Oregon Historical Quarterly/Volume 6/Origin of Pacific University
THE QUARTERLY
OF THE
OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
ORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY.
The establishment of an institution of learning in a community is of interest not only to those who have been directly connected with it in any capacity, but to all who appreciate at its true value the part which an institution of higher education plays among other forces in the development of a community.
The origin of Pacific University has a peculiar significance, in that it belongs to the beginning of educational activity on the Pacific Coast, and this justifies an attempt to make more familiar the steps leading to its establishment, the things for which it has stood, and the personalities connected with its origin and early history.
In explaining the origin of Pacific University it may be said that it was, in general, the outcome of those forces in American life which have been instrumental in starting educational institutions everywhere along the line of settlement as it has extended westward; more particularly the institution was the product of that religious and missionary zeal which has played so prominent a part in the development of the West; and most directly the institution owes its existence to a few sturdy and benevolent personalities who will always be known as its founders. Note.—The authorities for statements in this paper are mainly the following: Trustee Records; College Catalogues; Conversations with Alanson Hinman, trustee since 1853; papers of S. H. Marsh; Life of Doctor Atkinson, prepared by Myron Eells under direction of Mrs. Warren, daughter of Doctor Atkinson; Manuscript History of Pacific University, prepared by Myron Eells at request of Alumni Association; Conversations with early graduates; Addresses and newspaper articles made on various occasions.
First among the founders of Pacific University must be mentioned Rev. Harvey Clark, the man who was first on the field and sowed the first seed that was eventually, after many changes, to mature into an institution of higher education. There is not much to be found in the form of written record concerning Mr. Clark, but his place in the community was a large one, if it is possible to judge from the traditions which have been handed down of his quiet yet beneficent influence. Mr. Clark was a native of Vermont and began his life as a stonemason. When he decided to seek a college education and study for the ministry his friends were inclined to oppose him, fearing that a good mason would be spoiled in the making of an indifferent minister. He was not to be turned from his purpose, however, and finally graduated from Oberlin College and was ordained to the ministry. It was his desire to give his life service to the West, and soon after his marriage he moved to Independence, Missouri, where he engaged in preaching and teaching until 1840, when he started for Oregon. The life of a missionary appealed to him, and, like most of his early associates, he intended to work among the natives in a foreign field. He was not the representative of any of the societies, but came independently, relying upon his own efforts for support. He located on a claim of land near the present site of Hillsboro and engaged in the work of farming, preaching, and teaching. Somewhere near the present site of Glencoe he established a school, which was the first to be established on the Tualatin Plain and one of the earliest in Oregon. Like those early schools it was for the children of the dians and of mixed blood, of whom there were coming to be many on account of the policy of intermarriage with the natives, encouraged during the period of the fur trade. Admission to this school was free, and it seems to have been notable on that account. In 1845 Mr. Clark removed to the present site of Forest Grove, where he had received a call to become pastor of the Congregational Church, 1 one of the earliest churches in Oregon and on the Pacific Coast. A log church was erected and he secured a tract of land on which a log cabin was built for his residence, which 'was standing until about ten years ago. The sites of this church and of his residence are correctly identified, and are historic spots to be cherished by those interested in Oregon history. Here he engaged in the occupations of farming, preaching, and teaching as in his previous home. He seems from an early date to have entertained a purpose of founding a school and was continually, on the watch for a favorable opportunity. Mr. Clark was one of those men who belong to pioneer life. He had come to set in motion forces and build institutions where there had been none before. The idea of a school was incarnated in him and came into being from his very presence.
The second personality that should be mentioned in connection with the establishment of a school on the Tualatin Plain was Mrs. Tabitha M. Brown, who first came to Oregon in 1846. Mrs. Brown was of New England descent, the daughter of Doctor Moffett, a physician of Brimfield, Massachusetts. Her husband, Rev. Clark Brown, had died early in life, leaving to her care three sons. For some years she taught school in Maryland and Virginia to earn a livelihood and then removed to Missouri, where she believed the opportunities were better. Here she engaged in teaching the children of the settlers, although no school was the outcome of her work so far as known. Her thoughts were turned to Oregon in 1846 and in company with a son who had been to Oregon in 1843 and was returning, an aged brother-in-law, and a party of emigrants, she started on the long journey at the age of sixty-six years. Eager to reach her destination she yielded, with others, to the representations of an unknown guide who promised to show a shorter route than the one down the Columbia Valley. From a letter written to her friends in the East, in 1854, we are able to learn of the trials she was compelled to endure before finally reaching her destination. The account is indeed a graphic one and deserves to live as one representative of pioneer experiences. She was obliged to cross stretches of country sixty miles in width where there was neither grass nor water. There were mountains to be crossed and the canyon of the Umpqua River to be passed before she could be even on the edge of the Willamette Valley. For several days she traversed that deadly gateway into her promised land and emerged alive but destitute of almost everything else. The picture of her arrival at the head waters of the Willamette is vivid indeed. In her letter she says, "Pause a moment and consider my situation. Worse than alone in a savage wilderness, without food, without fire, cold and shivering, wolves fighting and howling about me. The darkness of night forbade the stars to shine upon me; all was solitary as death. But that kind Providence that has ever been, was watching over me still. I committed my all to him and felt no fear." With the arrival of help from her son and others who had gone by the well-known route and anticipated her need, she was able after a journey of nine months to enter the homes of the Methodist missionaries near the present site of Salem. On her return from a trip to a mission station near the mouth of the Columbia River she found transportation to the Tualatin Plain where the son who had preceded her to Oregon was living. It was this visit which determined her future work in Oregon. She was introduced to Mr. Clark and his wife, and being invited to spend the winter of 1846 and 1847 at their home, accepted. In the course of the visit she expressed, at one time, the wish to establish herself in a home of her own where she might receive the orphan children of those who perished in crossing the plains, be a mother to them all, and see that they were properly brought up and educated.
This was a wish which found ready response from her host, and thus from the blending of those two kindly personalities there came into being in 1847 what is known as the "Orphan Asylum." It was a school intended primarily for the children of unfortunate emigrants, but it came soon to be patronized by others. In 1848 the gold excitement occurred in California, and men whose wives had died left their children with Mrs. Brown. Here, too, came the children of the settlers who had selected claims in the fertile valley of the Tualatin River. The log church used by Mr. Clark served the purpose of a schoolhouse, and during the summer a boarding hall was built. The school was free to all who had not means to pay, but a charge was made to those who could afford it. There are some yet living who attended that school and remember distinctly its two kindly founders. Settlers rallied nobly around the enterprise and furnished from their own meager supplies the household utensils needed for the boarding hall. When the revenue was insufficient for supplies, Mr. Clark and other settlers generously furnished them. Teachers were secured from those coining in or from the missionaries who had been driven from their post in the eastern part of the Willamette Valley when increase of immigration stirred up the Indians to hostility. Among those early teachers are found the names of Rev. Lewis Thompson, of the Presbyterian denomination, William Geiger, a friend of Mr. Clark, later a practicing physician and until recently a resident of Forest Grove, and Miss Mary Johnson, of whom no record is found beyond the name, and there were probably others who assisted.
