Oxford Township (part 4 of 4)

The Methodist Episcopal Church

The first church services in the town of Oxford were conducted by Methodist itinerant preachers. Rev. Moses Crume was among the first preachers who visited the place and left an appointment for preaching. The place of worship was a log house that stood near the site of the old school building, on Poplar street. Here the Methodists worshiped with irregularity until 1818. In 1813 Rev. Moses Crume was appointed pastor of the Oxford circuit and his regular appointments for the infant society were for every sixth Sabbath. In 1818 and 1819 a church was erected thirty by forty-two feet in dimensions. When the work had progressed favorably a cyclone, in June, 1819, nearly wrecked the building and this occasioned so much of a delay that the build- ing was not completed until in the fall of 1820. The church had varying success under the pastorates of Russel Bigelow, Samuel Brown, Allen Wiley, B. F. Cranch, Samuel Baker, Wm. H. Roper and Levi White, all of whom were among the ablest of the early preachers. In 1839 the house of worship was enlarged and transformed into a very neat and comfortable building. This church answered to the needs of the congregation until May, 1872, when it was torn down to make room for the present beautiful church edifice. The first story, or Sunday-school rooms, was completed in the summer of 1873, and the society worshiped here until the completion of the auditorium in 1875. The dedication took place on November 28th of that year and the services were conducted by Bishop R. S. Foster. The Methodist society is numerically strong and possesses the most valuable church property in the village. Rev. C. M. Van Pelt is the pastor.

The Presbyterian Church

In 1818 Rev. James Hughes, principal of the grammar school, organized a Presbyterian congregation in Oxford. However, it was not until 1825 that the church was regularly organized under the pastorate of Rev. Robert H. Bishop, D. D., president of Miami University, who continued to preach to the congregation for several years in the university chapel. In 1833 a house of worship was built at a cost of about six thousand dollars. The house was a twostory brick, fifty by seventy feet in dimensions, and would seat nearly five hundred persons. It stood on the site of the residence of Frank McCord. On the 15th of January, 1833, "First Presbyterian church of Oxford, in the county of Butler," was incorporated under the laws of Ohio. The incorporators were Benjamin C. Swan, James Montgomery, Abraham I. Chittenden, John Harding, James R. Hughes, C. H. Spinnings, Charles Barrows, Harry Lewis and Joseph Woodruff.

Rev. Henry Little succeeded Dr. Bishop as pastor. The pastors in succession, after Rev. Little to November 23, 1869, the date when the old and new school Presbyterian united, were Rev. George B. Bishop, Rev. William Graham, Rev. John W. Scott, Rev. Henry Maltby, Rev. J. R. Burgett, Rev. W. Rogers, Rev. David Swing, Rev. J. B. Stewart, Rev. William Rogers, Rev. Mr. Haight and Rev. John Crosier. Since that time the pastors have been Rev. A. H. Young, Rev. Charles Fuller, Rev. Jacob Norris, Rev. Francis M. Wood, Rev. George G. Mitchell, Rev. Nesbitt, Rev. Bierce and Rev. Thomas J. Porter, the present incumbent.

In January, 1841, a large number of members of the First Presbyterian church withdrew, because of a disagreement among the membership over some questions of church polity, and on the first of February following organized themselves into a new religious body under the name of 'the Second Presbyterian Church of Oxford. Among those thus seceding from the mother church was the acting pastor, the Rev. William Graham, and he became the pastor of the new society. The Second Presbyterian church was organized with thirty-two members, which number was increased at the second meeting to seventy. Having obtained admission into the Cincinnati presbytery of the so-called New School Presbyterians, the new body was soon in possession of a com- fortable church, erected on the northeast corner of Main and Church streets, and fronting on the latter. In June, 1844, Rev. Graham was succeeded as pastor by Rev. Daniel Tenney, who continued in charge for twelve years. In July, 1856, Rev. E. W. Root was installed pastor, being followed, August 11, 1861, by the Rev. J. P. E. Kumler, and in March, 1869, by the Rev. A. H. Young. In November, 1869, by full and most harmonious concert of action upon the part of the membership of the two existing branches of the Presbyterian church, both bodies were united, the organization to be known as the First Presbyterian church of Oxford. The new church thus strengthened decided to occupy the house of worship of the Second church, and retain as pastor Rev. Mr. Young, and to enlarge and improve the church edifice to meet the wants of the increased society and congregation, which was accordingly done.

