Putnam County, Indiana - Chapter 5: Education Ix Putnam County, 1910

Chapter 5: Education Ix Putnam County

In extent of fertile soil, in depth of mineral deposits and certain other natural resources, it may be true that a few other counties have surpassed Putnam, but in well-ordered morals, in all the elements of material progress and especially in the advanced steps it has taken in the matter of school education she easily ranks among the foremost counties in the state. Who taught the first school or where the first school house in each township was located, can not now in every instance be determined, nor is that infomiation absolutely essential to a correct history of the county. We know that very soon after the organization of the county - in fact before the county-seat question was fully settled - schools were being taught in at least two different places, and as the newcomers appeared and moved up the streams to found additional settlements, the physician, who is recognized as one of the earliest arrivals in every community, and the school teacher appeared on the scene almost at the same time. The early records of the county indicate a zealous care on the part of the county commissioners in behalf of education. The fines collected in criminal cases were turned over to the county seminan.- anrl ever\- effort was made to encourage and stimulate the cause of education.

County Se.Minary

The records at the court house show that an order was issued in 1830 directing John Baird. the agent for the town of Greencastle, to make a "deed of gift to the president and trustees of the Greencastle Seminary Society for the use of said society of lot number 30 in said town.'' the same lying on the north side of Washington street, between Madison and Jefferson, and now occupied by the residence of Granville C. Moore. On this lot a one-ston- brick was built, having about two rooms, and which for the time was the most pretentious structure for educational purposes in the countv. The curriculum was the conventional course of instruction in the earlv schools of Indiana: "Readin". writin' and cipherin' to the Rule of Three."

The records show a pronounced degree of interest on the part of the county commissioners, who held the agent of the seminary to a strict accountabiHty. In March, 1837, it was "ordered that John Thornburgh (agent for the County Seminary) be authorized to permit the trustees of Indiana Asbury University to use the County Seminary for three years on condition that said trustees loan to the said Thornburgh the sum of two hundred dollars for the purpose of furnishing said seminary - one hundred dollars in hand, the residue on September ist; that they Will keep an open school free for any scholar in Putnam county who may choose to avail themselves thereof and that they will regulate their school so as to have ordinary branches of English education taught, such as the alphabet, spelling, reading and writing, etc."

The County Seminai-y at Greencastle therefore must have been somewhat in advance of the other schools in the county. In the other places the rude log school house with its primitive seats, its imperfect light and its crude curriculum, held sway, but it only laid the foundation for an education ; for with the limited funds in the hands of authorities for school purposes and the poor pay of the teachers but little more could be expected. Though nominally kept up by public funds, the teacher practically had to look to the patrons for his pay. After the adoption of the new constitution, in 185 1. taxes for school purposes began to be levied and the whole educational system took a great stride forward.

First School Bo.Vrd

The historv of the schools in Greencastle. as set forth in the records of the school board of that city, may be taken as a fair indication of the growth and development of the school system in other parts of the county. A few extracts from the latter record may not be without interest. On April 26, 1853. John Hanna. mayor of the town of Greencastle. issued to Delana R. Eckels. Russell L. Hathaway and Daniel Sigler a commission as "Trustees for Schools in the Town of Greencastle." these persons having been elected bv the common council. The Ijoard of trustees met and selected D. R. Eckels as president. Almost the first item of business was an order "that the graded svstem of schools be adopted for the town." Further proceedings were as follows :

"It has been ordered that the number and classification of schools for the present vear shall be as follows: Four primary schools, one of which shall be in the first ward, one in tlie third, one in the fourth and one in the fifth, and one high schc:>ol in the County Sennnary. c(jnsi.sting of a male and female department.

"It is ordered that schools shall commence on the ist day of June ne.xt antl continue two months, after which a vacation of six weeks, and that the winter session shall commence on the 15th of September, and the summer session on the ist of April each year, each session being four and a half months with a vacation of six weeks between them.

"It is ordered that the county auditor audit and the county treasurer pay over to the treasurer of the school incorporation the amount of money due the town from the public fimd and that proposals be published in the three weekly papers of the town for eight school teachers."

At a meeting of the board held June 4, 1853, the following were agreed upon as salaries for the teachers: "For principal in the male department of the high school, thirty dollars per month; assistant in the same department, tw-enty dollars per month; principal in the female department of the high school, twenty dollars per month and for all other teachers, fifteen dollars per month." In .March. 1S54, the school trustees ordered that the school system of the town should consist of two high schools, one grammar school, two reading schools, and four primary schools, with a slight advance in the pay of the teachers as follow s : ".Male high school, thirty-five dollars per month; feiuale high school, thirty-five dollars; grammar school, twentv dollars; primary schools, twenty dollars."

