Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-06-13
COLLEGE AND IT'S PRESIDENTS.
fBy Miss Edith Denise.l

COLLEGE AND iTS' PRESIDENTS.
tBy Miss Edith Denise.l
Iowa College began its corporate ex-
| istence June IL, 1S47. The original
| board of trustees included four of the
| pioneer pastors of the state, and five
of the members of the famous Iowa
| Band OF this first board. made up of
valiant young men who had taken
their degrees at eastern colleges,
mostly Yale, and all of whom had taken
| the course at Andoyer Seminary, but
one member remains today. DIR. Eph-
| Ram Adams, and it has been the pleas
ure and privilege of the college to well
come him these almost sixty years to
| it's annual trustee meetings and COM
mencement exercises.
The first ten years Of the life of the
| college were at Davenport, which ham,
| let, as it was then, furnished site
| and $1,000 for building purposes; and
the little one-story brick building
| opened it's doors to students before
Davenport itself had NO much as a
district school. Other money was
raised from the o-ealleG college AS
ISOLATION" most of whose members
| were home missionaries, living on $500
L
| a year or less.
There wss no second organized col-
| lege in the territory for eleven years
after the first commencement at Dav-
export, and SO the oldest college natur-
| ally took the name of the territory,
which was to become that Of the state.
There had been, to be sure, other col
leges. and universities planned and
| built on paper for the new country
west of the Mississippi, but the un-
toward conditions OF pioneer life We're
such that none Of them hardly att
! tempted more than the beginning of
| instruction, and none of them, save
Iowa College, has lived to tell the story
of that early time. Why did 1t live and
| grow? The reason Is not far to seek,
I The college was not planned or built
I'on paper. hut established in the hearts
and minds of few men who Profound
/ ly believed in head and heart culture,
and who determined to reproduce on
/ the prariesi educational opportunities
| in some sense similar to those they
/ themselves had enjoyed. Coming from
New England colleges full of the vigor
and enthusiasm of youth, with clearly
4 defined ideas, and well established
| principles, they represented poten-
TALLY a college of the highest type.
Out of their spirits the college grew, as
time and environment permitted,
| slowly. it is true, but steadily and sub
stantially. The source from which 1t
4 came was the surest indication of it's
4 ultimate strength.
These founders were consequently
not dispirited by the sinallness of it's
beginning professor. two students
and a few books.
In these FIJI st ten years Iowa CO .ege
began to acquire a solid reputation fpi
Ia qu,et. W, retelding, meritnilous
work. The founders meant 40 an,
more than Il vel college OF the rstab-
Ilished New isnc and type and nothn,.
less. neither q university nor s. ugh
tschocl OF academic rank. There was
an imi.te .int- effort to fix the ousiires
OF such ii Gates, The fi-st ru,slcs wit
aesses tnH. T tC.itments or ad,.,s,-
ision: Candidates tor adrq ;sicn to
the freshman AS must be io,II e. n
years of sEe Iresent adequa e tss!.-
Iin'.ials II e,od moral character ~ 4
s stair n aatis'. ry t.xamtna. on IN
English e4ammef. geography. artrhme !.
| tic, algebra, Latin grammar, Caesars
Commentaries, Sallust. Virgil. Greek
grammer, the four GOSPELS in Greek
and Xenophons Anabasis." The fresh
man class as given In this catalog con-
Isisted of six young men. The faculty
Numbered two. Under the head of re
marks this interesting statement is
found: THE trustees propose to se-
cure an additional teacher for nexl
year. They are cheered by the encour-
aging prospects of the youthful institu-
ton and confidently hope by the aid of
friends ard by the blessing of God, TO
make it i'm instrument of great and
Tasting good to this rising state in the
cause of science. mental discipline and
4 Christian morality" There were but
thirteen pages in this catalog, but every
one of them bears evidence Of the fact
that the rnen who composed ii, had a
genuine appreciation Of the term coll
lege.
/ The next catalog bears date of 1853
+ f. 1t names three seniors, three jun
Tors and six freshmen. The faculty now
numbers four. Mention Is made of the
library of 1900 volumes. There is also
having ninety seven names. This sig
nificant remark is made: The line
of policy hitherto pursued by the trus-
tees. and to which they are pledged to
, the future. is, to Inee all the actua
wants of the institution as they are
. developed, in relation to the require
ments of buildings, apparatus, library
and instruction. The belief is cherish.
ed that the institution is already, il
, some good degree, performing the
. proper work of a college"
{ In 1880 the institution was moved
from Davenport to Grinnell, the prop
erty in Davenport having been SOLD
for $4,000. This was due to the fac
that the growth of Davenport made
necessary the extension of some streets
thru the college grounds, making then
unsuitable for college purposes. The
. location mt Grinnell was chosen be.
cause of the character of the commu.
, nifty. composed almost exclusively O