,000. The academy was now given a more respectable standing, and the moral tone began to improve. The average attendance was about twenty-five.
192
A HISTORY OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA
For seven pounds ($23.33) a year, the steward furnished meals, made beds, and cleaned the rooms twice a week. At this time, wheat was fifty-eight cents a bushel, rye fifty, and corn forty-two. Beef was two and one-half cents a pound, and pork three and three-fourth cents. Breakfast consisted of bread and butter with tea, coffee, or chocolate; dinner, of bread, vegetables, and either beef or pork : supper, of bread, butter, and milk. Room rent in the academy building was fifty cents a session for each student, unless there were five or more students in the same room. In this case the charge was $2 for all.
Tuition was 5 pounds. Aside from the ancient languages, the subjects taught were arithmetic, algebra, geography, logic, criticism and rhetoric, trigo- nometry, navigation, surveying, and, probably, natural philosophy.
In 1796 the library and apparatus were valued at 2000 pounds. But the academy was in much financial embarrassment. It was pressed by its creditors, and the trustees paid some of the debts out of their own pockets. The legislature was again appealed to but in vain. The trustees remonstrated against being di- vested of their office. The price of board was advanced fifty per cent.
Relief came at a most opportune time. In 1784 the legislature of Virginia incorporated two companies, one to improve the navigation of the James and the other that of the Potomac. It authorized the treasurer of the state to sub- scribe for 100 shares in the James River Company and fifty in the Potomac Com- pany, these 150 shares to stand in the name of General George Washington, and to be a gift for his personal benefit. Washington replied that inasmuch as he had declined to accept any pay during the Revolution, he could not consistently accept the shares for himself, but would apply them to some public benefit after they Had become productive. Andrew Moore and Francis Preston called the general's attention to Liberty Hall Academy, the name of which may have in- fluenced his decision. Mr. Graham also called a meeting of the trustees, and prepared an address to Washington, who in September, 1796, deeded the James River share to Liberty Ilall, the Potomac shares going to Leesburg Academy. The tran alleghany region was already showing that it would be a great factor in American development, and Washington understood it better, probably, than any other state man cast of the Blue Ridge. He fully appreciated the services which the men west of that mountain had rendered the cause of American independence. He was, furthermore, a great friend to education, and he knew that the strug- g'ing academy at Lexington was the only higher institution of learning within the menntin country. In giving Liberty Hall this help, Washington desired that it should be a school of the purest patriotism. He could not but have known that the adoption of the Federal Constitution by Virginia was decided by the vote of the delegates who were at the same time trustees of Liberty Hall.
'The par value of the stock donated to Liberty Hall was $20,000. The first dividend-of three per cent-was paid in 1802.
PARTIAL VIEW, WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY, LEXINGTON, V'A.
م ٣
١١
١١١١
-
خصم
193
WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY
On Christmas eve, 1802, there was another disaster at the hands of the fire fiend. The academy took fire on the roof and burned to the ground, the side walls and a portion of the ends remaining in place. The building had just been insured and the sum of $2,563 was thus realized. The movable property, such as books, apparatus, and bedding, was saved, but the seal of the academy was not dis- covered until 1893. The building experts of Lexington gave an unfavorable re- port as to a reconstruction on the old site. In the opinion of Henry Ruffner, their motives were not disinterested. Yet even if they were not biased, it would look as if their judgment was at fault. The walls continue to stand even after the lapse of 116 years. They form a picturesque ruin, visible from some dis- tance, and are witness to the excellence of the masonry.
Lexington, now a town of 100 families, made another effort to secure the school. A reluctant consent was given. Andrew Alexander took the old site in exchange for his house and its lot of two acres in the town. He sold 28 acres additional for $180, the trustees paying about $1700 for the exchange. Less than $3,000 was available for new buildings. It was decided to erect two wings, twenty by seventy-five feet on the ground and two stories high, containing sixteen rooms in all. These were built hastily and of poor materials, and within twenty years had become insecure. Alexander's house became the rector's home. It was a two-storied wooden structure and was where the president's house now stands. One of the two academic buildings was on the site of the present New- comb Hall, while the other was at the east end of the University group. The steward's house, a very plain affair thirty by forty-two feet, stood at the front en- trance to the grounds. All of these were constructed of poorly burned bricks made on the academy lot. But temporary quarters were needed for about a year, and a building for this purpose was rented on Jefferson strect.
In a material point of view, the change was for the better. The attendance rose, and in 1805 there were seventy students. A four-year course of study, nearly like that of Princeton, was adopted, and it remained in force until 1821. How- ever, a preparatory school was maintained. In 1808, the steward system broke down, and was not again resorted to except for a brief period beginning mn 1821. With this exception, the students took their meals among private families. W. H. Ruffner considered that the change was beneficial, remarking that in a mixed society students strike for the best families. But for a long while the removal to Lexington was unfavorable to good conduct. The students often took part in the numerous street fights, and the townsmen came to their side when the faculty tried to enforce discipline. But Lexington has always had a circle of good so- ciety, and in time its atmosphere very greatly improved.