The United Presbyterian Church

The United Presbyterian church of Oxford was organized in 1836. It was originally known as the Associated Reformed church, but in 1858, in common with other bodies of the same faith, it took the name "United Presbyterian." The Oxford church is a scion of the Rev. Alexander Porter's church, of Israel township, in Preble county, eight miles north. Porter's church was formed by members who came from South Carolina to avoid slavery. The Oxford church was organized with the understanding by the synod that a theological seminary should there be opened. Rev. S. W. Mc- Cracken was the organizer and preached as "stated supply" for two or three years, during which time he was a professor of mathematics in Miami University. Three years after the church was established the theological seminary was opened in a building conjointly erected by the Associated Reformed Presbyterian Synod of the West and the congregation of the church at Oxford. The building afforded an audience room for church services on the second floor, and a lecture room, library room, chapel and seven living rooms for students on the first. Rev. Joseph Claybaugh was chosen first professor, and continued in that capacity for sixteen years, or until his death, which occurred September 9, 1855. Rev. Alexander Young was then elected professor of Hebrew and Greek exegesis, and Rev. William Davidson, pastor of the Hamilton church, was appointed professor of ecclesiastical history. In 1858 the seminary was removed to Monmouth, Illinois, but in 1874 was brought back to Ohio and consolidated with the seminary at Xenia. During the time the seminary was located at Oxford - about nineteen years in all - more than one hundred students received theological instruction in connection with it, and almost all of them entered the ministry. The first pastor of the Oxford church was the Rev. Joseph Claybaugh, D. D., who continued to act until 1855. Rev. Wm. J. McSurley succeeded him, and remained about four years. Among those who have since held the pastorate are the following: Revs. Ormond, Black, Dodds, Frazier, McDonald and Brittain. The society numbers over a hundred communicants and is in a prosperous condition, though it is at present without a pastor.

Nicholas Hester and Charles Fye. The society first worshiped in the old brick school house, which is now used as a dwelling, and stands on lot No. 33. The house was purchased in 1852 of the board of education and was fitted up for the use of the church, and continued as the place of worship until 1867, when the present church edifice was built. The parish numbers seven hundred members, and is in a prosperous condition. A handsome parsonage and a cemetery are connected with the church building. Rev. Father Venneman is the pastor in charge.

The Baptist Church

The Baptists had a church here about eighty years ago. They worshiped in a frame building which stood on lot No. 126. Rev. Mr. Spencer was their pastor. In consequence of deaths and removals the society ceased to exist after 1826.

The Episcopal Church

The Episcopalians organized a branch here about six or eight years ago. They purchased the old Universalist church building and remodeled it to suit their needs. The society now has a very comfortable church home and services are conducted monthly by Rev. Shaffer, of Hamilton.

The Universalist Church

The Universalist church was organized in November, 1839. Services were held in Oxford by the Universalists as early as 1825 or 1828 by the Rev. Abner Longley. Among the first members of the church were Peter Sutton and wife, Amaziah Dodge, Isaac Hall, Mr. Lee and Mr. Withrow. The first pastor was Rev. Harvey Gifford. In x®39 society built a frame church on lot No. 5, which would seat about two hundred and fifty persons. Services were held until in the early 'eighties, when the society disbanded. Among those who have been pastors are the following: Revs. Roger*, Kidwell, St. John, Gurley. Monford. Pingree and Polk.