The orphan asylum was more than an idea; it was an institution. Something tangible had started. Something had come into being where before there was nothing. It was only the forerunner of what was to follow, but it served its purpose and it had its distinct bearing on subsequent events. It put at the foundation of Pacific University a splendid motive, which, to an institution that cherishes: traditions, is worth a great deal. Furthermore, it determined the location of an institution at Forest Grove rather than at some other place, and served as a starting point for the more ambitious undertaking that soon followed.
The next step in the development of an institution was taken upon the arrival of a third personality into. Oregon. In June of 1848 there landed at Oregon City, ready for a life-long service, for Oregon in all that makes for good citizenship, Rev. George H. Atkinson. It is significant that he came not as missionary to a foreign field, but as the first representative of the Home Missionary Society, and as a representative to a section of the United States that in the same year received a territorial government, thus insuring American institutions and American ideals of life. The coming of Mr. Atkinson also marks the growing influence of emigration, for it had been at the request of a parish in Illinois, some of whose members had gone to Oregon,, that petition had been made for a representative of the society which had been organized to lay moral foundations in the new West. It was significant, too, of the fact that the East was organizing to extend aid to the West, and to furnish conditions that would not have been realized for many years had it been necessary to await the operation of the law of supply and demand. As Mr. Atkinson departed for his long journey and his distant field he had been charged by Rev. Theron Baldwin, Secretary of the Society for Promotion of College and Theological Education, to keep in mind the "founding of an Academy which should grow into a College." Thus new and strong forces were placed behind the modest and heroic beginning of Mr. Clark and Mrs. Brown, forces that reached back to the older civilization of the East and were destined to center, before long, complex influences upon the creation of an institution of higher education.
Mr. Atkinson, like his predecessors, was a native of New England, born at Newburyport, Massachusetts. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College and of Andover Theological Seminary. He had planned to enter the service of the American Board in Africa, but had been turned from his purpose almost by chance. Unlike Mr. Clark and Mrs. Brown he came to Oregon by water, thus avoiding the danger and hardship of a journey by land. With the exception of the time consumed, the journey was one of ease and of pleasure. The days were spent in reading books useful to him in his future work, in making friends among the passengers, in taking observations along the route, in religious work among the sailors, and in laying plans for the future good of Oregon. When he reached the Sandwich Islands, which were at that time the front door to Oregon for one coming by water, he learned of the massacre of Doctor Whitman and his associates, a cheerful introduction indeed to his new field. He was advised by his friends to relinquish his purpose of working in a place so dangerous as Oregon seemed to be. With a greater faith than his friends, however, he refused to turn back, and in June of 1848 landed at Oregon City.
It is probably true that the coming of no man previous to that of Mr. Atkinson meant so much for the future of education in Oregon. He had acquainted himself with the newest ideas in education, and brought with him many of the most advanced text-books then in use. He was a friend of education in every form, and his influence was not greater in the development of religious schools than in furthering the introduction of the public school system when this was accomplished in Portland a few years later.
Mr. Atkinson was a man of great activity and at once set out to accomplish his purposes. He first established a school for girls at Oregon City, and then learning of the start already made on the Tualatin Plain, went there by horseback, determined to utilize everything that had already been done. From papers left by Mr. Atkinson we learn that in July of 1848 a conference was held at the log cabin of Mr. Clark, at which the following were present: Rev. George H. Atkinson, Rev. Harvey Clark, Rev. Lewis Thompson, Rev. H. H. Spalding, and Rev. Elkanah Walker. Various subjects of mutual interest were discussed, and it was resolved to establish an association of the ministers and churches of the Congregational and Presbyterian denominations, and also to "found an Academy which should grow into a College." In September of the same year the first meeting of the association thus formed met at Oregon City, and among other items of business was the resolution passed expressing the belief "that it is expedient to found an Academy under our patronage." At the same meeting a board of trustees was selected, consisting of the following ministers and laymen: Rev. Harvey Clark, Rev. George H. Atkinson, Rev. Lewis Thompson, Hiram Clark, Peter Hatch, William H. Gray, Alvin T. Smith, James Moore, and 0. Russell. Mr. Clark was chosen president of the board, and Rev. George H. Atkinson secretary. The members of this original board were all prominent settlers at Oregon City, Clatsop Plain, and Tualatin Plain.
Thus the "Orphan Asylum" gave place to a regularly organized academy with a board of trustees, and with a broader backing than those interested in the earlier enterprise of the settlers could have dared to hope for in so short a time. It is interesting to notice that at the time this action was takent at Oregon City there were only a few thousand inhabitants in the whole of the Oregon Country; the fur-trading period was just giving place to that of agricultural settlement, and with the exception of the "Oregon Institute," established by the Methodist missionaries near the present site of Salem, there was no school of the grade of an academy on the Pacific Coast.
For the institution thus started a charter was prepared by Mr. Clark and Mr. Atkinson. It was secured from the territorial legislature by J. Q. Thornton, who had been added to the board within the year to take the place of one of the original members who had removed. This charter was secured in 1849 and was the first charter to be granted by the civil government of Oregon, A copy may be seen in the Oregon archives. A study of this early charter is the best means of securing a knowledge of the purposes of the founders. The distinctly religious character of the school may be seen in the provisions requiring the Bible to be used as a text-book, with provision for morning and evening prayers, and in the provision requiring the trustees to be subscribers to the Westminster creed, a requirement that was soon changed to read "evangelical religion." The form of administration is seen in the provision for the creation of a board of trustees, which should be self-perpetuating, and an agent, who should have the direct management of the affairs of the school. The property of the school was limited to three hundred and twenty acres of land and a capital stock of $40,000. The ultimate purpose and hope is seen in the provision making it possible for a collegiate department to be established whenever it seemed feasible. In this provision for collegiate education it preceded all educational institutions on the Pacific Coast. It may be regarded as one of the acts of splendid audacity with which the student of western history becomes familiar.
The charter provided that the name of the institution should be "The President and Trustees of Tualatin Academy." The name Tualatin is from the Indian name of the river and the plain, which signifies a smooth and slowly flowing stream. Land for a campus was secured by gift from Mr. Clark and other settlers, and a tract covering the present site of Forest Grove was given by Mr. Clark for the purpose of securing an income. It was the plan of the founders that this should be platted into lots as the site of a town. The present name Forest Grove was given to the prospective town in 1851, in preference to the name Vernon, by the trustees of the academy. Care was taken that conditions favorable to a school community should exist by placing in the deeds a clause making the property revert to the institution in case ardent spirits were ever sold on the land forming this early property of the institution.
