KxTiQS Co^le-§e- : TioW 7 Glass M\i:^1r^ Book— _i^ HALF MOON SERIES PAPERS ON HISTORIC ^ NEW YORKe^t ^ ^ ^ j> EDITED BY MAUD WILDER GOODWIN ALICE CARRINGTON ROYCE RUTH PUTNAM King's College now Columbia University ^BY ^JOHN B. ^PINE ON SALE AT BRENTANaS AND a P. PUTNAM'S SONS' WHERE SUBSCRIPTIONS WILL BE RECEIVED Jk ^ J^ ji> ji, ^ ISSUED MONTHLY Piice Tipe Cent$« Tmy€cnt$aVear Second Edition MISS SPENCE'S Boarding and Day School for Girls Preparatory, jflcaacmic and €o1kdC-Preparatory Courses No more than eight papils constitute any class 6 WEST 48th street, with Annex T HE VELTIN SCHOOL FOR GIRLS ....... FIREPROOF j^^^^S-i^S SCHOOL BXULDING Coiiede Prtparaiion J60 AND J62 ■WEST 74th STREET Mrs. LESLIE MORGAN'S . Boaraing and Day ^ School for Girls , J3 and J5 WEST 86th STREET NEW YORK CITY ^ ^ ^ % > Kindergarten Through College Preparatory Home and Chaperonage For space in advertising pages apply to Mrs, Alice Carrington ' Royce^ care of Brentano ^ ^ Half Moon Series Published in the Interest of the New York City History Qub VoLDME I. Number 2 King's College: now Columbia University 1754-1897 By John B. Pine In a letter to the Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, written in 1702, during the reign of Queen Anne, Governor Lewis Morris quaintly and prophetically observes : *^ The Queen has a Farm of about 32 Acres of Land, wch Rents for ^36 p. Ann : Tho the Church War- dens & Vestry have petitioned for it & my Ld four months gave ym a promise of it the proceeding has been so slow that they begin to fear the Success wont answer the expectation. I believe her Maty, would readily grant it to the Society for the asking. N. York is the Center of English America & a Proper Place for a CoUedge,— & that Farm in a little time will be of considerable Value, & it's pity such a thing should be lost for want of asking, wxh at another time wont be so Easily obtained." Copyright, 1896, by Maud Wilder Goodwin, 31 Governor Morris's letter contains one of the earliest references to the '' Queen's " or " King's " Farm, as it was generally called, and also offers the first suggestion of founding a college in the province of New York. Some fifty years elapsed before that event occurred. On October 31, 1754, a charter was granted to The Governors of the College of the Province of New York in the City of New York in America, providing for the establishment of a college, to be known as ''King's College," ''for the Instruction and Education of Youth in the Learned Languages and in the Liberal Arts and Sciences." The charter named as governors the Archbishop of Canterbury, the governor of the province, and certain officers of the crown, ex officio, and twenty-four residents of the city. It also provided that the Rector of Trinity Church and the ministers of the Reformed Dutch, Lutheran, French, and Presbyterian Churches, for the time being, should be ex-officio governors ; and in this respect, as well as in the prohibition of any religious discrimination, indicated the broad and non-sectarian character of the contemplated college. The delivery of the charter was delayed for some months by the opposition of those who were appre- hensive that the institution would be controlled by the Church of England, but their fears must have been allayed by the very first act of the governors, who, on their acceptance of the charter on May 7, 1755, voted unanimously to petition for a supplement- ary charter permitting the establishment of a profes- sorship of divinity in conformity with the doctrine 32 . . ; established by the Synod of Dort. The additional charter was subsequently granted, but the professor- ship has yet to be established. On June 3, 1755, was adopted the device for the seal of King's College, which continues to be that of Columbia University, with only the necessary alteration of name. The college is represented by a lady sitting on a throne of state, with several children at her knees to represent the pupils, and a reference to First Peter, indicating the spirit in which they should seek for true wisdom. She holds open a book, the " Living Oracles," and from her mouth proceed the words in Hebrew, '' God is my light." At her feet is the motto, In lumine Tuo videbimus LUMEN. In anticipation of the granting of the charter, the friends of the college had secured the services of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson, of Stratford, as president. They were singularly fortunate in their choice, as he was a man of broad and sound scholarship and of remarkably liberal and advanced views. He had been much sought after by other institutions of learn- ing, and had resisted the earnest solicitations of Ben- jamin Franklin to assume the charge of the academy which afterwards developed into the University of Pennsylvania. The first prospectus, issued by Dr. Johnson, May 31, 1754, shows that he aimed to make King's College something more than a training school for the church ; he destined it to have a far wider scope than the ordinary college of that day, and the plan of education which he proposed seems almost 33 to contemplate the modern university. After stating that '^ the chief thing that is aimed at in this College is to teach and engage children to know God and Jesus Christ, and to love and serve him," he goes on to say : '* It is further the design of this College to in- struct and perfect the Youth in the Learned Languages, and in the Arts of reasoning exactly, of writing cor- rectly and speaking eloquently ; and in the Arts of numbering and measuring; of Surveying and