Colored Church Organizations

The colored population of Oxford have several church organizations. The African Methodist Episcopal church was organized in 1842. The congregation worships in a house built by Joel Collins, for the Christian church, which had a partial existence at one time.

The Baptist African church was organized about 1870 by Rev. Mr. Brown, of Cincinnati. The membership is small in numbers. The house in which it worships was built in 1875.

Miami University

That Miami University is a child of the Ordinance of 1787 has been claimed in view of the statement contained therein that "schools and the means of education shall forever lie encouraged." Its enactors were aiming to secure for the great Northwestern territory that highest civilization which blends religion, education and morality. An act of congress, bearing date May 5, 1792, authorizes the conveyance to John Cleves Svmmes of certain lands, and one section of this act provides that "one complete township" shall be set apart "for the purpose of establishing an academy, and other public schools and seminaries of learning." In accordance with this act, a patent for said lands was executed September 30, 1794, signed by George Washington, and in this patent it is provided that one complete township, six miles square, "shall be holden in trust, to and for the sole and exclusive intent and purpose of erecting and establishing therein an academy, and other public schools, and seminaries of learning, and endowing and supporting the same, and to and for no other use, intent, or purpose whatever." As is well known, the lands covered by the Symmes patent were situated between the Little and the Great Miami rivers. But settlers soon purchased these lands, and it was found impossible to secure a free township. This led to a subsequent enactment bearing date March 3, 1803, which authorized the "legislature of Ohio to enter one complete township west of the Great Miami, in lieu of the original township within Symmes' purchase." From this time the legislature of Ohio has managed the trust established by the general government. On April 15, 1803, tlie legislature appointed three commissioners to locate the township, selecting such tract, or tracts of vacant land in the land district of Cincinnati "as are the most valuable, having due regard to the quality of the land, the situation for health, the goodness of the water, and the advantages of inland navigation." On September 1, 1803, these commissioners selected these university lands, containing 23>321 acres, covering nearly the whole of Oxford township and a few fractional sections in Hanover and Milford townships.

On the 17th of February, 1809, the legislature of Ohio passed an act to establish a university, "which university shall be designated by the name and style of the Miami

University, for the instruction of youth in the various branches of the liberal arts and sciences; for the promotion of good education, virtue, religion and morality; and for conferring all the literary honors, granted in similar institutions, and the benefits and advantages of the said university shall be open to all the citizens within the state." A board of trustees was created, and its first meeting was held at Lebanon, June 7. 1809.

A struggle now arose over the location of the university. Many held that it might be located in some place other than on the university lands. The legislature appointed three commissioners to select a site, and two of these met and chose Lebanon. As one of the commissioners was absent the legality of this choice was disputed, and the legislature again took up the matter, cancelled the action of the commission, and directed the trustees to lay out a town, and locate the university on its own lands. This act was passed February 6, 1810, and on March 26th the board held its second meeting, at Hamilton, and selected the present site for the town and university. The third and fourth meetings of the board were held at Cincinnati, and the subsequent meetings up to September 3, 1818, were held at Hamilton. The first meeting at Oxford was held November 3, 1818. The chief business of the board through these ten years pertained to the leasing of the college lands. By January 20, 1820, they were leased at six per cent, on a low purchase price, which can not be increased, and which in 1840 yielded a quit-rent of five thousand and two dollars, and now yields a little more than six thousand dollars, * or about six per cent, on a principal of one hundred thousand dollars.

With the exception of tuition fees, this was all the annual income that the university received for seventy-five years, and out of this buildings were provided and salaries paid. There was a prodigious amount of first-rate work done for very little money.