The school possessed no buildings of its own and the work was first carried on in the log building used by Mr. Clark as the Congregational Church. The first distinctive school building was that erected in 1851 which is still in use and was at that time considered a fine structure, It was erected at a cost of about $7,000, of which the item of labor at $8 to $10 a day was an interesting item. There were many intermissions in the work of construction. The building was the cause of much sacrifice on the part of the early settlers and deserves to stand as a reminder to the later generations of the work of their fathers. The raising of the frame was celebrated in the true pioneer fashion as a festival occasion, and the campus was dotted over with the white tents of the settlers, who came from near and far to participate. Many doubtless participated in the festivities and rallied around this enterprise who understood but little of the significance and perhaps were never able to enjoy many of the privileges to be derived there.
So far as the location was concerned there was little to be added in the way of natural environment. The campus was a spot of beauty, covered with a native growth of fine firs and oaks, centuries old. The grass was dotted over with hundreds of varieties of wild flowers; the scenery in every; direction was beautiful, with the blue hills of Coast range of mountains rising beyond the green plain of the Tualatin to the north and west; and to the east the snow-capped peaks of the Cascades. It was separated, however, from the other settlements of the Oregon Country and in a position of comparative isolation, a fault that only time could correct.
In the early history of Oregon permanent male teachers were difficult to secure outside of the missionaries, who were expected to be ready to serve in that capacity at any time as part of their work. In the early period it had been the profits of the fur trade that absorbed the interests of men. By the time of the founding of the academy it was the gold fever and the returns to be had from the rich agricultural lands or the mercantile opportunities. The first .teacher to be secured by the academy was Mr. D. C. L. Latourette, a young man who had just come from the East. Mr. Latourette was a native of New York state and had come West to seek his fortune. He was well educated and gave promise of excellent service, but was unable to resist the allurements of the gold fields of California, and served only for part of a year. He returned later to reside in Oregon, identified himself with its development, and furnished two sons as students of the 120 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. academy and the college at a time when students were needed. For his successor the trustees turned to the band of missionaries upon whom they could always depend and elected in March, 1849, Rev. Gushing Eells, as the record expresses it, " for the next term and onwards, Providence permitting." In the person of Mr. Eells the trustees had secured another of those New England characters who figured so prominently in the founding of Pacific Univer- sity. Tracing his descent back to the Ironsides of Crom- well he united to high ideals of education and religion much of the Cromwellian discipline. Mr. Eells was born in Blandford, Massachusetts, and was a graduate of Wil- liams College and Hartford Theological Seminary. Like Mr. Atkinson he had intended to enter the service of the American Board in Africa, but had been deterred on ac- count of the unsettled conditions prevailing there. Mr. Eells was one of those missionaries who had located among the Indians of the eastern part of the Oregon Country and had not been hindered by Hudson Bay officials from oc- cupying a dangerous field. He had stood by his post as long as it was possible, and then yielded more to the wishes of others than his own desires. Coming to the Willamette Valley he entered the service of the Oregon Institute" as teacher where he was located, when induced to enter the service of the denominations with which he was affiliated. He remained as principal of the academy but one year, resigning because of his strict ideas of dis- cipline in some of which he was not supported by the board of trustees. He engaged in farming in the neigh- borhood of Hillsboro until his recall to the academy at a later date, 1857, when he served a longer period, resign- ing at last in 1860 to return to the scene of his earlier endeavors. Here he was one who was prominent in lay- ing the foundations of Whitman College. ORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY. 121 For a year the principalship was held by Rev. D. R. Williams, a Congregational minister, who had recently come to Oregon from Massachusetts. He resigned to ac- cept the pastorate of the Congregational Church at Salem and soon returned to the East, where he died the same year. The next principal was Mr. J. M. Keeler, who served until 1855. Mr. Keeler was later identified with the introduction of the public school system into Oregon and served as a teacher in Portland. He gradually drifted into other occupations and at the time of the civil war was United States marshal in Oregon. Although the resources of the academy were meager the sexes were taught separately in different buildings and by different teachers. As teachers for the girls are to be found the names of Miss Mary Johnson, Miss Sarah Brawley, and Mrs. Eells. In 1851 Miss Elizabeth Miller, now Mrs. E. M. Wilson of The Dalles, served for the period of one year. From her youth Miss Miller had cherished a romantic interest in Oregon. The journal of Patrick Gass had come into the possession of her father and had so aroused his interest that he had eagerly sought for his library everything that was published on the subject. From the shelves of the library they came into the hands of the daughter who was thus made ready to go out as one of the teachers sent by Governor Slade of Vermont, an enthusiast in the cause of education for the growing West. Mrs. Wilson is the oldest living teacher of the institution, and at various times has visited the institution with whose earlier history she was connected. At one of the annual meetings of the Oregon Historical Society she read a paper embodying some of her recollections of the journey to Oregon and of her experiences on arriving. A paper read before the Alumni Association of Pacific University at a recent commencement exercise gave more fully her recol- lections of the early days in Tualatin Academy. 122 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. From 1848 to 1853 the institution aimed at nothing be- yond the work of an academy. In fact, it had all it could do to continue as such. The problems connected with the securing of money, employment of teachers, and ac- quiring of equipment were often discussed with "feverish interest," as Mr. Atkinson expressed it. Trips were made back and forth between Oregon City, Portland, and Forest Grove by horseback, in lumber wagon, and on foot, re- gardless of weather or condition of roads. Conferences were prolonged far into the night and the early hours of morning. On one occasion it was actually resolved to discontinue the school, but the resolution had been heard through the cracks in the ceiling of the cabin by Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Smith, and Mrs. Brown, and they plead with the men to reverse it, with the result that the school was continued. By 1852 the existence of the academy was assured and the purpose of extending the work had gained headway with the board of trustees. Doctor Atkinson started for the East in the interest of his work in 1852, and it was re- solved to intrust to his care a Representation of the school to the Society for the Promotion of -College and Theological Education, whose secretary had in a measure been respon- sible for the enterprise in his farewell to Mr. Atkinson. Application was therefore made to be placed on the list of institutions to receive aid. An interval elapsed before the reply could be received, which Doctor Atkinson improved by an issue of circulars to the leading patrons of educa- tion in the East. Many prominent men were willing to indorse the undertaking and to allow the use of their names in that connection. Among those who rendered this important service are to be found such men as Rev. M. Badger and D. B. Coe, of the American Missionary Society; Revs. Richard S. Storrs, Henry Ward Beecher, Gardiner Spring, George B. Cheever, William Adams, ORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY. 123 Thomas H. Skinner, Samuel H. Cox, and Edwin F. Hat- field, of the Presbyterian and Congregational churches ; and Mark H. Newman, Henry Iveson, and A. S. Barnes, among the publishers. Such indorsement was of the greatest value to the institution at a critical time and jus- tified the hopes of the pioneer founders. The reply of the Society also was favorable when it was received. The in- stitution was to be placed ninth on the list of those to receive aid and the salary of an additional teacher was guaranteed at