Navi- gation, of Geography and History, of Husbandry, Commerce and Government, and in the Knowledge of all Nature in the Heavens above us, and in the Air, Water and Earth around us and the various kinds of Meteors, Stones, Mines and Minerals, Plants and Animals, and of everything useful for the Comfort, Convenience and Elegance of life, in the chief Manufactures relating to any of these things." The broad lines which Dr. Johnson laid down may be traced through a century and a half, and in the University of Columbia as now constituted, with its college preserving the classic traditions, and its schools of Political Science, or "Government," of "Mines and Minerals," and of Pure Science embracing " the knowledge of all nature," the early prospectus has found a complete and literal ful- filment. Dr. Johnson was at first the sole instructor, and with a faculty thus constituted the new college began its sessions, July 17, 1754, in the schoolhouse belong- ing to Trinity Church. The first class consisted of Samuel Verplanck, Rudolph Ritzema, Philip Van 34 Cortlandt, Robert Bayard, Samuel Provoost, Thomas Martson, Henry Cruger, and Joshua Bloomer. Trinity Church having in the interval acquired title to the King's Farm, the rector and church war- dens forthwith delivered to the governors a lease and release of that portion of the farm lying on the west side of Broadway, between Barclay and Murray Streets, and extending do^vn to the Hudson River, described as being " in the skirts of the City." Steps were at once taken to procure plans for suitable buildings, and to raise money with which to erect them; liberal contributions were received, and on August 23, 1756, the comer-stone of King's College was laid by Sir Charles Hardy, then governor of the province. The occasion is described in the Weekly Posl Boy : '' Our Lieutenant Governor with the Governors of the Col- lege and Mr. Cutting the Tutor with the students met at Mr. Willett's and thence proceeded to the House of Mr. Vandenburgh, at the Common, whither his Excellency came in his chariot, and proceeded with them about One O'clock to the College ground, near the River on the Northwest side of the City. . . • After the stone was laid a Health was drunk to his Majesty and success to his Arms, and to Sir Charles Hardy, and Prosperity to the College." President Johnson delivered a brief address in Latin : '' Which being done, the Governors and Pupils laid each his stone, and several other Gentlemen, and then they re- turned to Mr. Willett's ; where there was a very ele- gant dinner; after which the usual loyal Healths were drunk, and Prosperity to the College; and the whole 35 was conducted with the utmost decency and pro- priety." The stone, which has fortunately been pre- served, bears the following inscription : HVJVS COLLEGII, REGALIS DICTI, REGIO DIPLOMATE CONSTITVTI IN HONOREM DEI O.M. ATQ : IN ECCLESI^ REIQ : PVBLIC^ EMOLVMENTVM, PRIMVM HVNC LAPIDEM POSVIT VIR PR^CEL LENTISSIMVS, CAROLVS HARDY, EQVES AVRATVS, HVJVS PROVINCI/E PR^FECTVS DIGNISSIMVS. AVGTI. DIE 23O, AN. DOM. MDCCLVI. In 1760 the fact is noted in the records that " the College buildings were so far completed that the offi- cers and students began to lodge and mess therein." In honor of George II., and in accordance with the terms of the charter, the building thus completed was designated '' King's College," and the original crown which surmounted it remains, a witness to its royal foundation. The Rev. Dr. Burnaby, an English traveller, writes : '^ The College when finished will be exceedingly handsome. It is to be built on three sides of a quadrangle fronting Hudson's or North River, and will be the most beautifully situated of any College, I believe, in the world " ; and the col- lege is described as it existed in 1773 as distant about a hundred and fifty yards ''from the Hudson River, which it overlooks, commanding from the emi- nence on which it stands a most extensive and beau- tiful prospect." The building was planned to com- prise three sides of a quadrangle, facing south. The portion completed at this date included a chapel, a residence for the president, several lecture halls and rooms for a number of students, and a *' college hall " 36 where the students dined. The students were required to lodge and diet in college, to wear caps and gowns, and to be within gates at certain hours. Evidently it was true of the social life of the college as of the *' plan of education," that it was '' copied in the most material parts from Queen's College, Oxford." Gen- eral Washington entered his stepson John Parke Custis as a student in the college, and from the cor- respondence with President Cooper we learn that the tuition fee was five pounds per annum, room rent four, and board at the rate of eleven shillings a week. During the exciting years preceding the Revolution the students seem to have taken an active interest in political affairs. It is related that a number of them participated in the affair with the sailors of the " Asia," and assisted in rescuing cannon and ammu- nition which were stored on the battery ; and Alex- ander Hamilton had become a conspicuous figure before the end of his sophomore year. Dr. Johnson resigned his office in 1763, and was succeeded by the Rev. Myles Cooper, A.M., a fellow of Queen's. College, Oxford. He was a man of much culture and refinement, an able instructor, of a genial disposi- tion, and both a wit and a versifier. He was but twenty-six years of age when elected president, and was earnestly devoted to the college and 'active in promoting