In 185; the number of school trustees in the town of Greencastle was reduced from three to one and Charles W. Moore, who had shortly before graduateil from Aslnny University, was elected to fill the place. A report in the record m Mr. Moore's handw riting aH:'ords us a rather graphic picture of school Conditions in (ireencastle at an early day as follows: several neat brick houses built, properly ventilated; with good grounds annexed, co\ere(l with shade trees and flowers. Then the school room would be comfortable and the pleasure grounds attractive. Then the health would be preserved and the head and heart would be improved."

At this time schools in the various parts of the town were in the most ca.ses held in private dwellings. In some cases the teachers allowed their own h(3mes to be used for school purposes and were paid suitable rent by the school trustee and in others even church dwellings were so used. Among other buildings utilized by the authorities of this period was the old Presby- ' terian church on the lot at the corner of Jefferson and Columbia streets in the west part of the city and now occupied by the heirs of the late William Haspel. but the surroundings were not calculated to promote the cause of education, as the following report by the trustees seems to indicate :

"At the old Presbyterian church we have been annoyed exceedingly by the bad boys of Greencastle. They from time to time have broken the lights and sash out of the windows; they have broken open the doors, thereby destroying the locks, and having entered, they have broken the brooms, benches and blackboards and in other ways have defiled the room.

"I have tried to have the law redress these wrongs, but for lack of a faithful prosecution bv those whose duty it was to see these matters made right we have been annoyed all term. I at one time handed to the mayor the names of fifteen or twenty bo\s who had been abusing the school house and its appendages, together with the names of the witnesses by whom to pro\e same. A dav was set for the trial, a jury selectetl and the trial duly entered upon in the case of a portion of the offenders, but through ignorance of the prosecutor the jury agreed to disagree and through slothfulness and disregard of dutv of the prosecutor all the offenders were set free and with a smile pronounced 'Young .Americans.' 'trundle bed trash." etc.. thus making them worse than ever. ^V'e. however, promise all men that we will break up these nocturnal school house depredations and good men say. 'So mote it be." "

Rut even at that dav - 1855 - the tenn Free Schools was more or less of a misnomer. The tax levied f'lr school purposes was entirely inadequate and the result was a serious hindrance to the successful operation of the new system, as the followii^g report of Trustee Aloore. dated December 12. 1855. w ill indicate :

Pltxam Cocntv, Indiana

-it was my design to have the second term of the puhhc scliools begin the latter part of November and for this purpose I had the houses made comfortable and had an excellent corps of teachers secured, but the council saw tit in their wisdom to have subscription schools during the winter and delay the free schools until the ist of March. By doing this some of the same teachers were permitted to take the houses and teach pay schools and obligated themselves to return the houses in good repair, as good as that in which they received them. The object in delaying the free schools is to get out of debt, a \ery good idea.

The attendance at the schools of Greencastle in 1855, as shown by the record, was four hundred and sixty-eight pupils in the common schools and ninety-two in the high schools, a total of five hundred and sixty. In 1856, under the administration of Reuben S. Ragan, school trustee, it is shown that "there were in attendance during the term, one hundred and seventyseven male and one hundred and fifty-fi\e female scholars, a total of three hundred and thirty-two, indicating a "daily attendance of about one-third of all the children in the town between the ages of five and twenty-one years." There are n(5 further figures indicative of the school population till 1861. An enumeration made by Mr. Ragan between July and Septemlier in that year of all children between five and twenty-one years shows three hundred and twenty-six males and three hundred and sixty-three females, a total of six hundred and eighty-nine. The average per family was two and one-half. The highest number, eight, was returned by two persons only. Dr. Thomas Bowman, president of Asbury University, and A. V. Hough.

The commonly accepted notion that after the law of 185 1 authorized the levy of a tax for school purposes the public school swstem went forward without further delay or difficulty is a great popular misconception. Ten years after this law which pretended to establish free schools was passed the schools were anything but free, as the following statement by Trustee R. S. Ragan. found in the records of the i)ublic schools of Greencastle. will indicate :

"On the 6th day of January. 1862, I called a meeting of the legal voters of the city of Greencastle at Tliomburgh"s Hall for the purpose of determining when i\xii schools should commence. A notice thereof was dulv gi\-en in the Putnam Rcf'ublicau Banner, a newspaper of general circulation in said city, at least five davs previous.

Co Weik S History Of

"On said day a large number of the citizens at the time and place mentioned assembled and after due deliberation, on motion of J. F. Jones, the trustee was directed to postpone free schools until the 14th day of April, 1862, which was accordingly done. Said meeting also directed the trustee to go forward and secure by rent, buildings suitable for school rooms, properly furnish the same and also employ teachers, etc.