once. It was evidently the determination of the board, if this aid was secured, to move forward toward the use of colle- giate powers. With much satisfaction Doctor Atkinson began the search for a man to fill the position thus created. The new man was not only to go West as a teacher, but as the founder of a college. The first man approached re- fused the offer, but suggested as one 'fit for the place Sidney Harper Marsh, at that time a student in the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He was considered especially fitted for the place, both because of his educational ancestry and also because of his apparent ability to cope with difficulties. Mr. Marsh was a native of Virginia, born at Sidney Hampton College, where his father, Rev. James Marsh, was professor. Later he re- moved to Vermont, where his father became president of the University of Vermont and professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy. Through his mother he was de- scended from President Wheelock, the first president of Dartmouth College. Mr. Marsh graduated from the Uni- versity of Vermont and entered the Union Theological Seminary, where he was studying at the time of Doctor Atkinson's visit to the East. The offer of a position in the mild climate of Oregon came at an opportune time, as he had already been considering a removal to the Southern States on account of his delicate lungs. In a 124 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. letter to Doctor Atkinson in November of 1852 he wrote : " Under such circumstances, and considering the peculiar adaptedness of such a position to what I consider my powers of greatest usefulness, your letter seemed to me almost Providential, and I feel like assenting at once to what I understand you propose." Mr. Marsh spent a year in special preparation for his new work and in gathering books for the library. He received much encouragement from prominent men in New York City and elsewhere, among whom his family connections gave him a standing that was of great value to the welfare of the institution whose interests he was henceforth to serve. It was in this connection that this remote educational venture first received the notice of the Eastern press, and in the issue of the New York Times for January 26, 1853, the following item appeared : "We have alluded to the fact that a college has already been projected in that distant region with the view of affording the sons of emigrants the means of obtaining a classical education on the Pacific Coast. The undertaking is one that can not be too highly commended. Such an institution well endowed and placed under the charge of a competent board will be of incalculable benefit to this growing terri- tory." The journey to Oregon was made by water and was with- out special incident. Thus a new personality became con- nected with the founding of Pacific University, and one destined, perhaps, more than any other to stamp upon it the characteristics for which it should stand in the his- tory of the community. It is only just to Mr. Marsh to say that the task was a heroic one. He himself admitted in a paper presented to the trustees at /a later time that the attempt to establish a college was in advance of the needs by at least ten years. The Society in the East recog- nized the difficulty, and expressions of appreciation for the ORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY. 125 work done are found in the proceedings of that body. The number of settlers was very small in the radius which the college might expect to reach ; they had very little appreciation of the kind of education he sought to provide ; the largest settlements at Oregon City and Port- land, both numbering only a few hundred, were separated by high hills and roads nearly impassable much of the time. Mr. Marsh entered the work with a delicate con- stitution, without any of the comforts of home, and with only an unfinished room on the upper floor of the one building the institution possessed. Such was the abode of one used to all the comforts and refinements of a college community in New England. He entered at once with enthusiasm into his work. It was deemed best to apply for a new charter and one was secured in 1854. In general outline and in most of its de- tails it resembled the earlier one. The name was changed to the "President and Trustees of Pacific University and Tualatin Academy," a name which the institution still re- tains. The name Pacific was selected by Mr. Marsh him- self in preference to Columbia and Washington. The term University was also his choice and represents his ultimate hope for the institution. The ability to hold land and cap- ital stock was increased to a township of land and $500,000. The religious character of the institution and the general plan of organization with a self-perpetuating board of trus- tees was preserved. The inauguration of President Marsh occurred with ap- propriate ceremonies, held out of doors for lack of a hall large enough for the occasion. In the inaugural address appear the policies and ideals for which the institution was to stand in the future. He outlined a classical college with high standards and full courses of study according to the ideas at that time prevailing in the better institu- tions of the East. "To-day," he said, "Pacific University 126 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. commences its formal and public organization, accepts publicly and solemnly its responsibilities, and assumes a position from which there can be no honorable retreat. After five years of preparation, of painful and strenuous effort, this institution takes a step in advance. The idea of education has taken a higher form of development the academy has become the college." Upon President Marsh personally fell most of the work. He had to outline the policies for the future, to map out the courses of study, set the proper standards for a college education, educate public opinion to appreciate and accept such standards, provide funds for an enlarged work, and do most of the advanced teaching himself. That was a program of work that would make an educator of the present time wince. The difficulties were further increased by a defective ad- justment between college and academy and the impossi- bility of keeping the latter in its position of subordination when it was by far the larger part of the institution. The presidency of Doctor Marsh from 1854 to 1879 may properly be called the formative period of the institution. The college became more than an idea ; it became a fact. With a rare skill Doctor Marsh, supported and aided by those who had already done so much, brought every influ- ence to bear upon the work to which he had set himself. Following Mr. Keeler in 1855 as colleague of President Marsh in the academy, Erastus D. Shattuck came as principal. Mr. Shattuck was of Belgian descent, born in Vermont, a graduate of the University of Vermont, a man of fine education and abilities. Before coming to Oregon he had been admitted to the bar of New York state. He was engaged as teacher of ancient languages and was thorough in his work. Between Mr. Shattuck and President Marsh there were many bonds of sympathy. Destined, however, for a larger place in the history of Oregon he left educational work and entered the practice ORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY. 127 of his profession, attaining by the time of his death to the position of circuit judge in Oregon. Although many of the men connected with the institution in these early times did not stay for a long period of service their in- fluence was valuable, and generally, as in the case of Mr. Shattuck, they remained in the State and became influen- tial friends of the institution. As a successor, Rev. Gush- ing Eells was recalled and served for a period of three years. The academy continued to do effective work under the principalship of William Adams, now a resident of Hills- boro, Harvey W. Scott then a student in the college, E. A. Tanner called from Jacksonville, Illinois; S. Weynand, L. J. Powell, A. J. Anderson from Illinois, and J. D. Robb, all of whom served during the presidency of Doctor Marsh. To the development of the college proper Doctor Marsh gave his best service and endeavored to make the institu- tion stand in the community for high ideals of classical education. It is to this effort, therefore, that attention must be directed. Doctor Marsh was not lacking in ap- preciation of the more elementary features of education, but he felt that the subject of higher education was his own creative sphere of activity. The requirements of a college are necessarily greater than those of an academy. Money and permanent en- dowment was needed and to this task Doctor Marsh de- voted his energies. In the fall of 1858 he made his first trip to the East, remaining until the spring of 1860. The work of solicitation was distasteful to Doctor Marsh, but he had much success in the work. His letters home are filled with the experiences which a man engaged in such work was compelled to meet. His devotion to the cause and his