Buildings and Grounds. - The first building erected on the university grounds was a "school house," erected in 1811 and costing three hundred and ten dollars. It stood near the site of Brice Science Hall. Afterward a second story was added, and it was converted into a home for the president. It was removed long ago. The next was "Franklin Hall," afterward called "The Wing." This was begun in 1817 and completed in 1818. It was three stories high and contained twelve rooms. It stood until 1868, when it was torn down that the chapel might take its place. The main building, that is, the central part of the present main building, was begun in 1820 and completed in 1824. This is the oldest building now standing on tjie university grounds. It is eighty-six feet in length by sixty feet in width, and contains a number of recitation rooms, the library and two halls for the literary societies. The north dormitory was commenced in 1828 and completed in 1829. The south dormitory was begun in 1834 and completed in 1835. A small laboratory was erected in 1838. This was burned in 1896. In 1868 the old "wing" was taken down, and the chapel was built as the west wing of the main building. This was done through the labors and gifts of some of the alumni and other friends of the university. In 1885 the legislature began making appropriations to the university. These were supplemented at different times by generous gifts from the Hon. Calvin S. Brice. In this year all the university buildings were repaired and improved. Brice Science Hall was begun in 1890 and completed in 1891. Herron gymnasium was begun in 1896 and completed in 1897. In 1898 work was begun on the east wing and on the enlargement of Bishop chapel. These were finished in 1899, and make the main building two hundred and seventy-eight feet in length. The enlargement of Brice Hall was begun in 1904 and will be completed in 1905. Hepburn Hall, a dormitory for young women, was begun in 1904, and will be completed in 1905.

The campus contains sixty acres. The east half of this is native forest, the west half has been planted in woods of different varieties. The buildings are grouped in the center of the grounds. The whole view is delightful. In addition to this campus the university has an adjoining grove of forty acres, and on this are the athletic grounds.

Administrations. - In 1818 the Rev. James Hughes was elected to conduct a "grammar school" in the university. He opened his school November 3, 1818. This was an unsuccessful undertaking, and Mr. Hughes resigned in 1821, and the school was discontinued.

On July 7, 1824, the board of trustees voted to open the university. The Rev. R. H. Bishop, vice-president of the Transylvania University, was elected president of the Miami University, and other members of the faculty were chosen. On November 15th the university opened with twenty students. There were four juniors, three sophomores, five freshmen and eight in the grammar school. The university had at last began its great work for the Northwest,

1841. This administration was characterized by growth. Students came, not only from Ohio, but from Indiana and Illinois, and from different parts of the South. The character of the institution was fixed, and many young men were established in principles that have made them distinguished and useful. It was a bright day when Dr. Bishop came to the university. The following is a list of the presidents of the university, the date preceding each name indicating year of appointment and the date following name indicating year of resignation: 1824, Rev. Robert H. Bishop, D. D., 1841 ; 1841, Rev. George Junkin, D. D., 1844;

In the administration of Dr. Anderson the university attained its largest attendance until recent years. The enrollment for 1854 rose to two hundred and sixty- four. Dr.

Anderson's popular gifts, his easy, cordial way of mingling with the people, and his activity in the churches, tended to popularize the institution and to bring in students. The last half of Dr. Hall's administration was shadowed by the Civil war. Many young men left college, never to return. Some who returned from the war felt that they had lost their college time, and went at once into the activities of life. The patronage of the South had gone. The university was crippled financially, for the lessening of the number of its students meant the lessening of its income. The building of the chapel in 1868 left a debt upon the university in spite of the efforts of some of its devoted friends. It seemed to the board of trustees that they were obliged to close the institution for a time and use the rents in paying the debt. And so in 1873 Miami University was thrown into a state of suspended animation, and continued therein for twelve years.

After the reopening in 1885 the work of building up the university was very heavy and difficult. Many of Miami's old friends had turned to other institutions. There was also a lack in facilities for doing effective work. The administration of Dr. Thompson marked an advance in the work of the university. He secured an annual levy from the state, and also special appropriations from time to time. He widened the area of Miami's friends and patrons. During the administration of Dr. Tappan the legislature voted to establish a normal school in connection with the university, and made an appropriation to this end. In the spring of 1902 the board of trustees agreed to undertake this responsibility and elected a dean and other teachers for the normal college.

