McLean County, Illinois - Chapter 13: Illinois State Normal University, 1924

THE PIONEER NORMAL SCHOOL - QUESTION OF LOCATION - LAW CREATING NORMAL SCHOOL - SITE CHOSEN - CASH PLEDGES - CONSTRUCTION OP FIRST BUILDING - DIFFICULTIES - DEDICATION - EXPANSION - PRESIDENTS - BUILDING AND DEPARTMENTS - ATTENDANCE - SOCIETIES.

McLean County is the seat of the pioneer normal school of Illinois and of the middle west. The idea of a state normal school began to take root in Illinois about 1856, especially among the teachers of the state, who had by that time begun to hold conventions. The formation of the State Teachers' Association marked an era. A free school law had been passed, but it met with opposition. At the call of three men, H. L. Lee of Chicago, J. A. Hawley of Dixon, and Daniel Wilkins of Bloomington, a meeting of the friends of free schools was called to be held in Bloomington, Dec. 26 to 29, 1853. At this convention the proposals most discussed were to make the schools a separate department of state administration ; to establish a normal training school for teachers, and to publish a journal in the cause of free schools in Illinois. Rev. W. Goodfellow of the Wesleyan Universty faculty was the first president of the Illinois Teachers' Association, and Daniel Wilkins of Bloomington the first secretary.

At the second annual meeting of the Teachers' Association in Peoria, and at the third meeting, in Springfield, the establishment of a normal school was the principal topic. J. B. Turner of Jacksonville headed a powerful faction advocating an Industrial University with a normal school attached. The discussion was bitter, and at the Chicago meeting in 1856, Professor Turner withdrew his contention in order to center interest on founding a normal school, with or without an agricultural school con- nected with it. The Association of that year passed a resolution requesting the legislature of the coming winter to appropriate money to establish a normal school to meet the educational needs of the state. On Feb. 18, of the following year, 1857, the legislature passed and the governor signed "An Act for the Establishment and Maintenance of a Normal University." The date of the signing of this bill has been celebrated at each recurring anniversary as "Founders' Day" of the Normal University.

The location of the school was the next big question. In 1857, the town of Normal had no existence. The Junction, otherwise known as North Bloomington, had been platted and a few houses built; most of the township was occupied by farms. The Illinois Central and Chicago & Alton roads crossed at the Junction. Jesse W. Fell, who had most to do with founding of North Bloomington, had built his home there in 1855, and in partnership with R. R. Landon, L. R. Case, C. W. Holder and L. C. Blakesly, had laid out an important addition. Hundreds of trees had been planted, and the founders had dreams of establishing some kind of an educational institution. When Illinois decided to start a Normal school, these energetic men saw their chance. All the deeds for property in the new town of North Bloomington, provided that no liquor should be sold on such property, and this provision was incorporated in the town charter when Normal was incorporated in April, 1858. This gave Normal from the start a desirable class of citizens.

The law creating a normal school, also created a board of education to carry the law into effect. This board was empowered to receive bids for its location. Keen competition arose for the location of the new normal school. Jesse Fell and his co-workers determined to make a splendid offer to secure the school for "North Bloomington." They secured private pledges of money totaling $50,000. They secured a pledge from the county commissioners to donate another $50,000 from the proceeds of the sale of swamp lands which the government had given to the county for educational purposes. This made a total of $100,000. But after secret emissaries to Peoria had reported an alarmingly liberal offer to be made by that city, the local boosters increased their own subscriptions by $20,000, and secured an equal increase from the county commissioners, -making a total of $141,725. The McLean County pledge included 160 acres of land at the Junction valued at $38,000. Several other tracts

The state board met at Peoria on May 7, 1857, to choose a site. The Bloomington offer had been kept secret. Batavia's offer was first opened, it including the Batavia Institute buildings, $15,000 in money, making a total of $45,000. The citizens of Washington, in Tazewell County, and the trustees of Washington Academy offered the land and buildings of the Academy and $12,000 in cash, the total being valued at $21,000. Peoria offered money pledges from individuals, the city and county amounting to $50,032; also several sites of land of various dimensions and locations. The estimates on the land offerings made Peoria's best offer total at $80,032.

