New-York tribune., 1905-01-22
historic ERASMUS HALL.
nd School Building Doomed uith
IdUent of Nesu.

,-.,eisent uith the laying OF the cornerstone OF
/ new Erasmus Hall High School IN Fistbrsh
= -veok comes the announcement that there is
,onrer any possibility that the old building
80 Is sad 10 be she Oldest building stu used
4 - sshool purposes in this STATE will be preserved
- psu be much depl0red, not only by the many
=. have received their eSucRton in the old build
= NJ by all the residents OF F9atbush and those
,r-,-ested 81 she preservation OF all that has 10
= -3.h ne old Colonial history OF rnis country
.'-.o6y the environment which had much 10 DO
=, the charm OF the o.d building has been de-
.,sre5 The wi6e eN9aase OF lawn in front and
=, qrove of massive trees have been sacrificed 10
i. necessities of the building. An effort was
-. 10 save these trees. as scatd IN III Tribune
,,e tine age but & was found inlpracticable to
- chem i had boen planned however TO keep
- old structure. which WIS built ia I7s6 but il is
~ said that Il the school is TO be finished
,ssor6ing 10 the elaborate plans that have been
,ss6e il Will be necessary 70 sacrifice the old
vooJen building
Erasmus Hall II known until II was
,urne5 over To the city IN 1896 was built by the
Reformed Dutch Churca & home for the acad-
srlv that was founded IN 1874 by that church Sen.
stor John Vanderbilt and the Rev John H Ity-
.ngston who became its first principal were the
prime movers IN the enterprise They started
with 6 fund Of ELS. and the school building cost
$3.50 The name chosen for the institution cana
from Des6er1us Erasmus, VINO was & DISTINGUISHED
patr0n OF literature in Holland IN the sixteen.h
century To rs % this age who believe strongly
IN The higher education II VIII seem strange 10
know that the academy was violently opposed nv,
many Of tie old inhabitants Il is stated that
many ct these persons attributed their rnisfort-
urss 10 TIE academy and that one z7or+b,, oI5
nan VINO slipped and fell from his wagon vs,ua
unloading some bags got Up IN s great rage ana
Exclaimed: THAT aoademy viii never do"
Another thing that is generally unknown ,s ,bs.
Erasmus Eal came near being the nucleus ~ a
bic university. which perhaps BY this time ,nipb,
have rivaled Columbia In 1874 the General gvnoa
q the Reformed Dutch Church resolved 10 nlaca ,,s
theological seminary in Flatbush, in connection
Filh The academy, and DR.. Livingston was made
president OF both institutions. Through certain In
fuenoes, however. the theological seminary was
moved 10 New-Brunswick, y. J., q few years later
and The dreams OF the academy becoming q uni
Versity faded away. Among the distinguished
men who were educated there IN the early DAYS
was William A Duer. who became president OF
Columbia University.
Dr. Livingston YVES succeeded as principal by
d. Wilson. n -7s2 The succeeding principals were
che Rev. Peter Lowe n lSO4; the Rev Joseph PEN
ney. II ls; the Rev, Timothy Cloves IN 1871; Jon.
8thEn Kellogg n ls2s; The Rev. William H Camp
bell n -E4: the Rev. Dr., Penney. II 1888; the Rev
JsEnes Ferguson, In iSA3 the Rev. r. D. Van
Aeeck. = SIS; the Rev. ". W. Howard IN 1860:
ths Rev. z ?. Mack. II lSss Jared Hasbrouck In
sssS, and the Rev Robert c. Strong IN 1873. One
of the last principals was r. ArroVsuaith. In the
administration Of Mr.. Kellogg the northeast wing
was hunt aad the campus was laid out II was
NJ. Kellogg who planted all the trees that have
recently been destroyed. and who set out shrubs
and fashioned flower beds, so that the grounds
were the hGndsomest n ell Kings County The
Rev Dr.. Penney came back for a second term as
principal Gtter having been president OF Hamilton
college n the interim, IL Will be seen that me
standards of education at Erasmus Hall were high
amer lhG the public schools in the village OF Fiat
IhA were gwen up ana Ell OF the children OF the
village were educated at the academy. on March
of Brooklyn, and has since been used as a high
school Dr.. William B. Gunuison has been is
has been one OF the most popular schools IN Brook
.yn Its pupils come nom all over the borough.
Ehe.r homes --
Although OF course. the old building has been
repaired many times and added 70. the original
s.ructure On the outside, sun looks much as il
story and attic building. with dorrner windows and
high pitched roct. In the cellar may be seen an
olo Dutch oven which has come down from the
There are two things IN the building that are 70
tuIy carved ante now in the ONCE Of Pri5cinaI
G-lllson Whlch VII be Incorporated IN the fittings
y - He s14ee-laFe o7noes N tne main tower Of the
modern building u IS finished n white enamel
i gueb a. d ~ es4s SAGet 81 state @ & 9f preservation Il
rs knd that party of Boston visitors some wears
purchase Il 10 take 10 that city The other things
70 he preserved are dozen interesting old Ties
years ago were removed and are now shown In a
e,ellt st -hese Ties are decorated with grotesque
Cravings supposed 10 represent Biblical scenes
~ ~ rom The Old Testament and six from the New
~ lies are blue and the drawings are fired IN
uoeT heavy glaze Undoubtedly they were roads
sllls years before Erasmus Hall was built but
mere h 70 way or telling just how old they are
~ tIcLliects have been asked 70 provide some
pace ir these unique relics in the scheme OF deco
'tl1i ilf me greater Erasmus Hall High School
Al IS an interesting collection Of pictures taken
~ Ihe tribune photographer. showing the oId
esiaas fta-l as II looked IN 1920 in its academy
gfsS 4- me painting or the rnanteIpece). Erasmus
- i-lsl Scho1l as u looks to-day. and the he
tlilngs ~ the new building which VIII eve0rr7
SE eIoWa ne historic structure out OF existence
- Arel-ace ano inantel are the ones that are 10
-, preserved ia the new building The 0usirr
T'se ~ Ties are seen at the right of the fireplace
- pel on the mautel is said TO be a century oi5
:: was used 10 assemble the scholars I1r-li -soe-.
'7e-s' |hen an electric system put in