enthusiasm, together with the helpful influence of connections with a family of prominent educators in the East, surmounted all difficulties and he was able to 128 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. secure about $20,000. The coming of the civil war in- terrupted the work for several years, but as soon as the war was over he was back in the East again soliciting money. In spite of conditions following the war he was able to secure about $25,000. Another trip in 1870 brought about $20,000, and a fourth trip in 1878, promised equal results. He was obliged, however, to return, broken in health, with the work incomplete. A list of the donors found in the records of the trustees is an excellent indica- tion of the patronage which was back of this pioneer in- stitution in the West. The list is too long to give in full, but the following names are representative of the givers : William E. Dodge, Henry Ward Beecher, Dr. E. M. Kirk, Edward Everett Hale, Nehemiah Adams, Amos Lawrence, Frederick Billings, C. P. Huntington, Dr. A. D. Smith, Richard S. Storrs, James P. Thompson, Rufus Choate, R. C. Winthrop, Edward Everett, Sidney E. Morse, and his brother S. F. B. Morse, Professors Phelps and Shedd of the Andover Theological Seminary, and Professors Hitchcocks, Robinson, Skinner, and Smith of the Union Theological Seminary. To a college in its initial stages the indorsement of such men was worth even more than the money they gave. Many of these men also were con- tributors at several different times, thus signifying their confidence in the undertaking and in the management. With the increase of means the business management became of greater importance. Upon the trustees added responsibilities fell. The original board had been thinned by death, removal, and resignation, and new men were selected to take the places. In 1851 Prof. Horace Lyman and Thomas Naylor were elected ; in 1853 W. P. Abrams, Alanson Hinrnan, and Israel Mitchell ; in 1857 Rev. P. B. Chamberlain ; in 1858 Rev. 0. Dickinson and H. W. Cor- bett ; in 1866 Rev. Elkanah Walker and George Shindler ; in 1873 Prof. Thomas Condon ; in 1876 R. P. Boise ; in ORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY. 129 1877 Henry Failing, and in 1878 Rev. Myron Eells. The selection of men was carefully made, different religious denominations were represented, both professional and business men were chosen. Many of the younger and rising business men of the neighboring city of Portland were placed on the board and gave to the work their care- ful attention. The board had among its members not only those who understood what a college should be, but also skilled men of affairs who understood how to pursue a cor- rect financial policy. Scrupulous care was taken to keep intact the funds contributed and to see that they were as- signed to the objects which the donors desired. Money was not used for current expenses, but the principle of perma- nent endowment was firmly established. The early treas- urers, A. T. Smith, T. Naylor, President Marsh, and Pro- fessor Lyman, though they had less funds to handle, had done their work well. The later treasurers, H. W. Corbett, W. S. Ladd, and Henry Failing, as practical men of affairs, were able not only to preserve intact the funds, but by wise investment to increase them. Mr. Corbett and Mr. Failing were both from the State of New York, came to Oregon as young men to make their fortunes and had been successful. Mr. Ladd was from Vermont, the State that furnished so many of the early founders and had established the first banking house in Oregon. Mr. Corbett served as treasurer until his election to the United States senate in 1866, and always afterward used his influence in favor of the institution's financial welfare, giving largely of his own means. Mr. Failing served until his death in 1898, when he was succeeded by Mr. Frank M. Warren, a son-in-law of Doctor Atkinson. To the affairs of the institution Mr. Failing gave the same care that he bestowed on his own business. The accounts of the institution were even kept in his own handwriting. He was sensitive in his desire that every fund should be 130 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. scrupulously kept intact, and that the credit of the insti- tution should be maintained at the highest point. His phrase " better close the institution than do a dishonorable thing" has become proverbial with the board of trustees. In the development of a staff of college professors the first appointment was that of Rev. Horace Lyman to the chair of Mathematics. Mr. Lyman had come to Oregon originally as a representative of the Home Missionary Society, and in that capacity had already done much work previous to his appointment in the college. He was the first pastor of the First Congregational Church at Port- land, and served in other places as well. Mr. Lyman was a native of Massachusetts, born at East Hampton. He was a graduate of Williams College and of Andover The- ological Seminary. As a young man he had been a per- sonal friend of Mr. Atkinson and largely through his in- fluence came to Oregon. He was later transferred to the chair of History and Rhetoric, for which he had greater aptitude than for mathematics. Professor Lyman was a man of great usefulness in the college. In spite of phys- ical infirmities he was able to endure the heavy work requisite in a pioneer college. He was often called on to do administrative work besides his usual duties as teacher. During the absence of President Marsh in the East he acted as president, and served as treasurer for some years. As a teacher Professor Lyman possessed that quality of sympathy which drew students to him. The oldest grad- uates speak in highest terms of him and of the inspira- tional character of his work. In 1863 the faculty was increased by the addition of Prof. Edward A. Tanner, who was transferred from the academy to the chair of Ancient Languages. Professor Tanner came to Oregon from Illinois, where he was born. He was a graduate of Illinois College. He was a teacher of high standards and well qualified for the work of a ORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY. 131 college such as he was called to serve. After a period of three years he resigned and accepted a position in his alma mater, to the presidency of which he was later called, devoting the remaining years of his life to that service. Prof. 0. P. Harpdening, a graduate of Rutger's College, New Jersey, became professor of Ancient Languages, but remained only two years. Although thorough as a teacher, he was somewhat eccentric in manner. Of his subsequent career there is no record. In 1867 Prof. Joseph W. Marsh came as professor of Ancient Languages. He was a half brother of President Marsh, a native of Vermont, and a graduate of the University of Vermont. His experience had been gained in the schools of Wisconsin and of Can- ada. He still holds the same chair and is the oldest mem- ber of the present faculty. A service of nearly forty years has enabled him to leave an impress on the lives of a large number of students who have been under his instruction, and to be a part of the history of Oregon. His ideal of education is the well-rounded training of all the mental faculties. Remarkably well read along many lines, he has broad sympathies for every field of knowledge. Character is the chief object to be attained according to his stand- ards, and for forty years he has exemplified to his students the things he has taught. In 1872 Prof. Alexander J. Anderson was added to the faculty as professor of Mathematics. He came to Oregon first as principal of the academy and was transferred to the college. Professor Anderson was of Scotch-Irish descent and born in Illinois. He was a graduate of Knox College. Besides the work in Mathematics he was for a period of about three years professor of the Art of Teaching, to which subject considerable attention was given previous to the establishment of normal schools. In 1874 he re- signed, devoting the remainder of his life to the cause of education in the Northwest, as principal of the High School 132 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. in Portland and as president of the Territorial University of Washington and of Whitman College. The Ancient Languages, Mathematics, and Mental and Moral Philosophy will be recognized as predominating in the instruction of the college thus far. Attention, how- ever, was paid to Science, its value was recognized, and some strong men were employed in that line. As early as 1861 to 1863 science had been taught by Professor Taft. In 1867 Prof. George H. Collier was called from a similar position in the East to have charge of the work of Chem- istry, Botany, Geology, and Mathematics. He was a na- tive of the State of New York, a graduate of Oberlin Col- lege, and of the Normal School at Albany, New York. The work in Geology, however, was soon given over to Prof. Thomas Condon, who had begun his connection with the college by a course of lectures on Geology in 1872. Later he was added to the faculty. Professor Condon was