The bid of McLean County was so far ahead of Peoria's, the second best, that the board at once located the Normal University on the 160 acres of rolling land within three-quarters of a mile of the junction of the Alton and the Illinois Central Railroads. The Board of Education required that within sixty days the subscription of $70,000 made by the McLean County Commissioners should be legally guaranteed. Abraham Lincoln was employed to draw up a form of guarantee, and this was signed by eighty-five of the best citizens of Bloomington, each binding himself in a sum between $500 and $5,000. The list of these guarantors . were published in the little book written by John W. Cook some years ago on the history of the Normal University. The new county board of supervisors, elected in 1858, promptly confirmed the pledge of the county commissioners, and the land was finally sold and the proceeds used for the purpose named, hence the guarantee bond was never enforced.

The list of cash pledges was divided into three groups, but all of these were collectible under the terms of the location. The first group was made with the condition that the site should be within one mile of the corporate limits of Bloomington. The second was conditioned on the location being within three-quarters of a mile from the Junction; the third that it should be within three miles of Bloomington. Joseph Payne and Meshack Pike donated the land on which the institution was actually located, consisting of 60 acres and enough more on the west to make their gift valued at $22,000. E. W. Bakewell and Judge David Davis gave 40 acres on the west, mostly west of Main Street, which was to form the location of the agricultural department.

The next step was the construction of the building, the first of the present group. George P. Randall of Chicago was employed as architect, and when bids were called for there were fifteen bidders, ranging from $80,000 to $115,000. The contract was let to Mortimer & Loburg and T. H. Soper of Chicago for $83,000, the work to be completed by September, 1858. The corner stone was laid Sept. 29, 1857, with impressive ceremonies.

But unexpected difficulties arose in connection with the construction. The general money panic of 1857 was a hard blow to the people who had pledged cash donations. Work was started by the contractor in the summer of 1857, but when the first installment of his pay was due, in December, there was no money to pay. Many of the subscribers were unable to meet their pledges, and others refused to pay. It was even proposed that the location of the school be changed at that time, since McLean County people seemed unable to make good their pledge. The Normal School had been opened at old Major's hall in Bloomington, in the third story of the building at the corner of Front and East Streets, in October, 1857, with 19 pupils and three teachers; Charles E. Hovey as principal, Ira Moore and Mary Brooks as the other instructors. For 18 months no work was done on the new building in North Bloomington. Finally the board of education appointed Mr. Hovey to save the situation and gave him power to act. He first tried to negotiate sale of the county swamp lands, since - the county had promised to pay only out of the "proceeds" of the lands and they must first be sold. C. M. Cady, a young man, was dispatched to New York with a list of the lands and told to sell them. But no sale could be made without at least bonds for deeds. Therefore Hovey himself bought the lands on his own responsibility to the extent of 7,000 or 8,000 acres, at a price of $25,000 to $30,000. The New York deal fell through but rumor of a great sale of swamp lands got abroad, and state officials and others began to invest in other tracts. In this way some money began to come in, enough to pay off the debt to the contractors and get work again started. Solicitation among the business men of Bloomington for materials and credit for materials enabled the carpenters and masons to proceed, and by January, 1861, the building was well along toward completion, but with a debt of $65,000 against it. Hovey went to the Legislature then in session, secured an appropriation to take up the debts, and during the spring and summer of 1861 the building was

The dedication took place in January, 1861, when Gov. Richard Yates and Richard Oglesby made the principal addresses. The first year of school at the new location was engrossed with interests and feelings of the Civil War, which was then in its beginning. Principal Joseph G. Howell responded to Lincoln's first call for troops, President Charles E. Hovey and most of his men teachers and students went into the army. Perkins Bass, member of the Board of Education, took charge of the institution 1861-2. In the latter year the normal school secured the services of Richard Edwards for president, who came from St. Louis, and Thomas Metcalf, another St. Louis teacher, joined the faculty the same year. Albert Stetson, a Harvard graduate, and Edwin C. Hewett, who afterwards became president, were secured about the same time. The attendance grew during the administration of President Edwards, and more liberal appropriations from the Legislature enabled the school to carry on its work with less stringency. In 1867 the Legislature specifically declared the Normal University to be a state institution.

Jesse W. Fell started the improvement of the campus by setting out many trees, a fund of $2,500 having been set aside for this purpose. A definite plan was adopted, and the beauty of the present day campus is the result of those early plans. The Museum of Natural History was founded in this period, and it has become one of the most useful and interesting in the state or the middle west. By the year 1876 the value of this natural history collection was declared to be $100,000. In the year 1885 the surplus specimens were removed to the state house at Springfield and to the University of Illinois at Urbana.