The university opened in September, 1902, with Dr. Benton as president, and with the addition, not only of the normal college, but with an increase in the other departments. The summer school of 1903 reached an enrollment of four hundred and eighty, and the growth of the university has gone steadily on.

The general good wrought by Miami University has been often spoken of. Her sons have filled the highest places in the nation. Some have been editors of renown and wide influence; some have stood in the first rank in their professions ; some have established colleges and other schools. In the year 1854 the United Presbyterian church planted a mission in Egypt that has been a great factor in the enlightenment of the people dwelling there. A college has been established at Osint, and there many young natives have received the training that fits them for filling positions under the rule of England. One of the founders of this mission was Dr. James Barnett, a graduate of Miami, and he was joined later by the Rev. E. Currie, another son of Miami. This light set up here in Butler county has shone very far, and very brightly. We could fill many pages in writing of the great and useful things done by Miami's sons.

The local and county advantages through the presence of the university have been very great. In Butler county are many college-bred men who have taken a full or a partial course at Miami. They are found in the professions, in business, in different occupations, on farms, in stores and in shops. As farmers or workmen, whatever their calling, they are intelligent and fitted for the higher citizenship. And from this time on they will be joined by Miami's daughters. The teachers in our country schools are being trained in the university, as well as those in our city schools. Butler county has many things of which to be proud, and its university stands among the first. Its local advantages have brought strength and light into many lives, and the work of the past will be the beneficent work of the future.

The institution was never so well equipped for its responsibilities as it is now. Brice Hall, enlarged, will afford three times its former capacity. The dormitory for young women will afford a comfortable home for one hundred students. The president is an active man of much ability and experience in educational work and management. The professors and instructors, twenty-eight in number, have scholarship and practical training in their departments. The atmosphere is that of diligence in business. The moral and religious tone is well sustained. Right conduct is the rule. Most of the students are the choice youth of their communities. The college spirit is healthy and helpful.

And the prospects are highly encouraging. Every term shows an increase in the number of students. Our summer schools are leading hundreds of teachers to have a personal interest in Miami, and they are talking of Miami to their pupils. The beauty of the place, its pleasant surroundings, its advantages, and its history are increasingly becoming a bright dream in many lives. The founders of Miami University were thinking of the citizenship of the Miami valley, and planning for its welfare. We are now beginning to do in a large and strong and efficient way the work that good and patriotic men dreamed of long ago.

Oxford College

Oxford College was founded in 1849 by Rev. John Witherspoon Scott. He was a son of a Presbyterian clergyman of Brown county, Pennsylvania, and was bom in 1800. He graduated at the age of twenty from Washington College, Pennsylvania, and took graduate work at Yale under Dr. Silliman, choosing natural science as his special work. This chair he occupied for fifty-three years in seven colleges. Four of these he helped to found, and of two of them he was president. After serving for seventeen years as professor in Miami University, and for four years thereafter as one of the founders of Farmers College, inducements were held out to him to organize and conduct an institution for young ladies in the town of Oxford. He accepted with pleasure and a confidence which the end proved to be abundantly warranted. He brought the nucleus of his school in an omnibus from Cincinnati, established it in the buildings which bore the name for some years of Oxford Institute,' and the first year the enrollment was one hundred and thirty-nine. This was twelve years before the establishment of Vassar College. His prosperity induced his friends in Oxford and elsewhere to join in the ambitious project of building a large literary institution, with ample grounds, buildings and accommodations on the northeast side of the village. The great financial crises of 1857 and 1859 bore hard upon them, however, and in the latter year Dr. Scott resigned the presidency.

As soon as the new building was occupied, the Rev. J. H. Buchanan, of the United Presbyterian church, took charge of the institute and carried it on successfully until 1867.