its interests, especially in England, as shown by the numerous gifts received from Oxford. His political opinions, however, rendered him ex- tremely unpopular during the later years of his ad- 37 ministration ; for he was an ardent Tory, and expressed his views with the utmost freedom. On May lo, 1775, he wrote to a friend, ''Whilst I stay in this country of confusion, which for the sake of the Col- lege, I am minded to do as long as I can with any degree of prudence " ; and on the same night a mob broke into the college grounds intent upon doing him violence. Hamilton and Robert Troup, a fellow stu- dent, kept the mob at bay by haranguing them from the steps of the president's house, until Dr. Cooper had time to escape over the back fence in the scan- tiest of apparel. On the following day he took refuge on the " Kingfisher," an English sloop-of-war, and soon afterwards sailed for England. His Tory prin- ciples seem to have had little effect upon his students, some of whom were afterwards among the foremost champions of liberty in the cabinet and on the field — Jay and Livingston, Morris and Benson, Van Cort- landt and Rutgers, Troup and Hamilton; but his extreme partisanship was doubtless reflected upon the college, and tended to render it unpopular for the time being. In April, 1776, upon the request of the Commit- tee of Safety, the college was prepared for the recep- tion of troops, the students were dispersed, and the library and apparatus were removed to the City Hall. During the Revolution the buildings were used both by the American and British troops as barracks and for hospital purposes. 38 COLUMBIA COLLEGE The college exercises, suspended during the pen- dency of hostilities, were resumed in 1784. On May I, 1784, an act was passed by the Legislature of the State of New York, entitled An Act for grant- ing CERTAIN PRIVILEGES TO THE COLLEGE HERETO- FORE CALLED King's College, for altering THE NAME AND CHARTER THEREOF, AND ERECTING AN University within the State. Under this act the administration of the college passed to the Regents of the University of the State of New York, and the college received the name '' Colum- bia " — ''a word and name then for tl?e first time recognized anywhere in law and history ' ' — ^but which had already gained a patriotic and national signifi- cance in a popular song of the Revolution, " Colum- bia, Columbia, to glory arise." The Regents met forthwith, and proceeded with commendable energy to reorganize the college and to raise means for its support. They voted to establish four faculties— arts, divinity, medicine, and law : the first to consist of seven professorships ; the second, of such professorships as might be established by the different religious denominations; the third to be composed of seven professorships, and the last of three. In addition, there were to be a president, a secretary, and a librarian, and nine extra professors. But in projecting a scheme of such liberality the Regents were far in advance of the times and of 39 their income, which amounted to but twelve hundred pounds. During the brief period of their control they were able to carry the plan into execution only to the extent of establishing a faculty of arts, com- prising professors of mathematics, Greek and Latin, geography, natural history, French, German and the Oriental languages, and natural philosophy ; and a faculty of medicine, comprising professors of chem- istry, anatomy, surgery, midwifery, and the institutes and practice of medicine. The college was opened May 19, 1784, under its new name and government, and DeWitt Clinton entered as its first student. Experience soon demonstrated that the Regents of the University, as State officers, residing in different parts of the State, were not well constituted for administrative purposes. Accordingly, three years later, the separate identity of the college was restored, and by an act, said to have been drawn by Alexander Hamilton, passed April 13, 1787, its government was transferred to The Trustees of Columbia College IN THE City of New York, as the corporation has ever since been known. The trustees found a worthy suc- cessor to the first president in his son, William Samuel Johnson, LL.D. He had gained distinction as a spe- cial commissioner to England, where he resided for five years ; as a judge ; and as the representative of Connecticut in the Colonial Congress and in the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He was elected president of Columbia, May 21, 1787, and held that office conjointly with that of Senator from Connec- ticut while Congress held its sessions in New York. 40 On the occasion of the first commencement of the college under its new name, held April lo, 1787, the Legislature, upoti the motion of Alexander Hamilton, adjourned in order that its members might attend; and in 1789 the commencement was honored by the presence of President Washington and all the princi- pal officers of the Government of the United States. At the time of Dr. Johnson's accession there were thirty-nine students in the college, a portion of whom lodged and boarded in the college. The income of the college was about ^1,330. The faculties of arts and medicine consisted of three professors each. In 1792 the medical faculty was reestablished on a broader basis, mth seven professors, andlDr. Samuel Bard as dean. In the following year James Kent was elected professor of law, and his lectures, afterwards expanded into his " Commentaries on American Law," are said to '^ have had a deeper and more