born in Ireland, but came to America as a boy. He first came to Oregon as a representative of the Home Mission- ary work and served at various places in that capacity, among others at Forest Grove. He was not only a pro- fessor in the college, but was elected as a trustee. As a scientist in the special field of geology he has become an authority, while as a teacher he inspired great interest in the subject he taught. Professor Collier and Professor Condon both resigned in 1876, the first to accept a position in Willamette University at Salem and the latter to enter the service of the State University at Eugene, with which he has been connected ever since. After the resignation of Professor Collier, Capt. R. H. Lamson, a graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, was employed to teach Mathematics until the arrival of William N. Ferrin in 1877. Professor Ferrin was a native of Vermont and a graduate of the University of that State. He was a son of Rev. Clark Ferrin, and had received experience in teachORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY. 133 ing in connection with academies in New England. His connection with the college has been continuous since that time. For a period of about a year Levi C. Walker, an alumnus of the college, served as instructor of Mathe- matics. In 1882 William D. Lyman was employed as in- structor in English and History. He was a son of the Professor Lyman and upon the death of the latter suc- ceeded to his chair. He was the first alumnus of the col- lege to hold a chair in the college. He remained until his resignation to accept a similar position in connection with Whitman College. In the earlier times the scientific equipment was meager indeed. It has been said that it began with a spy-glass to view the stars and a galvanic battery which Professor Ly- man owned and used as a curative for rheumatism. Small appropriations were made later for equipment and mate- rials and laboratories were started. The development of a library was one of the special ob- jects of President Marsh's effort. Already a start had been made before his arrival in Oregon. The first book secured for the library so far as the records show was a " History of Harvard College," given in 1851 by Rev. S. C. Damon of the Sandwich Islands, a friend of Mr. Eells and interested in the establishment of a school through a visit to the Tualatin Plain. To one looking back there seems to be a peculiar fitness that this history of a pioneer col- lege of Atlantic Coast should become the first book in the library of a pioneer college of the Pacific Coast. Hon. S. Thurston, delegate from the Oregon Territory to Congress, interested himself in the college, secured many publica- tions from the government, and placed the institution in line to receive many more. Subsequent representatives in Congress have aided in the acquisition of books, and an alumnus of the college, Hon. Thomas H. Tongue, when member of the House of Representatives, had the institu134 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. tion made a depository of government publications. Thus the library is particularly rich in government works, be- ginning with the Annals of Congress in 1789. Doctor Atkinson, also, was alive to the value of a library and se- cured many books when he was in the East. After his death his private library also was given to the institution by his daughter, Mrs. F. M. Warren. President Marsh on every trip to the East secured books, both by gift and purchase. One of the most notable gifts was the collec- tion of Sidney E. Morse. His father, Rev. Jedediah Morse, was interested in the subject of geography, and was him- self one of the leading American writers on the subject. Among his books were many that pertained to that field. Thus the library come into possession of such a rare and valuable book as a " Ptolemy Universal Geography," bear- ing the date 1542. There were also many books of travel now invaluable to one desiring to study American history from the sources. The collection was also rich in early texts and contains at least four hundred volumes of Amer- icana that date previous to 1820. Many of the books are in- teresting from the names on the fly leaf. There are books given by Henry W. Longfellow, Rufus Choate, and Ed- ward Everett Hale, with autograph signatures, and some- times addressed to President Marsh. Many of the books are interesting because they represent the taste of those who assisted President Marsh in the selection. His cousin, George P. Marsh, was an adviser, and as a consequence there went into the library many early English texts in- valuable to the student of English literature. The collec- tion of books was a remarkably good one for the center of a college life and alone gave tone to the college as stand- ing for culture in the truest sense. A fund also was created which yields a few hundred dollars yearly, and from this the library has been able to add from time to ORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY. 135 time a selection of the more recent books needed in the different departments. Previous to the year 1863 there were no graduates. Several had entered the college, but had dropped out for various reasons. In 1863 the college had its first graduate in the person of Harvey W. Scott, the son of a settler living in the vicinity of Forest Grove. Mr. Scott had been a good student and while yet pursuing his studies had been intrusted with work in the academy. He took the classical course and received the degree of A. B. There was no regular commencement exercise at the time, but his oration was delivered in public. This event marks, perhaps, one of the triumphs in the administration of Doctor Marsh. It had now been demonstrated that a four-year course of study could be maintained. If one student could be graduated others were sure to follow. The next class to graduate, in 1866, consisted of three. Regular commencement exercises were held and every year since there has been a class with appropriate exer- cises. The largest class that President Marsh was privi- leged to see finish the course was the class of 1878, which numbered ten. The class of 1867 contained the first to take the scientific course, Dr. Dav Raffety, now of Portland. The first woman to graduate was Miss Harriet Hoover, wife of the late Benton Killen of Portland. After the graduation of the first student an alumni as- sociation was established for the purpose of strengthening the fraternal bonds between the educated men in the Northwest, to preserve the purity of aim that characterized the college life, and to give college graduates living in this region the privilege of a college association. This organization was open to all college graduates living in Oregon and Washington. The plan was well conceived because it brought to the support of the college that sympathetic indorsement of men from many of the col136 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. leges of the East who appreciated a college education, and aided in the support of high standards in a new country where they were little appreciated. The period of the war had led to the establishment of regular military drill. Stacks of arms had been provided by the government and especial attention was paid to drill previous to the second election of President Lincoln. There was a strong Southern feeling in Oregon at this time, and one of her favorite sons had been candidate for vice-president on the extreme Southern ticket. A large part of the army of General Price, after its failure in Missouri, had come to Oregon. Regular meetings of the Knights of the Golden Circle were held in the vicinity of Forest Grove, and one of the exciting, though dangerous, pranks of the early students was to act as spies. The in- fluence of the college during this period was wholly for the Union. Doctor Marsh gave freely of his time and effort in that cause. In 1863, the critical year, he preached a fast-day sermon, and at various times lectured for the benefit of the Sanitary Commission. As early as 1866, and probably earlier, the first literary society was founded, the "Gamma Sigma," Gnothen Seauton, and shortly after the Alpha Zeta Society. A girls' society, the Philomathean, was established as a re- sult of a class discussion, according to the record, in which the boys were worsted and took revenge by taunting the girls with inability to maintain a literary society, a chal- lenge which was accepted with the result that a society was started. The programs of these early societies are interesting from the questions discussed, among others to be noted are the "Annexation of Hawaii," and the "Intervention of the United States in Cuba," which read strangely now. The societies have been a leading feature of the college life and rarely does an alumnus, in referring to his student days, fail to refer with satisfaction to his ORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY. 137 connection with one or the other. They have also been the means of bringing into touch with the college many of the prominent men of the state and the