Rev. Robert Desha Morris succeeded Dr. Scott in 1859 and held the position of president for twenty-three years. He was bom in Washington, Kentucky, and received his early education at Augusta College and his theological training at Princeton. He was then called as pastor to the Presbyterian church of Newtown, Pennsylvania, remaining there for eighteen years. During this time he organized a school at Newtown, which is a suburb of Philadelphia, and was always interested in college work. In 1867 the college and institute were united. Dr. Morris was an earnest worker, and bravely surmounted the difficulties which beset the onward way of the educator. The stress which the Civil war brought to all institutions near the border line was safely passed and the college during his administration took its place as an institution of higher learning, drawing students from many states and advancing its curriculum to keep pace with the broadening ideas of woman's life and work. In 1882 the building which had been occupied as the College for Women twentyfive years was transformed into a sanitarium, and the students were removed to the institute building where Dr. Scott had first established the school. The death of Dr. Morris took place the same year, and he was succeeded by his son-in-law, Rev. Faye Walker, D. D., and the institute buildings were enlarged and adapted to their purposes.

Dr. Walker \Vas born at Murdock, Warren county, Ohio, in 1846 and received his education at Miami, Center College, and McCormick Theological Seminary. He was gifted as a speaker, having fine diction and easy address, and the work which he did for the college was the outcome of his sympathetic nature and his enthusiasm. He succeeded Dr. ition of presi- He was born d received his and his ton. He was Presbyterian ania, remainring this time jwn, which is was always In 1867 the d. Dr.Morbravely surbeset the onstress which itutions near ssed and the :ion took its her learning, was married, in 1870, to Miss Lillie Morris, who was his faithful helper in educational work. He was president for seventeen years, resigning in June, 1900. He was succeeded by the Rev. John Hampton Thomas, who remained in office but one year. Dr. Thomas, like his two predecessors, was a Presbyterian clergyman, and a son of the Rev. Thomas E. Thomas, long known at Dayton and Lane Seminary.

In June, 1891, Fannie Ruth Robinson, Ph. D., became president - the first woman to hold the position at Oxford College. Dr. Robinson took her degree at Rutger's College, has taught for more than twenty years and has filled many positions as an educator, both East and West, having been for most of that time preceptress or principal. She is president at the time of writing - 1905.

Oxford College building is a beautiful and commodious one. It is four stories in height and measures one hundred and twenty-six feet wide by eighty-five feet deep, exclusive of the verandas. It has a large and attractive library, containing about three thousand volumes, a fine chapel, an art hall, a gymnasium, and ample accommodations for one hundred and fifty boarders. The building is heated by steam and lighted by electricity, and for miles around stretches a noble landscape.

The Western College For Women

The Western College for Women, located in Oxford, Butler county, is one of the pioneer institutions for the higher education of women in this section of the country. When it was founded in 1855 as the Western Female Seminary, Ohio was considered, as the name of the college indicates, a part of the Northwestern Terrir tory. Oxford was then reached only by stage-coach from Hamilton, fourteen miles distant, and was practically farther from "the East" than many points nearer the Pacific are today. There lived in Oxford at that time a group of people, conspicuous among whom were Rev. and Mrs. Tenney, who realized the need of the young women of the West for educational advantages equal to those of young men. These earnest Christian men and women were inspired by the work of Mary Lyon, the founder of Mt. Holyoke, and their ideal was a reproduction of that institution, which should "give a liberal education; give it at moderate cost; and give it under distinctively Christian influences."