"The trustee, after having ascertained what school rooms could be secured (the city having no school rooms of its own), called another public meeting at the court house, there being no more suitable place for holding same, on the 4th day of April. 1862. at which time a veiy large number of persons assembled and the trustee laid before them the business of the meeting. He was unanimously directed to rent the Seminary building, the Academy building, the Fort, as it is called, a building owned by Mr. Gorrell, Mrs. Johnson's building and such others as would be needed ; fitting the same up as they might require."

After the above report the records are silent - in fact there are no records after 1862 until 1866. when, under the efficient management of the school trustees, whose number had again increased to three, funds were now forthcoming to build substantial, modern, brick school buildings. The building in the second ward was constructed in 1867 and soon thereafter followed the erection of another like structure in the first ward, which last building was completed in 1869. Since that date two more buildings have been erected and plans are now being made looking to the erection of a high school building, larger and more commodious than any of the others.

In 1867, by which time the school attendance had greatly increased, and the schools themselves had realh", for the first time, been graded, it was found necessary to put at the head of the school department a competent person to supervise the work of the teachers and administer the educational affairs of the city. With that end in view, the board of school trustees on September 6. 1867. selected Greencastle's first superintendent of schools in the person of Gillum Ridpath. Professor Ridpath served for one year, being followed in .succession by S. D. Waterman. E. P. Cole. George W. Lee. J. N. Study. T. M. Olcott. Tames Baldwin and R. A. Ogg. Horace G. Woody, the present incumbent, has filled the office since 1898. There are seven instructors in the high school, and thirteen teachers in the various grafles. The enumeration of school children in 1909 showed a school population in the city of eight hundred and seventy-two.

That the schools of Greencastle in all that pertains to bettemient of sanitary conditions, in attendance, discipline and the incentive to higher ideals have kept pace nith the best schools in the state is clearly shown in a paper recently prepared by Prof. H. G. Woody, the school superintendent. After alluding to the advance in school methods, and that the real aim of modern education is a higher ideal than mere intelligence, viz : the formation of character based upon intelligence. Professor Woody says:

"Within the last ten years the school houses of Greencastle have been overhauled. Two rooms have been added in district No. 3. but the chief improvements have looked to better ventilation, lighting and decoration. Our city, taking advantage of the free school laws, promptly and earnestly erected substantial brick buildings forty years ago. Very little was then understood concerning what is now considered good school architecture. To overcome the difficulties, furnaces have been substituted for stoves, gravity systems of ventilation ha\e been installed in three of the four buildings, and additional windows ha\-e been constructed wherever the light was insufficient. All the windows, except those on the north, are fitted with double shades, the upper one being a translucent white shade to diffuse the light so no pupil need sit in a glare.

"In the matter of mural decoration, the old wall of dingy plaster gave way to paper about six to ten years ago. Xow as the paper grows dingv-, the board of trustees is having them decorated in oil paints. This is a step in the right direction whether vieweil from a hygienic or an aesthetic standpoint. The schools possess more than one hundred good pictures and casts. These have come through the loyal efforts of teachers and pupils, inspired by the superintendent and supported by the patrons of the schools, .\bout one thousand dollars has been thus investefl in works of art in the past ten years. Most of these are reproductions of classic pictures and statues, and some, like LeRey's 'Scotch Hether', are excellent modern paintings.

"These material works of progress are but e\'idences of something even better, viz: a living, growing educational spirit. There is further evidence of this healthy spirit to be seen in the smooth running of the schools. They go on with the work without jar or friction. There is no rebellion anywhere, no back-biting and scarcely any fault finding, no petitions to oust teachers, and. indeed, the great majority of parents are in hearty accord with the schools anrl are staunch supporters of the teachers.

the most incontrovertible proof of Greencastle's fine educational spirit, is the increase in school attendance and improvement in its punctuality.

"The per cent, of the average daily attendance from k^oi to [907 - seven years - was 06.1 and for the past three years. 96.6: for i()o6-07. 96.8; for 1908-09, it was 97.1 per cent. The net total enrollment includes all the children who touch the schools at any time during the school year, though the time be ever so short. Yet for the past four years, the average daily attendance has been 85.1 per cent, of the total enrollment. For 1906-07 it was 86.2 per cent.

"In si.xteen cities of the state, viz; Brazil. Bluffton, Columbus, Connersville. Frankfort. Franklin. Greensburg. Hartford City. Huntington, Kokomo. Lebanon. Newcastle. Noblesville. Princeton. Shelbyville, Wabash, the average dailv attendance for 1906-07 was 19171.9 and the total enrollment 24.449, the average dail\- attendance being 78.4 per cent, of the enrollment. Making a like computation for all the cities of the state, the per cent, is found to be 78.3; and tor all the public schools of the state, per cent. For the past four years Greencastle's average daily attendance has averaged 85 per cent, of the enrollment, and it has not fallen below 79 per cent, since 1901.