coast who at various times have been invited to lecture under their auspices. Until 1869 a segregation of the sexes had been the policy of the institution as that was the generally accepted idea throughout the country at that time. The westward move- ment of population and the difficulty of supporting sepa- rate schools for the sexes was gradually bringing about a change. In 1869 President Marsh was convinced of the impracticability of his plan, and also seems to have un- dergone some change in regard to the theory of separate education. His policy of separating the academy and the college and establishing a seminary for young women was abandoned, although considerable headway had already been made in that direction, sites had been secured for the separate schools, and committees appointed to look after each and to apportion the funds. With the admis- sion of women to the regular college classes in 1869 it be- came necessary to have a preceptress, and the first to hold this office was Mrs. A. J. Anderson, followed in turn by Miss P. A. Wing, later Mrs. P. A. Saylor, Mrs. N. Spiller, Miss Mary E. Mack, and Miss Luella Carson, who held the position for the longest period of time from 1878 to 1884, when she resigned to accept a position in the State University at Eugene. Most of the young women took a three-year course of study leading to the degree of Mistress of Science. Miss Ella Scott, later Mrs. Latourette of Ore- gon City, was the first to take the longer course leading to the A. B. degree. As the administration of President Marsh drew to a close a difference of policy, which had existed for some time previous,, became more prominent. Some of the trustees and friends of the college were desirous that a 138 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. closer relation be established between the college and the Congregational Church, and proposed that the association of ministers and churches of the Congregational body elect the proportion of trustees allowed to that denomina- tion rather than that they be elected by the board itself, as the charter provided. The difference was one of those honest differences of opinion which are always likely to occur and have occurred in so many religious institutions in regard to the same question, but it was unfortunate in its effect in that it led to divided councils where unity of aim was best calculated to insure permanence for the work already done and to secure such progress as the founda- tions already laid promised for the immediate future. It also added greatly to the burdens of President Marsh, who was opposed to the plan, and together with his naturally delicate constitution and a life of hard work caused his breakdown. Unable to complete the work of his last trip to the East he returned with the work unfinished. In hope of recovery he went to Eastern Oregon but failed to derive the benefit hoped for, and died in February of 1879. The selection of a successor to President Marsh was not an easy matter and considerable time elapsed before the choice was finally made. During the interval Prof. J. W. Marsh, who was familiar with the policies of his brother and with the details of the work, acted as president. In 1880 the trustees elected as president Rev. John R. Her- rick. President Herrick was a native of Vermont and a graduate of the University of that state. He had served for a time as professor in the Bangor Theological Semi- nary and as pastor at South Hadley, Massachusetts. He was a man of broad culture and high standards. Because of his ideas, his birth place and college connections he was a logical successor to President Marsh, and seemed in every way fitted to carry on the work of the college as already established by his predecessor. In regard to the ORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY. 139 question of closer affiliation with the Congregational de- nomination he was even more opposed than President Marsh to anything that might be regarded as sectarian, and cherished the vain hope of merging all the Christian schools of the State into one strong institution under re- ligious patronage. Had he been able to accomplish his purpose in this it would have been a master piece in the educational history of Oregon. The idea, however, was beyond the conditions that then existed and was opposed by the trustees ; his term of service also was too brief to allow of its accomplishment. President Herrick gave his immediate attention to the acquisition of a suitable dormitory for the young women, now a part of the institution. Most of his time was spent in the East, and, in fact, he never really established a home in the place where the institution was located. Through his efforts in the East enough was secured to eject the building which now bears his name " Herrick Hall." The building was architecturally better than any other on the campus and cost about $16,000. When it was completed it was opened with appropriate ceremonies and an address upon " The Higher Education of Women, the Last Chapter in the History of Liberty." During the presidency of Doctor Herriek an effort was made to realize, under the patronage of the college, a plan cherished by Capt. M. C. Wilkinson of the United States army for an industrial school for Indians at Forest Grove, similar to that established at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. That he might accomplish his object the captain was detailed as a military instructor in Pacific University. It was the plan that the college should furnish the site and preserve an oversight of the school, while the government should provide the money. Considerable space is taken up in the records of the trustees over questions connected with this undertaking and various reports made from time to time. 140 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. It seems to have been well started on a splendid site and by a man well qualified for such a humanistic undertaking, but through political means removal was secured. In its new location, however, it continued to grow and has now become the flourishing institution at Chemawa. Captain Wilkinson was a man of qualities that endeared him to the people of the community, and his death in the recent Indian disturbances in Minnesota caused much regret. The buildings in part still remain and the best one is used as a dormitory for boys. It was the desire of one of the trustees, Mr. E. M. Atkinson, son of the founder, and added to the board in 1887, to utilize the buildings for a depart- ment of industrial training which might grow into a tech- nical school, and it went so far as to receive the indorse- ment of the board of trustees. For some reason, however, probably lack of funds, it was never carried out. Captain Wilkinson had been a useful man in the college and the military drill was continued after his departure. As successors are to be noted Captain Pierce, a man of considerable ability along the line of classical studies and himself a translator of Vergil and Horace, and Capt. A. Tyler, who still resides at Portland. In 1883 President Herrick resigned his position and returned to the East, where he engaged in educational work. He is still living and maintains an interest in the college with which he was once connected. With little delay a successor was chosen by the board of trustees. Rev. Jacob F. Ellis, the next president, was a native of Ohio and a graduate of Wheaton College. His education was interrupted by the civil war, but he returned to complete it and took a theological course at Oberlin Seminary. At the time of his coming to Oregon he was a pastor at Toledo, Ohio. He had first come to Oregon as pastor of the Congregational Church at Forest Grove and then removed to Seattle, Washington, where he accepted ORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY. 141 a pastorate. From his residence in Forest Grove he had become known and seemed to possess the qualifications desired for a president. In many of his views President Ellis resembled his predecessors, and was in full sympathy with an institution of the type of Pacific University. The presidency of Mr. Ellis seems notable for a greater emphasis put upon departments, perhaps by way of realiz- ing the university idea. The girls were placed in a depart- ment by themselves, called the Ladies' Department, and the head assumed the title of lady principal in place of preceptress. A separate board of seven women, to act under the regular board of trustees, was created. First to hold the office of lady principal was Miss Emily Plummer, succeeded in turn by Miss Julia Adams of Oberlin College. It was the purpose of President Ellis also to seek affilia- tion with a medical school in Portland, a plan which went as far as a committee of the trustees, but no farther. In the line of music the change made was more lasting, and continues to the present time. Instruction in music had been given from an early date, and among the instructors are to be found the names of Miss Olivia Haskell, Mrs. E. H. Marsh, Miss Sarah Bowlby,and others. The first director of the Musical Department or