In 1798 there was a change of name to Washington Academy. In the same year Mr. Graham resigned, having been associated with the academy twenty-four
194
A HISTORY OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA
years. He was succeeded by George A. Baxter, who came from New London Academy to fill the chair of mathematics. Daniel Blain also joined the faculty and some students came from a distance. The salary of Doctor Baxter was about $900, that of Blain about $700.
In 1812 Washingten Academy became Washington College, and this con- tinucd to le its name almost sixty years. In 1818, while a state university was taking form, the trustces of the college tried to have it adopted as the University of Virginia. Its claims were presented by Colonel James McDowell.
A memorial sent to the Assembly in 1821 states that in addition to the James River stock the college has seventeen shares in the Bank of Virginia, these having been purchased out of savings from the end wmen. The bank stock was yielding three per cent. a year. the James River stock, $1200 to $1800. The tuition was $30 a year, of which one-third went to the president, and two- thirds to the two professors and the tutor of the grammer school. During the three years past, the average attendance had been forty-four. The students were generally between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one. About thirty were taking the college course.
In 1821 the rector became the president. The other professors were Dan- iel Blain and Edward Graham. Between 1803 and 1821 there were three schools of study: one of mental philosophy, chemistry, and astronomy ; and one of Latin, Greck, French, English, Hebrew, and geography. The teaching was wholly from text-books. There was at this time a popular prejudice against the dead languages. During the college year 1816-17. $600 was spent for books and the library was put under strict regulations. Until 1820 the high- water mark in the income from the James River stock was $3.200. In 1832 and later, there was a guaranteed income of $3000.
Other help came to the college. John Robinson's estate, which ultimately yielded $16,000, came productive in 1829. In 1807 the Society of the Cincin- nati turned over its funds to Washington College on condition that fortification and gunnery be taught. The money, however was not deposited with the state treasurer until 1824. That officer failed and more than ore -half of the fund was lost. Not until 1818 did the college receive ile $25,000 due it. The do- nations previon to the war of 1861 aggregated about $100,000. But while this sum lo ks very small when compared with the benefactions in recent years, the importance of the early help, particularly the canal stock, was inestimable. The Washington fund did not become steadi'y productive until 1811, and during the years when there was a deficiency of income, the rector allowed the shrinkage to fall upon him elf.
The Center Building cost $2,000 and created a debt of $1,000. At the laying of the corner t ne, which toook place in 1824. John Robinson sent up from his
195
WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY
distillery at Hart's Bottom a barrel containing forty gallons of his best rye whiskey. This reservoir with all its intoxicating potentialities was set on the campus. The day of temperance reform had begun to arrive, and although the college authorities viewed the present with disfavor, Robinson was too good a friend of the institution to be treated with discourtesy. Some of the trustees and professors did not partake at all, and others did so only in a nominal way. But among the spectators were a large contingent of the would-be "Tight-Bri- gade." The agonies of thirst impelled them to an onset that was irresistible. With cups, dippers, gourds, and every other obtainable thing of the sort, they proceeded to drain the barrel, but before they could complete the process it was intentionally upset. The wreckage around the spot, human and inanimate, was suggestive of a battlefield. Robinson, who was a man of a past age with respect to his ideas of conviviality, was much chagrined. He had intended his present for the élite and not for the mob. But he was making a most generous estimate for the capacity of the élite.
In 1829 there were breaches in the fence around the college grounds caused by hauling wood, brick, and building materials. Domestic animals were free to come in and were in partial possession of the buildings, sometimes climbing to the second floor. These four-footed "students" were now expelled and the gaps closed.
In 1845, according to Howe, the yearly expense to the student did not nec- essarily exceed $150. His board was about $8 a month and his washing and sundries about $3. The cost of matriculation, tuition, room rent, and sundry deposits was $42. But poor students were remitted their tuition and could get along on $80 to $100 a year. In 1855, eight students took the degree of Bachelor of Arts.
In 1840 the late Joseph A. Waddell was a student at Washington College. His student life, as he describes it, was not overburdened with attractiveness. The young men had to lodge in the college building unless there was good rea- son for the permission to sleep elsewhere. The college inclosure was primitive and rude, and the buildings were as primitive and unadorned as possible. There were four instructors. At bedtime one of them would call at every door, to see if all the students were in and to mark the absentees. But the professors did not try to get acquainted with the students and had little to do with them ex- cept at times of recitation. The hour of prayers at the chapel was announced with a tin horn by "Professor" John Henry, the negro janitor. The chapel was as cheerless as a barn and as cold in winter as an ice-house. When Professor Calhoun offered prayer, he put both his hands into his pockets to keep them from getting numb. The chapel hour was before breakfast, and in winter the only light was a tallow candle. Roll-call was next in order. There were Bible classes on the
196
A HISTORY OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA
afternoon of Sunday ; an English class by Professor Armstrong, a Greek class by Professor Dabney. But in the latter class there was no word of exposition or exhortation ; all that each member of the class had to du was to read one or more verses from a chapter in the Greek Testament. The students generally attended the Presbytrian church bcause the Ann Smith girls went there. Some of the young men did not go to church at all, and this did not seem to make any difference to anyone.
