St. Paul daily globe., 1891-07-27
MACALESTER PARA
And the Presbyterian College
Which Adorns 1t.


AS Hamllne is the Methodist, so is
Manchester the seat OF Presbyterian
learning, its college being located in the
heart of one of the most beautiful parks
in the vicinity. As early as 1852 Rev.
Edward ID. Neill. DID, who was inter-
ested in seeing school organized in the
interests of this denomination. wrote to
the late w. w. Baldwin, member-elect
from Philadelphia in the legislature Of
Pennsylvania, seeking to gam his as
siStance in starting such an institution.
A favorable reply was received.
and in February of the following
year a charter was obtained from
the legislature of Minnesota for the
Baldwin school. Late in this year
two-StOry brick building was dedicated
to its use. The catalogue, printed IN
January, 1854, showed that twenty-eight
boys and forty-three girls had been in
attendance. However, it was not the in-
tentiOn of the trustees to establish an
Institution for the cO-educatiOn Of the
sexes, so the boys department was in
corporated as the College of St. Paul,
under a different charter. A stone
building was erected on Nilkin street in
St. Paul for the academic department of
the college, from funds donated by Mr..
Baldwin and Rev. Albert Barnes, of
Philadelphia.
in lS57-5S business operations all over
the state were crippled by great tinan-
cial Tevuisions, and Immediately after
this the whole nation was thrown into
cOmmotiOn by the civil war. DR.. Nelll,
who had resigned his position as pastor
of the First Presbyterian church, ,St.Paul
to accept the presidency OF the college,
now enlisted in the First Minnesota reg
iment, and during the war the trustees
considered it wise to close the college,
and even sold the buildings and real
estate. DR.. Neill himself accepted po-
sitiOn as secretary at the presidential
residence during LincOln's term of Of
fee, and it was not until about
1872 that anything further was
done for the college. Return
ing to Minneapolis, he interested
his sister in the enterprise, and the two
rented a building known as the Wins
low house in East Minneapolis, owned
bv G. Manchester, of Philadelphia, for
500 a month. and for some time these
two noble persons paid the entire cur
rent expenses of the Baldwin school.
Mr.. Manchester was member or Rev.
Albert Barnes church in Philadelphia,
and. being a generous man. he wrote TO
the president of the school, saying he
was disposed under certain conditions
TO assist in founding college for young
men.
At the suggestion of the president.
the will allowed the building to be sold
and the proceeds to be invested in
new college building in better loca-
ton. TWo-thirds OF the Baldwin trus-
tees were reappOinted as trustees of
Manchester college, and the charter as
granted by the legislature provides that
two-thirdS of the trustees shall be Pres
byterians, and also provides that 1.-The
collegiate department shall not be
opened until two profess0rShips are
fully endowedS'
This brings US TO 1882, when the truS-
tees of the college. who were looking
for a new site. learned through Henry
J Horn that 160 acres of land lying be-
tween the two cities could be purchased
for $50 per acre. A syndicate of over
twenty gentlemen in the two cities was
formed with some difficulty, who agreed
to buy the land and deed forty acres of
it to the trustees of the college,
to be used for campus. One
hundred and sixty acres lying
within the district bounded by
Summit avenue on the north, Smelling
avenue on the east, St. Clair avenue on
the south, and Fairview avenue on the
west, were bought and laid out as
Manchester Park. inducements were
then offered TO secure persons who
would build houses in the Park, and to
Rev. Daniel Rice. ID. d.. belongs the
honor of having erected the first house.
it having been built on Hamilton
avenue at cost Of $500. During the
year 1884 the trustees completed wing
of the college building at cost of about
$780, 600. The opening of the third year
saw neat library building, built of
terra Gotta brick, at a cost of about
$1,000, the gift of Henry l.. Moss, Esq.
The college has an endowment fund
at present OF SS7, ,0G0, distributed as fol-
lows: The presidents chair. endowed
by the Synod of Minnesota In the sum
of $4,000; the chair of history, English
literature and political economy, Occu-
pied by DR.. Neill, endowed by Matthew
w. Baldwin, of Philadeldhia, in the
sum of S25. 900, and the chair of mental
science and logic. occupied by Rev. Will
lam Il. Kirkwood. ID. D., endowed by An
drew and Sarah E. Oliver, of MInneap-
oils. in the sum of S25.O00 In addition
to this there is one scholarship of 200
and two of $1,000 each. The grounds on
which the buildings are located are val
uVu III SOO,OVO' anu eIS puiieiu% 80 III
cluding four houses built for the pro-
fessorS, at over $4,000 more. The col
lege building has twenty rooms used as
dOrmitories, each large enough to ac-
commodate two students.
About this college grew no the beau
tiful suburb of Manchester Park, direct
ly connected with the urban district by
the cable lines, and one of the choicest
residence sites in the country.
TILE COMING CENTER.