last- ing influence in the formation of national character than any secular book of the century." Under grants from the Legislature, the library, which had been dis- persed and almost entirely lost during the Revolution, was enlarged, and a professor of moral philosophy and logic was appointed ; but the suspension of legis- lative assistance after a few years so reduced the income of the college as to retard further progress. This financial condition unhappily prevailed for many years, and rendered it impossible to carry into effect the educational advances projected by the Regents, revived by the trustees in 18 10, and again put forward in 1857. Gradual advances were made under the ad- 41 ministration of Bishop Moore, who succeeded Dr. Johnson as president ; and the fact that the services rendered by the college were fully commensurate with its resources is evidenced by its long list of honorable and distinguished graduates. DeWitt Clinton had opened the Erie Canal ; Chancellor Livingston, another graduate, recognizing the genius of Fulton, had supplied the means which led to the development of steam navigation; John Stevens, of the Class of 1768, had introduced the steam railway and the screw propeller; and to all the professions, as well as to church and state, Columbia had contributed her full quota. In 1 8 10 the course of study in arts was broadened, and the requirements for admission considerably in- creased. In 181 2 the first scholarships were estab- lished, and the nomination placed in the gift of the Alumni Association; and within the next twenty years the number of scholarships was largely increased, and the several religious denominations, as well as a number of educational and philanthropic institu- tions, were given the privilege of appointing scholars. In 1813 the medical faculty was consolidated with the " College of Physicians and Surgeons," a separate corporation then recently established, and medical instruction ceased to be a part of the curriculum. In 1 8 14 the college received a grant of a tract of land known as the Hosack Botanical Garden, comprising the twenty acres lying between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, Forty-seventh and Forty-ninth Streets, as compensa- tion for lands previously granted to it, but ceded to 42 New Hampshire on the settlement of the boundary. This tract, which is still owned by the college, and is now one of its principal sources of income, was for a long period a hea^y drain upon the slender resources of the institution, and its retention, under all the circum- stances, is an evidence of the courage and foresight of the trustees. At the time this grant was made the city scarcely extended above the City Hall, and north of that the island was entirely farming land. After the Revolution an effort was made to restore the buildings to a condition suitable for educational purposes; but the result was not fully accomplished until 1820, when two wings were added, greatly in- creasing the capacity and convenience c^ the build- ings. A chapel and a library were also built, and in 1829 a building for a grammar school was erected adjacent to the college. President Moore, in his me- morial address, presents a pleasing picture of '' the stately sycamores on the Green, the old buildings, the great staircase, the Chapel, with its strange hanging gallery." And Mr. Jay, in his Centennial address, tells us that these venerable trees had an historic interest from the fact, which as a boy he heard from the lips of Judge Benson, that they were carried to the Green and planted by the Judge himself, and by Chief Justice Jay, Chancellor Livingston, and Recorder Harrison, all of whom were alumni. A member of the Class of '39 gives the following description of the college as it appeared in his day, when it "occupied a plot of ground bounded by Church Street, Murray Street, and College Place. 43 The building was of brick, covered with stucco, painted light brown, with trimmings of free stone. The front was to the south. At the east and west ends, respectively, were two houses occupied by mem- bers of the faculty, which projected considerably beyonci the middle buildings ; all were three stories high, and there was an old-fashioned belfry in the middle; it was a picturesque old structure, unmis- takably academic. In front was a Green of consider- able size, bordered by large sycamores. The place had an air of conventual quiet and seclusion, and was delightful in summer when the shadows of the broad leaves rested on the light brown walls and the flagstones of the walk. The middle of the edifice was devoted to the chapel and library. The latter occupied the second floor, and on the floor below were the lecture rooms. The location was about the centre of the fashionable part of the city." In the midst of these surroundings, under the suc- cessive presidencies of the Rev. William Harris, William Alexander Duer, Nathaniel F. Moore, a son of Bishop Moore, and li*ke his father an alumnus, and Charles King, the college continued its work with gradually increasing vigor and usefulness. Most of its offices were filled by alumni— -Professors McVickar, Moore, Anthon, Renwick, and Anderson being all graduates, and all men of singular worth and ability. Professor Anderson was a man of exceptional mathe- matical ability, and a linguist of unusual attain- ments. Professor Renwick, who occupied the chair of chemistry for thirty-three years, was the author of 44 " Outlines of Natural Philosophy," the first extended work on the subject published in the United