Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1859-02-11
BURNING OF wn11AM AND MARY COLLEGE

BURNING OF WILLIAM AND NARY COLLEGE.
Letters received from Williamsburg leave no
doubt that the entire main building of the col
lege was destroyed by the Bre Of Tuesday
morning.
We are yet uniformed whether this sad ca
lamity will prevent the proposed assemblage Of
the Alumni on the 10th inst We beg that
some of our friends in Williamsburg will in
form us as 10 this by return mail Meantime,
VIC hold over very interesting communication
setting forth in full the programme Of cereino-
MES
The Petersburg Press furnishes US with
the following interesting "reminiscences:
OF the origin Of the fire, which commenced
in one Of the western wings, at halt-paSt two
o'clock Tuesday morning. but little is known
with certainty. BY day-brcak nothing but the
bare walls were standing. The Old Library.
which contained thousands of volumes Of rare
interest the contributions Of potcntates, and
savans Of all countries, was totally lost. or
the %. 900 books. not one was saved The loss
is irrcparable The exceedingly rare and valua-
was also burned There were about sixty stu
dents sleeping in or near the College, some Of
whom made narrow escapes from death, losing
their clothing, &c The College had for some
time been the scene Of busy preparation for the
16sth anniversary, which was to come Oft at
an early day There was an insurance Of
800, 900 on the building, which will cover
about onc-fifth Of the loss sustained on the ed-
Q &C do.
ry chair was filled with competent Professors
and It bid fair to attain its ancient rcnown.
The College was commenced about the year
1891, when the House Of Burgesses dispatched
Rev James Blair to England, to solicit Of their
was readily granted in the following year. ac-
certain immunities and privileges, which at
once established it on basis Of assured success.
II was planned by Sir Christopher Wrcn and
the first commencement took place in 100.
wheu the people came from several of the
adjoining States to see the sight. The building
first erected was burnt in 1905, but soon after
rebuilt. In the square in front Of this building
still stands in mutilated condition, though
with evidence Of its old elegance. statue Of
Lord Botetourt, ordered by the Colony in III.
The first organization Of the College was
under body Of visitors, President, and SIX
Professors. The Corporation was entitled
"The President and Master, or Professors Of
William and Mary College" There were two
Divinity Professorships-onc of Greek and
Latin, one of Mathematics one Of Moral PHI
loSophy, and Boylc's Indian Proiessorship was
sixth. 1t had representative in the General
Assembly.
At tho Revolution, the endowmcnts Of the
College underwent great changes. The State
tax for its support was cut short and the funds
from England ceased to flow. About this time
the Divinity Professorships were abolished
When the Revolution broke out, half the stu
dents, including James Monroe, entered The
army. The French troops, after the surrender
of CORVALLIS, occupied the building, and the
Presidents house was burned down. They
paid for it.
Wythe, Nelson St. George and Beverly
Tucker have been Professors in the Law De.
partment, and four Presidents Of the United
States, viz: Jefferson. Madison, Monroe and
Tyler were educated there. Hon. John Mar
shall, Chief Justice United States Supreme
Court, and Lieutenant General Winfield Scott,
were students there The Secret Literary So
ciety of the Phi Beta Kappa, originated at vii
liam and Mary, about l7I15, but it was inter
rupted by the Revolutionary War
The following is complete list Of the Col
lego Presidents, in order Of their succession,
with the periods Of their incumbency: Rev.
James Blair, from the foundation to his death,
in l743; Rev. Vim. Dawson. till 1852; VIM.
Stith, till 1855; Thomas Dawson till 1861; VIM.
Yates, till 1854; James IIorrocks, till l7Tl;
John Camm, till lit; James Madison, till
1912; John Bracken, till 1914 John
Augustine Smith, till 1926; Rev. W. H. viii
mcr, till his death, in 1927; Rev. Adam Empe,
till 1896; Thomas Z. Dew, till his death, in
1916; Robert Saunders, till lS4s; Benjamin S.
Ewcll, till ls49; Bishop Johns, till 1854; and
Benjamin S. Ewell, the present occupant.
The Baltimore Sun has the following
THE college Of William and Mary. the oldest,
except Harvard University, in the United
States, was chartered in l693 by King William
ILL., and Queen Mary, who gave out Of their
private means nearly $4,000 sterling towards
erecting the necessary buildings. This. with
twenty thousand acres Of land, the office Of
surveyor general lin virtue Of which one-sixth
Of the fees received by public surveyors in the
colony, and the sole power Of appointing them,
were given,) and one penny pound on all
tobacco exported from Virginia and Maryland,
granted in the charter, fo.50O raised by sut-
scrlption in the colony, and gift of ca90 from
the House Of Burgesses. constituted the en-
dowment Of the college.
within the last few years large additions
have been made to the philosophical and che
mical apparatus, both Of which were amply
sufficient for all the purposes Of instruction in
these sciences. The library had also been Ell
larged, and contained nearly 5000 volumes,
among which were many curious and rare
hookc"