"A verv large proportion of our pupils remain in school each year until the close of school. Xearly one hundred per cent, of the pupils who finish the work of the common schools, enter the high school. The high school has increased its enrollment since 1901, by jo per cent. It was 16 2-3 per cent, of the total number in all of the schools in 1901 ; 1903, it was 21.5 per cent; the past four years it has averaged 26.8 per cent, of the entire enrollment; its highest reach was 29 per cent. The sum of the enrollments of the high school for the past four years is 36.6 per cent, of the sum of the enrollments in the grades. In the sixteen cities named above, the total high school enrollment for 1906-07 was 16.4 per cent, of the total grade enrollment. This large enrollment in the local high school means the more when it is further stated that this school maintains a ver\' high per cent, of attendance as compared with the enrollment. For the year ending 1905. it was 91 per cent, and for 1907. 91.6 per cent. The high school's per cent, of attendance for 1906-07, as reckoned in the state's schools, was 97.6. nor has it fallen below 97 per cent, since."

Outside the citv of Greencastle the schools in the county until 1872 were practicall}- without supervision. There had been, it is true, a school examiner, so called, but his duties were almost entirely confined to the examination of persons applying for license to teach. His visits to and inspection of the schools over the county were few and far between and the salary- of the place was so meagre he could give the position but a small portion of his time. In 1872 the Legislature created the office of county superintendent of schools and the first person to till that post was the late John R. Gordon, who served until 1875. Following him came L. A. Stockwell, whose term ended in 1881 : L. E. Smedley in 1889; F. M. Lyon in 1897 and S. A. Harris in 1903. Since the latter year the present incumbent, Oscar Thomas, has filled the office.

School St.Vtistics

-At present there is one and in some cases two high schools in each township in the county. Including the high school, there are nine teachers in the various districts of Jackson township; si.xteen in Franklin; eight in Clinton; thirteen in Monroe; nine in Floyd; seven in Warren; nine in Greencastle (outside of the city) ; nine in Madison; ten in Russell; nine in Marion ; eight m Jefferson; eighteen in Washington; si.xteen in Cloverdale and four in Mill Creek. Add to these the twenty instructors in the city schools of Greencastle and we have a total of one hundred and sixty-five teachers in the county. .\n enumeration of school children made last year shows ^^j in Jackson ; 225 in Clinton ; 444 in Cloverdale ; 256 in Floyd ; 480 in Franklin ; 455 '" Greencastle (outside of the city) ; 247 in Jefferson; 266 in Madison; 364 in Marion; 147 in Mill Creek; 391 in Monroe; ^^^ '" Russell; 209 in Warren; 480 in Washington, and 872 in the citv of Greencastle a total of 5,608.

Early High Schools And Acade.Mies

In the days prior to the Civil war. academies and seminaries and other mstitutions of higher grade than the district school began to make their appearance not only in Greencastle but in other parts of the county as well. Of course they were private enterpri.ses and in some instances short-lived but in others they continued for years, growing in popular favor until the arlvent of the modern high school and college, after which they gradually went out of existence. There was a seminary in Cloverdale as earlv as i8;o and both Russeilviile and Bainbridge boasted of academies. The institution at Bainbridge was admirably managed and its reputation for discipline and excellence in training extended far Ijeyond the county lines. The Russeilviile .Academy was likewise a notable institution, its course of instruction fitting its graduates for entrance to any of the colleges or universities in the middle West. In Greencastle the preparatory school for Asbury University answered the purpose of an academy, but as girls were not admitted there grew up a demand for separate schools for them. This demand was promptly met and several female high schools or academies were at different times inaugurated, the principal one being the school of Mrs. Larrabee. the wife of Prof. William C. Larrabee, of Asbury University. This institution drew to Greencastle young ladies from various points not only in this state but even in the adjoining .states. In the decade prior to the Civil war these higher grade private schools flourished everywhere. In the Putnam Republican Banner, published in Greencastle during this period, are .found the advertisements of the New Albany Female Seminary, at New Albany, Indiana; the Terre Haute Female College, at Terre Haute ; the Asbury Female Institute, at Greencastle, presided over by James A. Dean, principal, and later by Rev. J. B. DeMotte ; the Greencastle High School, which included in its curriculum drawing and painting and was managed by E. French, principal; the select school of Mrs. M. A. Skelton at the "Old Presbyterian Church"; the music school of Mrs. H. B. Hibben at "'Bellamy House"; the school of Mrs. S. S. Johnson at the "east end of Seminar}' street," and the select school of Mrs.