Conservatory was Mrs. D. L. Edwards, wife of the principal of the academy under Pres- ident Ellis. Instruction on the violin was also given by Mr. D. W. Early. A department of art existed also, with Miss Emma Cornelius as instructor, and later Mr. Clyde Cook, an artist of considerable merit. It is to be noted that the arts were recognized as worthy of incorporation into an educational system. During the presidency of Mr. Ellis some changes oc- curred in the faculty, although the corps was not increased. Rev. D. L. Edwards became principal of the academy. Prof. G. W. Shaw was placed in charge of the work in science and gave greater emphasis to the practical sides 142 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. of chemical work, a subject in which he was interested. Courses in assaying were offered illustrative of the change. Prof. W. D. Lyman resigned to accept a position at Whit- man College and Miss Lillian Poole was elected to succeed him as instructor of English and History. It is apparent that competitors had occupied the field by this time and more attention was paid to the matter of placing the school before the public in the form of printed advertisements, for which appropriations were now made. A college motto was chosen by President Ellis, Pro Christo et Regno Ejus, symbolic of the religious character of the institution. Dur- ing the later years of President Ellis' administration the' question of denominational or undenominational control came to a climax. Mr. Ellis had favored the view opposed to that of his predecessors and an attempt was made to ac- complish the change. It failed to succeed and President Ellis resigned with the larger part of his corps of instruct- ors. Professors Marsh and Ferrin were the only two that remained of the old corps. Considerable feeling had been engendered in connection with this matter, and the selec- tion of the next president was an important question. Again Professor Marsh acted as president for the interval and until the election by the board of Rev. Thomas Mc- Clelland, of Tabor College, Iowa. President McClelland was of Scotch-Irish descent and came to America in boyhood. He was a graduate of Ober- lin College and Andover Theological Seminary. Some years he had spent in the pastorate and had become con- nected with educational work in Tabor College, where he held the position of professor of Mental and Moral Science when called to the presidency of Pacific University. Be- fore accepting the position he came to Oregon to study the field. He was enthusiastic over the possibility of building up a strong institution upon foundations already laid so well and in a section of the country promising rapid deORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY. 143. velopment. He brought to the institution the required qualities and soon the opposing factions were harmonized. The charter was so amended that a proportion of two thirds of the board should be Congregationalists. but elected by the board as the charter had provided. Thus the institu- tion was enabled to retain the broad unsectarian character which had been in the past emphasized, and at the same time secure the patronage of a denomination closely iden- tified with educational institutions in the West. It was further provided that the institution should never be re- moved from Forest Grove, a question which had grown out of the previous one. The administration of President McClelland was one of development along all lines. The board of trustees was increased at different times to fill vacancies and to provide for the enlarged number by the following : Milton W. Smith, Napoleon Davis, L. H. Andrews, John Som-erville, Newton McCoy, H. H. Northup, Frank M. Warren, A. T. Gilbert, Rev. C. F. Clapp, and Rev. A. W. Ackerman. A larger representation on the board of trustees was given to the alumni of the college, and efforts were made to bring to the support of the institution a body of grad- uates comparatively large, occupying positions of promi- nence in the community, and some possessed of consid- erable wealth. Recognition of the relation of the alumni to the college was a policy in line with the development of educational institutions everywhere and a matter of much importance. Administrative matters were simpli- fied by the creation of committees of the board to be in- trusted with considerable power in the selection of teach- ers, attention to the financial matters, and other business that often requires action sooner than the regular meet- ings of the board could secure it. President McClelland gave his attention to increasing the resources of the institution, and succeeded in securing 144 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. funds for the erection of a large brick structure, to be used mainly for distinctively college purposes, built at a cost of about $50,000. It was named "Marsh Hall" for the first president. The endowment was increased also by the addi- tion of over $150.000. Both for the building and the en- dowment Dr. D. K. Pearsons of Chicago gave largely upon condition that other funds be raised, and extended the time until the result was accomplished, notwithstanding the period of financial depression when the solicitation was made. By means of this added endowment several chairs that had been partially endowed were filled out, a chair in Latin begun by a gift of Mrs. Gushing Eells in the form of land, and a chair in Philosophy begun by Doctor Marsh in the early years of his presidency. A new pro- fessorship was established in Mathematics, called the Vermont professorship, and plans were laid for the com- pletion of still others, notably a partially completed pro- fessorship started by Mrs. Tabitha Brown and another by Mrs. Horace Lyman, wife of the early professor. The latter however were not completed. The vacancies in the faculty were filled by teachers selected by President McClelland before coming West. During the period of his administration there were a good many changes which belong rather to the later history than the founding, and need not be mentioned in this paper. It may be said, however, that more attention was given to subjects that had formerly received less attention relative to the classics, mathematics, and philosophy. The courses were strengthened by making possible a wider range of work and more continuous courses in various branches than previously had been possible. The prin- ciple of election was recognized to the extent of about one third of the last two years. It was during the presidency of Doctor McClelland that more attention was paid to distinctively student features ORIGIN OF PACIFIC UNIVERSITY. 145 of college life. Athletics, in the form of football and track team work, took a regular place as part of the college life. Oratory, and especially debating, were developed more systematically than before, intercollegiate contests of va- rious kinds took place, a college paper, the Index, was started. Christian activities were stimulated by supplant- ing earlier societies by the Young Men's and Young Women's Christian Associations ; the cultivation of col- lege loyalty in its better sense was encouraged. All of these features were in line with college life generally and had the effect of attracting students to enter the rigid dis- cipline of a prolonged college course and help them to persist to the end. Notable as an event of President McClelland's adminis- tration must be mentioned the celebration of the semi- centennial of the founding of the institution. It was ob- served with appropriate exercises and the delegates of the National Congregational Council of the United States then meeting in Portland came out in a body to spend the day. Many college and university presidents and noted clergy- men from the East and from England took part. Peter Hatch, a member of the original board of trustees, was present and was able to address the audience for a few minutes, arousing much enthusiasm. A check from Doc- tor Pearsons of something over $30,000 was another cause of enthusiasm. Thus the representatives of the very forces which brought the institution into being were able to come and see the thing accomplished. The institution was on a permanent basis, its heroic age was passed, it had become a part of the history of the State, its graduates were mature men occupying important places in the new West, one of them, its first graduate, had a place on the program. The institution by the close of President McClelland's administration may be said to have achieved its distinctive 146 JAMES R. ROBERTSON. characteristics. Upon the resignation of President Mc- Clelland in 1900 to accept the presidency of Knox College, Illinois, the trustees selected Professor William N. Ferrin as acting president, and in 1903 he was elected president. President Ferrin has been connected with the college sufficiently long to be acquainted with the history and the ideals of the institution, and he has been closely enough associated with President McClelland in the administra- tion of the college to be regarded as a logical successor. JAMES ROOD ROBERTSON.