Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-05-24
NEOPHOGEN COLLEGE.
Full Particulars of It's Destruction
by Fire-NarrOW Escape OF the
Young Lady PuPiIs-A Nashville
Boys Leap for Life-GraPhie De-
seription of the Exciting Scene.

To the Union and American.
CRoss PLAINS, Robertson county, Tenn,
Nav y, 1S74.-On the night OF the 18TH
inst. our community suffered terrible Ca
lamity in the destruction Of NeOphOgen
College. The detestable work Of the inceI-
diary is accomplished; noble edlice IS in
ashes. and the students of a rapidly rising
institution of learning are for time dis
persed.
Between ~ and o'clock, when every
thing was Quiet, and all were asleep, cur
College was fired by some fiend in human
form. The building faced to the south with
a front of two hundred and forty feet, and
with the wings extending back one hundred
and sixty. The east wing was divided into
cbapels. the front one for the young gentle
men. the rear one for the young ladies;
then i'm front came the parlOr, family rooms
of the President, business and dining room.
The rooms of the upper story were used as
dornitories, those east Of the main entrance
being occupied by the lady teachers and
voun0 ladies. those west by members OF the
Faculty and young gentlemen Ihe ouiid-
ines surrounding thecollege werealso Occu-
pied by young gentlemen. The incendlary Sc
iected for his torch the ladies' Sludy-hall,
Immediately under meath the flrSt dOrmllory
of the young ladies. To render ms hendlsh
design sure, be had poured coal on On the
fIoor, seats and desk. The torch was applied
ana then he escaped through door Leading
from the rear of the ladies' hall.
The windows had been raised to facih-
tate the destroying flames, and as they
Ieaped upward against the windows OF the
upper rooms, treaking the glass and ming
tie rooms with flames and smoke, and
a-ousing the sleeping inmates, cry OF nor
ror rang through the halls, which startled
every sleeper. The cry OF danger was
caught up and repeated until, not only the
students, but citizens around were aroused.
In the upper story there were galleries
leading from the stairway at the main en-
trance. entirely around both wings Of the
building and communicating Win each
dOrmitoTy of the two wings IL was along
the eastern gallery, the only avenue of es-
cane, the young ladies fed in terror TO the
main stairway, and thence down to the
Matron's room.
The rapidity Of the flames suggested any
attempt to save the building as toiIy IN the
extreme, and after seeing that all the ladies'
were safe, each gentleman constituted nm
self a hero and truly did each prove himself
worthy of the title. The galleries spoken
of acted as fiues, and so rapid was the work
of destruction that scarcely anything III the
young ladies' rooms was saved. Nearly all
of these lost everything they possessed,
though the young men did everything in
their power to save their trunks. The trunks
of a few young ladies near the min Ell
trance were saved bat everything else was
lost.
In the rooms west of the stairway all the
private and most of the college property was
saved, except the first room at the stairway
asrupied bf Prof. Mason, J. b. Yates and
yogr correspondents, in which was lost She
extensive aud valuable library Of Prof.
Mason, together with his MSS, the patient