The changes and expansion of the school made it the best equipped and most largely attended normal school in the United States by the year 1865. It had some enemies in the earlier years, charges being made that its patronage was mainly local and that its graduates were not teaching. Investigations proved these statements not borne out by the facts. A high school was established in 1862 under Charles F. Childs. A grammar and intermediate department were formed and these were later quartered in the Normal Public School buildings. John W. Cook was first principal of these departments. Joseph Carter succeeded him, and the grammar school had by this time become thoroughly organized and well graded. (11)

President Edwards resigned on Jan. 1, 1876, and was succeeded by Edwin C. Hewett, who held the position until June, 1890. The administration of President Hewett was one of steady growth and development. His term of 14 years was the longest in the history of the school up to that time. The revenues of the normal had grown to 836,200 per year, and considerable improvement in the physical property was made. In this period of the school history arose the celebrated Bakewell claim, by which Edwin W. Bakewell sought to secure restitution to himself of 40 acres of ground which he had donated for the original location of the school. After years of negotiation and legal action, the Supreme Court decided against his claim. Along in the '80's a faculty club for the study of pedagogical problems was established, and it continues until this day.

Numerous changes in the faculty occurred during President Hewett's term, some of the most noted teachers of the school having come to the teaching force during these years.

John Williston Cook, who had graduated in the class of 1865, was made president to succeed Dr. Hewett, assuming his duties in 1890. He had been connected with the faculty several years and was known for his versatility and energy. He soon secured the building for a training school, located just north of the main structure. In 1899 was completed the fine building of Gothic design which was to' be used for library, gymnasium and other uses. It cost $61,000 and is a striking feature of the campus.

Under the energetic management of President Cook, the high school department grew to be a considerable factor in the institution, and so great was its increase in membership that the buildings became crowded. Governor Altgeld's attention being called to the conditions, he advised the board to abolish the high school, which was done in 1895.

The personnel of the faculty had increased from 18 to 21 members during President Cook's regime. The teaching force included many young and energetic members, and the whole policy of the school was an aggressive one. The income of the school had grown to 841,740. When the state of Illinois established a new normal school at DeKalb, President Cook was called to become its head, and began his. work there in 1899. He took some of the teachers in Normal with him to his new school at DeKalb.

Dr. Arnold Tompkins was elected president of the Normal University to succeed Mr. Cook. Dr. Tompkins had been professor of education at the University of Illinois. He at once inaugurated many changes in the course of study, length of recitation hours and other internal regulations. His regime lasted only one year, when he was called to the head of the Chicago Normal school, and shortly afterward died.

David Felmley, who had come to the normal school under President Cook as teacher of mathematics, was chosen to be the new head. He was a graduate of the University of Michigan, and had taught successfully at Carrollton, where he was later superintendent of schools. He came to the Normal University in the same year that John W. Cook became president. President Felmley's twenty-three years of service as head of the Normal surpasses the record of any other president in length of time, and probably has few parallels in a similar position among the colleges and universities of the country.

President Felmley started out to continue the development of the University along the liberal lines propounded by Dr. Tompkins. The increased appropriations from the legislature made possible establishment of new courses and the expansion of the old. Regular courses in music were established and Prof. Westhoff placed in charge of them. The kindergarten, nominally established in 1898, became a reality in

Particularly the work of the school in agricultural instruction was enlarged. Two terms of elementary science for first year students began in 1900. A school garden of two and one half acres was planted annually. Bruno Nehrling planned and equipped a greenhouse, and this is a valuable part of the school's equipment. Particular and scientific attention was given to the campus, which had been more or less neglected since the original planting of trees by Jesse Fell. Many new trees were added and the other ones trimmed and taken care of. An acquatic garden was made from the "old pond" on the campus.

In the early years of the normal school, various and irregular attempts were made to conduct a term of instruction in the summer time for the special benefit of students who were actual teachers. The modern summer school as it is known today is the direct result of a paper read before the faculty in 1897 by Prof. Felmley, then teacher of mathe- matics, in which he proposed two summer terms of six weeks each. The board of education took action in 1899 and the first of such summer terms was held in 1900. In 1903 the legislature gave an additional appropriation for the use of the summer school, and since that time biennial appropriations have maintained the school.