A. E. Bickle, at the "east end of the building known as the 'Fort'." After the reorganization of the public schools of Greencastle about 1867-68 the day of the "academy" had passed away. In 1870 the Female College of Indiana, an institution under the patronage of the Presbyterian church, was established in Greencastle. Its first board of trustees consisted of Joseph

B. Fordyce, W. C. Gilmore. John H. Randolph, J. L. Seybold, James D. Stevenson, Addison Daggy, Milton A. Oslwrn, Conrad Cook and M. B. Barnard. Rev. E. W. Fisk, local pastor of the church in Greencastle, became the first president of the board and ultimately president of the college also. At the time of the organization the trustees purchased four and a half acres of ground east of Locust and south of iVnderson streets, on which a large brick dwelling and a two-story brick church suitable for a college building had already been erected. In August, 1873, a fire destroyed the college building including the library, furniture, etc. This was a great misfortune and one from which the institution never fully recovered. The school was continued in other buildings and two classes - one in 1875 and the other in town, donated by James Gillespie, was begun, but the requisite funds to continue its erection were not forthcoming and with Asbury L^niversity ad- mitting women to all its departments on a footing with men the competition proved to be too great and the new institution was finally forced to surrender.

This chapter on the schools of Putnam county would be manifestly far from complete were we to omit mention of the great educational factor of our county - .\sbury. now DePauw, University. The earliest and most interesting history of the genesis and development of this great institution is from the pen of the Rev. F. C. Holliday, who in February, 1S5S, wrote for one of the Indianapolis papers a historical sketch entitled "Methodism in Indiana."' Alluding to the efforts of the church to promote the cause of education, he says :

"In May, 1832. the Illinois conference was divided and Indiana became a separate conference. The first session of the Indiana conference was held in New Albany October, 1832. On the first day of the session A. Wilev, C. W. Ruter and James Armstrong were a committee to consider and report on the propriety of establishing a literary institution under the patronage of the conference. The committee made their report, but no definite action was had beyond pro\-iding for the collection of information to be reported to the next conference.

"Although it was felt to be desirable, on many accounts, to have an institution of learning under the control of the conference, yet it was thought, if we could receix'e anything like an equitable share of privileges in the State University at Bloomington, that would meet the wants of our people for several years: and accordingly, at the conference in 1834, it was resolved to memorialize the state Legislature on the subject : and, accordinglv, a memorial from the conference, and similar memorials numerously signed, were sent up from different parts of the state. The memorialists did not ask that the university be put either in whole or in part under the control of the church. They simply asked that the trustees of the university be elected for a term of years and that vacancies as they occurred should be filled bv the Legislature and not by the remaining members of the board of trustees. The memorial was referred to an able committee of the Legislature, but for some reason the committee never made a report. Those who were opposed to anv change in the manner of controlling the State University doubtless judp-ed that it would be easier to smother the report while in the hands of the committee than to answer before the people for the opposition to a reform so just and equitable.

"Failing in their efforts to secure a refonn in the manner of controlHng the State University, the conference turned their thoughts earnestly toward the establishment of a literary institution of high grade under the control of the church. At the session of the conference in 1835 a plan was agreed upon for the founding of a university. Subscriptions were taken up and proposals made from different points in the state with a view of securing the location of the university. Rockville, Putnamville, Greencastle, Lafayette, Madison and Indianapolis were the principal competitors. Rockville presented a subscription of twenty thousand dollars; Putnamville about the same amount; Indianapolis and Madison each, about ten thousand dollars; Greencastle, twenty-five thousand; and accordingly, at the session of the conference in Indianapolis, October, 1836, the conference by vote fixed the site of the university at Greencastle. At that time Greencastle contained a population of about five hundred. A committee was appointed to draft a charter to be submitted to the Legislature at its next session, which was done, and the charter was passed substantially as drawn up by the committee. The following gentlemen comprised the original board of trustees: Robert R. Roberts, John Cowgill, Alexander C. Stevenson, William H. Thomburgh, William Talbott, Reese Hardesty, Joseph Crow, John W. Osborne, Thomas Robinson, Hiram E. Talbott, James Montgomery, Daniel Sigler, Isaac Matkins, Tarvin W. Cowgill, William Lee, William K. Cooper, Calvin Fletcher, Gamaliel Taylor, Martin M. Ray, Isaac C. Elston, S. E. Leonard, W. W. Hitt, Joseph A. Wright, Tilghman A. Howard, Jacob Haas. The institution was to be known bv the name and style of "The Indiana Asbury University.'

