The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-10
HOWARD COLLEGE SITE MAY REVERT FORMER OWNERS
 F COLLEGE MOVES
Question Raised By Attor- ney for Trustees of Old Ruh ma Academy. Committee Say Plans
 Not Affected

'1f you move Howard college you lose the property"
 Two old gentlemen of East Lake have the trustees to that effect
 Robert J. Wheeler, their attorney, says they are right
 Figuratively turning time back 90 years, the old gentlemen dug up the deed by which the Baptists acquired the East Lake campus, and the deed emphatically stresses the point raised
 The 52 acres in East Lake that are oc- cupled by Howard college once were the academy, of which Prof Jud Waldrop was principal Controlling the property were six trustees. Two of them are liv- ing. In order to get Howard college to move to Birmingham from Marion. the lands of Ruhama academy, at that time tottering to a close as an institution. were offered, provided Howard college re- main at East Lake
 Hearing of the prospective transfer of the college, the two trustees of the older school conferred with Mr Wheeler.
 There were the six trustees in whom title to the Ruhama academy was vested When the project of securing Howard for Birmingham was drawing to a head in December 1889. these six trustees, to cCnsummate the securing of the college, transferred the deed to D. I. Purser to hold for Howard college to aid in it's building, endowing and maintenance. "as long as Howard college remained at East Lake"
 The two living trustees of Ruhama academy are Ali Williams and Robert Beck. They are residents of East Lake now, and fully determined to spare no effort in reacquiring title to the campus and buildings for the old Ruhama academy estate should the proposition to move Howar,. college become fact.
 They have retained MT. Sheeler and instructed him to serve notice on the trustees of Howard college, and through them on the State Baptist convention, that they will lay claim to the property should Howard be moved And this no- tice has been served.
 As soon as the moving of Howord be- comes a fact, if it is so ordered. all procedure in chancery will be set in mo- tion to have title to the East Lake cam pus and buildings of Howard college re- vert to the former academy estate.
 In the event that an attempt will be made to show that the old Ruhama academy has ceased to exist, and the es- tate is without identity, then steps will be taken to have the property in question revert to such persons, heirs or estates as can show deeds to ownership of the property prior to the advent on the scene of the Ruhama cademy, and it is said, there are no few people in Jones valley who would immediately become interested Tn proving an interest in this property, which now. they say, is valued at $2o0ooo, Lalf for buildings and half for the land.
 Members of the board of trustees of Howard college whose attention was called to the new development in the proposition of the Howard change of To- cation, only reiterated their statements of week ago; that while the East Lake property is no mean asset, and while the college may not be moved at all, yet the plans for a greater Howard are of such magnitude that it's future development would not be materially affected by a feature that involved sum in the neigh borhood of $loo,ooo. at which amount their appraisers valued the East Lake build ings and campus