The attendance at the Normal university in its regular term time has had a remarkable growth with the passing of the years. The first year, 1857, recorded an enrollment of 53 men and 74 women, and the totals for the next few years ran along this way: 122, 161, 152, 205, 304 and 282. After the close of the Civil war the enrollment mounted above the 400 mark, and wavered between 400 and 500 for several years, again falling below the 400 mark in 1879. Then it mounted steadily until it passed the 600 mark in 1889. By the year of the fortieth anniversary of the university, 1907, the attendance had risen to 826. The total slumped off some during the first years of the twentieth century, falling to 386 in 1904, and reaching 569 in the year of the golden jubilee, 1907.

The land of the Normal university includes a campus of 56 acres and a farm of 96 acres, all donated to the board of education in 1857. There are eight buildings on the campus, as follows :

The main building erected in 1857-60, 100 by 158 feet, three stories and basement, with floor space of 52,800 feet, devoted to class rooms and offices. It is the oldest normal school in the United States.

The Thomas Metcalf Building, erected in 1913, with floor space of 43,600 square feet, housing the training school, consisting of 70 pupils in the kindergarten and 360 in the elementary school and 280 in the high school.

The Manual Arts building, erected in 1907, contains shops, studios and laboratories for classes in manual training, home economics, the fine arts, physics and chemistry. The modern university auditorium is in this building.

The gymnasium building, erected in 1896, with 18,800 square feel; of floor space, houses the gymnasium with its offices, locker rooms and baths, and the departments of biology and commerce.

The library building, the former model school building, was erected for training school in 1892. Since 1914 it has been used for the library and geography department.

The plant house, erected in 1905, has 2,200 square feet of floor space under glass, and a work room. It is used to propagate plants for the campus, school garden and school rooms, and as a botany laboratory.

The heating plant, erected in 1914, 70 by 80 feet, contains two Springfield water tube boilers, with modern stoker equipment. Space is provided for electric generators.

Fell Hall, erected in 1918, is a dormitory for women, providing 83 rooms for 83 young women and accommodates 150 students in the dining hall.

On the university farm are a commodious farm house, cow barn with silos, horse barn, dairy barn, poultry house, hog house, and building for farm machinery.

The university faculty consists of 80 teachers, six in the University high school, 11 in the elementary training school, nine in the training school at the Soldiers' Orphans' Home, and 54 in the regular instructional staff of the Teachers' college. There are also 25 other employes in various capacities.

The University high school to provide high school courses of five separate curriculums, in which agriculture, manual training, home economics, commercial branches or the languages shall predominate. This school takes care of eighth grade pupils from any county who secure Lindly scholarships in a normal school.

The normal school has graduated 3,156 students, of whom 139 graduated from the Teachers' college. The average length of time these graduates teach after they leave school is nine years. The Normal University is in session 48 weeks of the year, with fall, winter and spring terms of twelve weeks each, and two summer terms of six weeks each.

In spite of the World war, the Normal University gained 56 per cent in attendance since 1913. The attendance in the fall of 1923 was 200 larger than in 1922, and 430 larger than in 1921.

The cost of maintenance and operation for the past year was $252,306, an average of $180.73 for each college student for a term of 36 weeks.

Two principal literary societies have existed in the Normal University from the beginning. The first was originally called the Normal Debating society, afterward changed to the Phildelphian society. The other was a rival, first called the "D and E society," the letters referring to the sections composing its membership. This was afterward named the Wrightonian society, in honor of Simeon Wright, member of the board. The Edwards Debating society and the Ciceronian society were two organizations for male students formed in the '70s. The Sapphonian society was a girls' debating society organized in 1888. In 1903 there was formed the Girls' Debating society. There are two christian associations within the student body, the Y. M. and the Y. W. C. A. An oratorical association was organized in 1887, and the school is a member of the Interstate Oratorical League. The students have intermittently maintained athletic associations for many years.

Since music became an established part of the training, there have been glee clubs, an orchestra and university band. Among the other organizations in the university are: the Dramatic club, Latin and French clubs, Science club, the Natural History club, the Country Life club, Kindergarten club, the 'Varsity club, the Lowell Mason club, Hopkins Agricultural club, and the Students' Council.

Normal University gave its best to the cause of America during the World war, as it had done in the Civil war. A boulder in front of Fell Hall is a memorial to the 14 university men who lost ther lives in the war. It was dedicated in May, 1920. There were nearly 700 university men in the military or naval service of the United States during the war, of whom 460 were in the army, 85 in the navy, 25 in the marine corps, 75 in aviation, 14 women nurses, one Red Cross relief worker, and 32 others in various lines of service.