The original site of thirty acres was the gift of James Fisher, of Oxford, and Gabriel Tichenor, of Cincinnati, contributed the first large sum of money. Miss Helen Peabody, a teacher at Mt. Holyoke, was chosen as principal, a position she filled for thirty-three years. She was succeeded in 1888 by Miss Leila S. McKee, Ph. D., an alumna of the Western and a graduate of both Wellesley College and Center College, of Danville, Kentucky, who, during the sixteen years of her presidency, raised the curriculum from the seminary course to that of an extensive and well-rounded college course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

In 1895 a college charter was granted by the state and the Western College is now one of the leading educational institutions for women in the central west. Upon the resignation of Dr. McKee in 1904, Dr. Lilian W. Johnson was called to the presidency from the department of history in the University of Tennessee. President

Johnson is well qualified for her position by the wide range and variety of her academic career; a student of Wellesley and later of the University of Michigan, where she received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1891, for four years a teacher of history at Vassar, for two years a student and traveler in Europe, a graduate student at Cornell, from which she received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in mediaeval history in 1902. She thus knows thoroughly the leading educational institutions and the most prominent educators of the country.

The college campus has grown from thirty to two hundred and thirty-two acres. It is picturesquely situated, its rolling nature affording the pleasing variety of hills and ravines. It includes, besides the grounds around the buildings, an athletic field, golf links, a tract of beech woods, orchards and a dairy farm. The approach to the buildings is a beautiful winding drive which marks the exact route taken by the first load of building material in 1853. The main building is the third on this site, the first and second having been destroyed by fire. Their prompt rebuilding proves the loyalty and earnestness of the friends of the college. The present building has a frontage of two hundred and sixty-four feet and contains, besides students' rooms, parlors, chapel, offices, a dining room and a reading room, where leading magazines and reviews of a literary, educational, scientific, religious, artistic and musical character to the number of one hundred and fifty and a number of daily and weekly newspapers are provided for the use of the students.

Alumnae Hall contains recitation rooms, art galleries and studios, laboratories, a geological museum arid the library. The art department is furnished with a representative collection of original paintings, working models and a large number of photographs and lantern slides for use in the history of art classes. The laboratories are well equipped for practical instruction and each one contains its special library. The scientific collections include a herbarium of more than twenty-five thousand plants, a large number of specimens of marine invertebrates, the gift of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, and the geological collection, in which fossils of the Cincinnati group are especially well represented. There is also an interesting collection of mound pottery of several hundred specimens. The whole northern end of Alumnae Hall is occupied by the library, which is fire-proof in its construction and which has a capacity for one hundred and twenty thousand volumes. The constant growth of the library is provided for by a special fund. It now numbers twelve thousand volumes. Alumnae Hall was built in 1892 by the Alumnae, trustees and friends of the college.

In 1904 the need for increased accommodations for students having become imperative, a new hall of residence was erected. There are in this hall rooms for about seventy students, besides reception rooms and dining room. All these buildings are of brick, substantial and tasteful in their architecture.

The aim of the college is to furnish an all-round training of the highest standard. The entrance requirements are substantially the same as those of the large eastern colleges, and the course of study leads to the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Courses are offered in history, mathematics, literature, philosophy, political economy, pedagogy, Bible, the natural sciences, Greek, Latin, French, German, English, domestic science, music and art. The music department is a strong one. It gives opportunity for the study of piano, pipe organ, voice and violin and its courses are credited for the degree.

The art department gives thorough instruction along the lines followed by the best art schools. Its aim is not only to teach a degree of proficiency in drawing and painting, but to cultivate the taste and to develop an appreciation of art.

Thorough physical training is considered an important part of the college course, the students receiving in addition to the general class work, corrective exercises for any existing defects. Outdoor sports are under the supervision of the physical director and every effort is made to secure and keep sound bodies.

The organization of the family life of the college is as much as possible like that of the home. Each student performs some slight portion of the household duties and thus feels a share of responsibility for, and an interest in the welfare of all.

Each class has its own organization and much of the social life centers in these groups. A number of plays and other entertainments are given during the year, and receptions and other social functions relieve the monotony of study and offer opportunity for training in social usages. The great festival days of the year are Tree Day, which occurs in May; College Day, in October, and Senior Day, in February. On the first of these the freshmen plant their tree