"The first meeting of the board of trustees was held on the first Monday in March, 1837, at which time they resolved to open the preparatory department as soon as they could procure a suitable teacher. Rev. Cyrus Nutt, a graduate of Allegheny College, was elected principal of the preparatory department with a salary of four hundred dollars. Greencastle was at that time about ten years old, small and rough. The site was by no means the most pleasant, being a succession of hills and hollows. The streets were without grading or sidewalks, except about the public square, and mud was a very abundant article for about six months in the year. It was exceedingly fortunate for Greencastle that it secured the location of the university; had it failed in its efforts the county seat would probably have been removed to Putnamville. and Greencastle been numbered among the things that were. But the influence o-iven to it by this institution made it a point on the Indianapolis & Terre Haute railroad and gained for it also the New Albany &

East College, Depauw University Putnam Col'Ntv, Indiana

Michigan City railroad, which render it a place of considerable commercial importance and make it of easy access from most parts of the state. Rev. Cyras Xutt, who had been elected to take charge of the preparatory department, arrived in due time and the school was opened on the 5th of June, 1837, in a room in the old town seminary, about twelve by fifteen feet. Five pupils appeared, barefooted and without coats. Their names were: Oliver P. Badger. O. H. P. Ash, William Stevenson. Bishop Osborne and S. Taylor. They all resided in the town except Badger.

Laying The Corner Stone

"The 20th of June was an era for Greencastle. and also for the history of Indiana Asbury University. It was the day appointed for laying the corner stone of the college edifice. Rev. H. B. Bascomb was engaged to deliver the address on the occasion. Expectation was great. The occasion, the unrivaled reputation of the speaker, the greatest orator of the West if not of the world, awakened an interest hitherto unknown along the hills and valleys and prairies of western Indiana.

"Greencastle was put in her tidiest dress, and the doors of the citizens were thrown open to entertain the guests that were expected to be present on the occasion. On ^londay, the 19th. the crowd began to appear and by nio-ht the town was full. People came from all parts of the state and it was estimated that twenty thousand persons were present on the next day. The renowned orator arrived and took lodging at the residence of one of the prin- , cipal citizens. The hum of preparation was heard at a late hour in the night. On the 20th the order of the day was a sermon in the Methodist Episcopal church, at nine o'clock A. M.. from Rev. Hooper Crews, of Illinois. At eleven o'clock the pnxession was formed and marched to the site of the university where, over the stone, which had been prepared, with sundrv documents enclcsed, Calvin Fletcher, Esq., of Indianapolis, delivered a brief and appropriate address, but \\hich was heard by comparatively few of the vast assembly.

"The procession was again formed and marched to a grove in the .southwest part of the town where temporary seats had been prepared which accommodated about one-fourth of the audience. The stand was occupied bv the orator of the day and Revs. A. Wiley. James Havens, C. W. Ruter, E. R .\mes and a few other leading ministers of the conference. Praver was offered by Rev. E. R. Ames, when Rev. H. B. Bascomb proceeded with his address, which he read. As the day was extremely chilly for the season, he asked to speak with his hat on. During an interlude caused by a slight shower of rain accompanied with snow, the speaker sat down a few minutes, when a countryman, - a Hoosier, of course, - who had provided himself with a huge roll of gingerbread, stepped up behind the stand and, plucking the reverend Doctor by the coat, broke oft a piece of his loaf and offered him, saying, 'Mister, as you have been speaking hard you must be hungry; here take a piece.' The Doctor thanked him kindly, saying he had no occasion. The address was two hours in its delivery and made a very favorable impression on the minds of the audience.

"At the meeting of the board of trustees in September, 1837, the college proper was organized and the regular professorships created. Rev. Cyrus Nutt was elected professor of languages and acting president. In the spring of 1838 Rev. J. W. Weakly was appointed preceptor of the preparatory department. In 1839 Rev. Matthew Simpson was duly elected president of the institution. He arrived and took charge in May of the same year. The first catalogue was published at the close of that term and the number of students Avas one hundred and forty.

"In the fall of 1840 the first regular commencement was held and the president inaugurated. A charge was delivered by Governor Wallace and an inaugural address by the president, both of w-hich were published. The newbuilding was completed and the above exercises were the first consecration of its halls to the purposes for which they were designed.

Presidents Of The University

"The first graduates were John Wheeler, of Bellefontaine. Ohio; Thomas A. Goodwin, of Brookville, Indiana, and James Maddox, of Crawfordsville, Indiana. Another change was made in the faculty at the close of the vear. J. W. Weaklv resigned and Rev. William C. Larrabee was elected to the chair of mathematics and natural science. Mr. Larrabee arrived in the spring of 1841 and took charge of his professorship. In 1842 the faculty was further increased by the election of John Wheeler - who was the first graduate of the institution - to the chair of Latin literature, and Charles G. Downey to the chair of natural science. In the fall of 1844 Rev. B. F. Tefft was elected professor of Greek language and literature made vacant by the resignation of Professor Nutt. Doctor Simpson continued in the presidency of the university till the summer of 1848. when he resigned and William C.

