The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-06-22
ONLY NEGROES
AT WHEREFORE
Closing Exercises ofthe UNI
versity-- Southern Slave
owners Founded Town,

Wilberforce, Ohio. June 2t-(SpeciaL)-
Wnberforce university. the most famous
negro educational institution in the world.
closed its fortleth commencement week
Friday night when bishops OF the Afri-
can Methodist Episcopal church presided
over by Bishop II. NJ. Turner, Of Atlanta,
arranged their plan Of work for another
year.
Six thousand people attended the conn
mencement exercises in the big tent
There are some whites in the faculty,
but all the students are negroes
The graduates were as follows. CLASH
cal ., scientific s. Theological H. normal
49, commercial 3. music s. printing 8 car
pentry q. sewing 5, cooking s. shocmakgg
total a.
Interesting addresses were made by
United states Consul c. l.. Maxwell or
san Domingo; Professor Kelly Miller, Of
Washington. d c. and Chaplain w T
Anderson. of the Tenth cavalry.
The most significant event Of the occa-
sion was the ordination Thursday Of Mar
shall Mcdonald MaXeke. of Johannesburg.
South Africa, to the order of elder twelve
bishops and six elders participating i'm the
service Maxeke pronounced McClacky)
is Y years old and spent ten years at
Wilberforce He started last night for
work In his native land. There are still
at Wilberforce twenty boys and three
girls from West Africa and South Africa
preparing for work at home.
Wilberforce is the only university town
founded by negroes. It is in Greene coun-
ty, miles from Nenia and Go miles from
Cincinnati At first it was n summer re-
sort. known as Tawawa Springs. seven
Of which still pour healing waters from
the foot Of the majestic hills Afterward
it was selected by southern masters. who
freed their favorite slaves and located
them here. la 1886. the hotels were bought
by the Methodist Episcopal church and
IN 1857 they were reopened as a school
for negroes In 1862 Wilberforce uniVer-
sity was sold to the African Methodist
Episcopal church for $4,000 and the fol-
lowing year entered upon its present ca
reer
Wilberforces population is 1doo and
there are but two white families included.
which have. for fifty years. resided upon
the same lands. Many of the negro cot
tages are of splendid design ana range in
cost from 5000 to $1,000
The school has twenty two instructors
4oS students. teaches eleven trades owns
1870 acres Of farm land and raises much OF
IT'S own supplies. 1t has $28,j5S - of In
vested funds and $6.4oi.Sl of trust funds.
the entire plant being valued at $350.0oo
The state of Ohio contributes $lS,o0o an
nually to its normal and industrial de
partments, and in addition. this year, do
mated 100000 to the erection of Arnett han.
which was built largely by student la
Dor.
Two or more bishops of the African
Methodist Episcopal church have always
resided at Wilberforce and in a sense.
it may be called the heart and brain
of that denomination. In 1862. the late
venerable Bishop Daniel A. Payne, with a.
special commission, selected the site Of
WHberforce, ana he lived here the re-
mainder of his life, The names of the
committee were Bishop Payne, Bishop
James A. Shorter. Bishop II NJ Tur.2e:.
Bishop James A. Handy. Rev. John t.
Mitchell, Rev Edward Davis Rev Lewis
Woodson and Rev. Elisha Weaver. All
were then young men and each was 10
contribute 500 toward the purchase
Bishop Turner and Bishop Handy ara
now the only survivors of the party.