Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1893-06-29
WASHINGTON COLLEGE.
Historical Sketch Of this H0nOred In.
stitution.
BY A. N. DoBsoN, MD.


East Tennessee Valley, eight lmiles
west of Jonesboro, Tenn, the present
county seat of Washington County,
and within two miles of the Z. Tenn,
Va. & Ga. R. R., and about equally
distant from Telford and Limestone
stations.
1t is geographically the centre of the
great mountain district of East Ten
nessee, Western North Carolina, West
Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. A
circle described from this point, in a
radius of 200 miles, would embrace
nearly all this great mountain rlgion,
rich in vast beds of magnetic iron, coal
and other valuable minerals, inter
spersed with beautiful and fertile val
leys, with unbroken forests of val liable
timber.
The inhabitants of this region are of
Scotch-Irish descent, sturdy and reso-
Lutte in character. Beyond the limits
of the valleys and towns the institu.
tion of African slavery was almost un-
known, hence when the Civil War
arose these people as mass were op-
pesed to the doctrine of Secession.
Being the descendants of those noble
heroes who won the victory at the
Cowpens and Kings Mountain, they
were still loyal to the Stars and
Stripes, the emblem of American
liberty and the only flag of our coun-
try.
Having such loyal political leaders
in East Tennessee as ex-President An
drew johnson, Governor VIM. G.
Brownlow, Judge Thos. A. r. Nelson
and others, it is not surprising that
they remained loyal to the U. S.
Government. This loyalty was de-
monstrated by the fact that the first
Congressional District of Tennessee,
which embraces the ten eastern coun.
ties, furnished more troops to the Fed
eral Army than any Congressional
District in the United States Ia fact Of
ten stated by the Republican pressl,
although they had to stealthily travel
by night more than 200 miles to reach
the Federal lines in order to escape
Confederate conscription. The E.
Tenn, Va. & Ga. R. r., which trav-
erses the East Tennessee Valley, was a
great thoroughfare over whiss- Con-
federate troops were transported to
Virginia; hence it became contested
ground, and the whole valley suffered
much from the ravages of both armies.
In addition to this, there was great
local hostility existing between the
, Secession and Union people, the latter
. being commonly styled Lincolnites.
Washington College was surrounded
3 by such Union citizens, and almost all
of the Trustees were of that political
faith. When the war cloud burst the
g., Faculty was scattered and the school
3 disbanded, and the college campus
and buildings were occupied by Con
federate troops. The college library
q the chemical and philosophical appa'
l., ratus were soon scattered and destroy
a ed by soldiers or marauding bands.
The results of the labor of DR.. Doak
and his successors for four score year,
:, vanished before the ravages of q
u ''cruel war" like the morning dew be
u fore tropical sun. At the close Of
q the Rebellion, when sweet peace wal
: restored, the college walls stood with
8 out doors or windows, and not room
!, fit for occupancy, the enclosure de
, stroyed, and nothing escaped thu
!. devastation of war except the grove O.
u grand old native oaks, which still KEEP
sentinel over the sacrel spot frs
n dedicated to God and the cause of edu
= cation by DR.. Samuel Doak in the val
n ley of the Mississippi. The surviving
fathers and sons came back from tn
!. battle fields of victory and defeat h
If homes of poverty and devastation, &C
10 companied by complete decentralization
a of the schools, churches and society
ir Such wac our sad condition at tn
s close of the Civil War.
+ In October, 1865, the Trustees invit
% % ed Misses A. Il. and G. A. Telford Il
T. open school in the college building
ii to meet the local demands of the com
80 munity. They kindly accepted, refit
~ ~ ting few rooms as funds could be OF
,r tanned. They continued for two year
,e very successfully, the school bein
Is made up largely of young ladies'
20 ,n In 1868 the Trustees reorganized
lis electing Rev. VIM. B. Rankin Pres
Sc dent, with corps of competent teacf
Of ers Prior to the war the school ha
q, received strictly male scholars, br
Or now it seemed wise 10 admit bot
ne sexes, as there was no Presbyteria
IN Female College belonging to tn
;s Northern Presbyterian Church in th
be bounds of Holston Presbytery, Synod I
SO Tennessee. Since this time co-educi
ID tion has been maintained, with abo,
10 10 equal number of each sex in atten'
az ance.
or The college was embarrassed with
IN debt of several thousand dollars pri'
a. ~ to the war, and during war time
H. rapidly increased. The first steps
ID. the new President was to remove th
p, debt. In this he manifested the plut
va 'rt and indomitable will which characte
ch lied him when poor boy he wake
by the greater part of the way from h
od East Tennessee home to Amherst Co
Ia ia lege, New Jersey, where afterwards
praduatad with hiUhaat hnnOI