President Baxter was followed by Lewis Marshall, a brother to John Mar- shall, for many years Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He in turn was followed, though only for a year, by Henry Vethake. In 1836, the latter was succeceded as president by Henry Ruffner, who was graduated from this college in 1817, and had been a professor since 1819. Of him the following anecdote is related. On entering his class-room one morning, he found his armchair in possession of a calf, which saluted him with a "ba-a," perhaps from a willingness to be relieved from managing a recitation. "Young men," said the doctor, "I see you have an instructor fully competent to teach you, so I'll bid y u good morning." The calf was soon nibbling grass on the campus and an apology was sent to the victorious president.
The Graham Society-later the Graham-Lee-was founded in 1802 by nine students, all of whom were men of force. In its early years it discussed and con- demmed secession and slavery. In 1840 its library contained 2,000 volumes. Some years after the Graham arose, there came the Washington, and there was much riva'ry between the two societies.
George Junkin came to the head of affairs in 1848, and resigned in the spring of 1861, because of his uncompromising stand against secession. Dur- ing the four years of the civil war, the doors of the college were closed, the stu- dents being generally with the Confederate army. There were twelve in the senior c'ass of 1861. All were given degrees, whether present at Commencement or in the army. Two of the graduates, Joel W. Arnold and Alexander S. Pax- ton, were of Rockbridge county. The pillaging that took place during the oc- cupatien of Lexington by the army of General Hunter is elsewhere spoken of. The end of this suspension of activities found the campus a commons and the bin ding out of repair. The resources were hardly enough to pay the four pro- fe ors who were needed when General Robert E. Lee took charge in the fall of 1865. But at the time of his installation, which was of the simplest character. the "five brick buildings, all in a row," were freshly painted inside and out. About 100 students were present at the reopening, and a year later there were 320 There was no graduating class until 1866, because a senior class could not be gathered together.
With the incumbency of the ex-commander-in-chief of the Confederat ar-
197
WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY
mies begins the modern period in the history of this institution. For want of space we must pass over it briefly. It has been our aim to dwell on the earlier history of the school, not alone because of its great interest, but because much of the material for this history is not readily accessible.
Very soon after the death of General Robert E. Lee, and in memory of him, Washington College became the Washington and Lee University. General G. W. C. Lee was at the head of the institution until 1897, and was succeeded by Wil- liam L. Wilson, whose short incumbency was marked by the inauguration of the School of Applied Science. Doctor Wilson died in office, and Harry St. George Tucker acted as president for the remainder of the college year. The admin- istration of George H. Denny, which closed in 1912, gave place to that of the present incumbent, Henry Louis Smith, who is of Rockbridge parentage, though a native of North Carolina.
The grounds belonging to the university now cover ninety acres. Most of the trees that shade the campus are not of primeval growth, but have been set out. General Robert E. Lee was very instrumental in thus beautifying the in- closure. The buildings number forty-three, and include the largest and best equipped gymnasium in the South. The recent structures vastly eclipse the plain, inexpensive ones of the ante-war period. The library houses about 50,000 volumes. The endowment has risen to several millions of dollars, and has been contributed chiefly by Robert P. Doremus, George Peabody, W. W. Corcoran, Thomas A. Scott, Andrew Carnegie, and Cyrus H. McCormick.
The schools of instruction are four ; the Academic, and those of Commerce, Law and Equity, and Applied Science. The School of Law and Equity grew out of the school of law founded in Lexington in 1849 by John W. Broken- brough. The school year of thirty-seven weeks is divided into three terms. Dur- ing the session of 1917-18, there were thirty-six members of the faculty, and there were also several student instructors. There were 523 students, Virginia con- tributing 194. The others came from thirty-two states of the Union, and Hawaii, Porto Rico, China, Japan, and Persia were also represented. During the same session the cost of room and board varied from $24 to $37 a month. The tuition and fees, other than those relating to labaratory work, amount to $105 a year, except in the Law School, where the total is $120.
In review, it may be mentioned that Washington and Lee University is neither a state nor church institution, but is controlled by a self-perpetuating board. The influences are nevertheless Christian, and the student branch of the Young Men's Christian Association was developed during the presidency of General R. E. Lee. At the close of his administration, 105 students were members of some church. An honor system is in force and this is strengthened by the social relations subsisting between the faculty and the student body.
198
A HISTORY OF ROCKBRUIN.A. COUNTY, VIRGINIA
The individual student is not subjected to espionage nor to vexations restrict- ions. It therefore goes without saying that the annoyances that hindered the working of the school for several decades after the Revolution have passed into the limbo of local history.
The little school founded by Robert Alexander has grown, step by step. into a university of broad scope and of national influence.
XXVI
THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE
THE LEXINGTON ARSENAL-HOW THE INSTITUTE AROSE-THIE OPENING-ANTEBELLUM HISTORY -WAR RECORD OF THE INSTITUTE-LATER HISTORY- GENERAL SMITH-OTHER INSTRUCTORS
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.