Larrabee was acting president for one year. In 1849 Rev. Lucien W. Berrywas elected to the presidency^ of the institution, but his formal inauguration did not take place until the next year, during commencement week, when the keys of the uni\ersity were turned over to him by the governor of the state, Joseph A. Wright. After a service of four years, he resigned and moved to Iowa, where he accepted the presidency of the Iowa Wesleyan University at Mt. Pleasant. In August, 1854, Rev. Daniel Curry, of New York, was elected to the vacancy and remained until July, 1857, a period of about three years. It was during Doctor Curry's administration that the famous rebellion, which seriously threatened the life of the university, occurred, and which finally so widened the breach between students and facultv that the president deemed it best to resign. He left the institution in June, 1857. For the ensuing year, the university being without an executive head. Dr. Cyrus Nutt, the vice-president, was the acting president. Being called to the head of the institution at a time when public confidence was shaken in its success and when the students were deserting its halls, he succeeded in re-inspiring public confidence, in increasing the patronage of the institution and restoring order and contentment generally."

In July. 1858. Rev. Thomas Bowman, D. D., of Pennsylvania, was elected to the presidency. Fie was a man of splendid and thorough training and brought to the position talents of the highest order. Under his administration the university made great progress. In 1872 he was chosen bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church and moved to St. Louis. The presidency next fell to Rev. Reuben Andrus. D. D., at that time pastor of the Meridian Street church in Indianapolis. Doctor Andrus was a powerful preacher and a strong man generally, but after three years" service resigned and returned to the pulpit. Rev. Alexander Martin. D. D., of West Virginia, was the next president, beginning his administration in the fall of 1875. Doctor Alartin was a man of ripe learning, sound judgment and keen observation. A Scotchman by birth, he had all the attractive traits of the Scotch character. He was rugged, firm and reserved. It was under his administration that Washington C. DePauw made his great endowment. Asbury was enlarged and became the Liberal .'\rts School of DePauw University. It was a period of great expansion and the attendance at the university reached its highest point. After fourteen years of service Doctor Martin, desiring to be relieved of the heavv responsibilities of the presidency, offered his resignation and took a chair in the department of philosophy, where he continued to serve until 1893. His successor at the head of DePauw L^niversity. chosen in

1889, was Dr. John P. D. John, who had already been connected with the university as its vice-president. "Doctor John," are the words of one of his colleagues, "was thoroughly acquainted with the life about him and in full sympathy with the course of development of the last few years. With his strong, logical mind, and his enthusiastic nature, he recognized large possibilities in the very near future and bent his energies toward them. He devoted himself assiduously to the re-organization of the courses of study and to the looking out for professors of the highest available equality in their own lines of work so that whenever a change had to be made in the faculty, or an addition could be made, it might always be the best one possiljle in the interests of the highest order of work in all departments. These were the days when the university expectations were at their greatest as regarded the value of its endowments and large things seemed to be within reasonable reach of the institution. But hard times came this way in 1893 and continued through subsequent vears. Business interests suffered, stocks and shares declined in value; productive funds became non-productive, student numbers decreased because incomes of their homes were uncertain, and the horizon of present possibilities narrowed, and that beyond the power of any one to prevent it. Many a man and many an institution during those years had to exchange its inquiry of 'what is best' for the more available one of 'what is most expedient.' But a high order of work was done in recitation rooms, libraries laboratories and young men and young women were learning to think and were getting ready for the great world."

Doctor John resigned the presidency in June, 1896. and was followed by Rev. Hillarv" A. Gobin in the fall of that year. Doctor Gobin had for several years been dean of the school of theology and is the only graduate of the universitv who has, thus far. ever been elevated to the presidency. Doctor Gobin filled the position with great credit to himself and decidedly to the advantage of the university. He administered the affairs of the institution during a season of financial stress, displaying the rarest discretion in avoiding the rough places ahead, thus proving that he was the right man in the right place and at the right time. But the administrative duties of the presidency were dailv becoming more and more burdensome, so that Doctor Gobin, believing a younger man better able to contend with the exacting demands of the position, gave way in 1903 and accepted the chair of Biblical science and Hebrew. His successor was Dr. Edwin Holt Hughes, who at the time of his election was pastor of the Methodist church in Maiden, Massachusetts. .\s president of the university Doctor Hughes was welcomed with every demon- stratioii of popular approval. He was young, versatile and abreast of the times in matters of college discipline and training. A very popular preacher and platfoiTn orator, he soon attracted the attention of the Methodists everywhere and so deep was the impression he made that at the general conference in Baltimore in 1908 he was elected a bishop of the church and assigned to San Francisco, California, for residence. Doctor Hughes was the third president of Asbury or DePauw University elevated to the episcopacy. The present head of DePauw. Dr. Francis J. McConnell, was elected in 1908. He came from Brooklyn. Xew York, where he had charge of one of the largest churches in that city. He is a native of Ohio and was graduated from the famous Ohio W'esleyan University at Delaware. His two years of service at the head of DePauw have demonstrated that no mistake was made in choosing him to administer the affairs of the institution. He is a profound student, well-informed, tolerant, progressive and fair. He thinks long and hard before he talks. In profoundity of learning, in the ability to analyze, in clearness and power of e.xpression. the university has scarcely seen his eijual since the days of Mathew Simpson.

In 1846 a department of law was created and two years later the Indiana Central Medical College was made a department of the university. The arrangement with the medical school proved too great an undertaking at the time and the board of trustees withdrew their support after an e.xperience of three or four years. The law school was not organized for regular work until 1853. It continued for about ten years and was then suspended, to be renewed again in 1883, for another period of ten years, since which time it has again been dropped.

I. Mental and Moral Philosophy. II. Mathematics. III. Natural Science. I\^. Greek Language and Literature. V. Latin Language and Literature. VI. Belles Lettres and History.

The year 1867 was notable in the history of the institution in that it witnessed the admission of women to all the departments of the university x>n an equal footing with the men. In 1871 the graduating class contained four ladies, being the first of their sex who ever received a diploma or degree at the hands of the university. On October 20, 1869, the corner stone was laid for a new building known as East College, which when finished had cost over a hundred thousand dollars. It contains the large and spacious chapel named Meharry Hall, in honor of the benefactions of the late Jesse Meharry. On February 10, 1879, the old building - whose corner stone had been laid by Bishop Bascomb - was nearly destroyed by fire. Its walls being left intact, it was speedily rebuilt and the wings added on the east and west side respectively.

Benefactions Of W. C. Depauw

In 1884 the financial stringency under which the institution had so long struggled was greatly relieved by the munificent endowment of the late Washington C. DePauw. On the payment by the people of Putnam county of sixty thousand dollars and double that sum by the various Indiana conferences, Mr. DePauw made contributions that have netted the university over a half million dollars. Though not required by the donor, the corporate title of the university was changed to bear his name, and the name of Asbury was perpetuated in the school of liberal arts. As soon as the DePauw endowment became effective the university entered on an era of expansion and underwent a thorough and complete re-organization. By 1886 the following departments were organized and in working order :

Tn addition to the buildings erected as the result of the DePauw^ endowment two beautiful and magnificent structures have recently been built on the college grounds. One, given up to science, was the generous and unselfish gift of the late D. W. Minshall, of Terre Haute: the other, a magnificent

Stone building, contains the university library and is the result of the munificence of Andrew Camegie. Certain other lesser benefactions have, in recent years, come to the university, but they are so numerous and so varied in character space here will forbid more extended mention.

The graduates from the School of Liljeral Arts number 2,238 and from the professional schools. 409, making a total of 2,647. Erom a statement made over ten years ago - later figures are not accessible - it appears that these alumnae of the institution ha\e ad(3pted occupations as follows: Teachers. 808; lawyers. 523: ministers and missionaries, 437; general business, 211 ; physicians. 152: editors and journalists. 107; authors. 53: farmers, 60; bankers. 39; manufacturers. 24: engineers. 28.

Of those who have attained distinction through public office the list is as follows: Governors. 4: lieutenant-governors. 2; cabinet officers. 2; foreign ministers. 6; attaches and consuls. 5: United States senators. 7: congressmen, II; state senators, 25: state representatives, 64: other state officers, 15: federal and state supreme judges. 23: army and navy officers, jj.

Of the 808 teachers mentioned in the foregoing statement, 53 have been college presidents. 139 college professors, iii city and county superintendents, and 505 school instructors generally.

The board of trustees consist of the following members: William Xewkirk. Connersville; Xewland T. DePauw. New .Albany: William D. Parr, Kokomo: Hugh Dougherty. Indianapolis: Deloss ^\. Wood. Indianajx^lis ; William H. Latta. Indianapolis: David G. Hamilton. Chicago; George E. Keiper. Lafavette: Hardin Roads. Muncie : George W. Earis. Terre Haute:

In addition to the above named trustees, the three conferences in Indiana elect three representatives each annually who are called visitors, and who sit with the board of trustees and have an equal voice and vote in the management of the affairs of the corporation. The officers of the corporation are; Hugh Dougherty, Indianapolis, president; Henry H. Hornbrook. secretary; Salem B. Town, treasurer.