States. Professor McVickar, who occupied the chair of moral and intellectual philosophy and political economy for some forty years, and was afterwards transferred to that of evidences of natural and revealed religion, was a man of wide attainments, as the scope of his professorship would indicate. He gave the first series of lectures on political economy ever delivered in an American college, and in 1825 he published what is probably the earliest work on the subject issued in this country. Professor Anthon's editions of the Greek and Latin authors have carried his name wher- ever the classics are taught, and made i^synonymous with sound scholarship. The educational work of the college at this time was all that could be desired in quality, and efforts were constantly being made to extend it. In 1830 a scientific and literary course was established, which omitted the classics and offered a wider range of Eng- lish and the sciences, but it was apparently in advance of the demands of the day. Again in 1857 a very extensive reorganization was determined upon. A statute was adopted making provision for a very lib- eral undergraduate course and providing for a univer- sity course of study, and the establishment of three schools: A School of Letters, including moral and mental philosophy, the Greek and Latin languages and literatures. Oriental and modem languages, com- parative philology and ethnology ; a School of Science, including mechanics and physics, astronomy, chem- 45 istry and mineralogy, geology and palaeontology, engi- neering, mining and metallurgy, natural history and physical geography ; a School of Jurisprudence, to in- clude history, political economy, political philosophy, national and international law, and civil and common law. The '^ university course " so projected was far in advance of anything offered or attempted by any institution in America at that day, and displayed a remarkable degree of foresight and wisdom. It was beyond the means of the college, and evidently was not appreciated by the public, as no considerable demand was evinced for the greatly increased opportu- nities which it offered, nor was additional support forthcoming. The faculty of arts was enlarged by the addition of several professors, including Francis Lieber, who was appointed to the chair of history and political sqience, the title of which was afterwards changed to constitutional history and public law, and his lectures were doubtless an inspiration to many of the large number of students who subsequently served their country in the War of the Rebellion. A direct result of the new statute was the establishment of the Law School as now constituted. In 1793 Chancellor Kent was appointed professor of law, as already men- tioned, and he then held the position for five years. He was reappointed in 1823 and continued in the office until 1847, and was succeeded by Mr. William Betts, who lectured for several years. In 1858 Professor Theodore W. D wight was appointed, and the school rapidly assumed its present importance and became a permanent part of the college. 46 While these educational developments were under consideration, plans for the removal of the college were also occupying the attention of the trustees. The fact that its original site had become unsuitable had long been recognized, though for many years the college green preser^^ed its verdure and tranquillity in the midst of encroaching commerce. By degrees it was intersected with streets: ''Chapel Street" and " College Place " for a time marked the site, but even these have now lost their identity in West Broadway. In 1854 the trustees determined upon removal, but the exercises were continued until May 7, 1857, when the last service was held in the old chapel, the ancient corner-stone was disinterred from its Idtig resting- place to be borne to its new home, and the halls which had echoed to the march of history were aban- doned forever. A portion of the Botanical Garden, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Streets, was selected as the site to which the college should be removed from Murray Street, and Mr. Upjohn was employed to prepare a design for the new buildings. The execution of this project, however, was found to be impracticable, for the time being, on account of the expense involved; and in November, 1856, the trustees purchased of the Institution for the Instruc- tion of the Deaf and Dumb twenty lots situated on Madison Avenue, between Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Streets. The purchase was made upon favorable terms, and the action of the trustees was influenced largely by the fact that the buildings of the institution 47 were available for the immediate use of the college, with but slight alterations. The opening services were held in the chapel of the '' New College," as it was called, May 12, 1857. The buildings consisted of a large edifice of brick and brown stucco, standing on the high ground near Fiftieth Street, with adjacent buildings at either end, one of which served as a chapel, and the other as a residence for professors. President King and his family at first occupied rooms in the main building, which also furnished a number of class and lecture rooms. The principal architec- tural feature of the central building was a lofty por- tico ; and the group of buildings, shaded by a row of fine old trees, on a beautiful lawn sloping southward, presented a pleasing and dignified appearance. " The present location of the College ' ' is described in a contemporary newspaper as ** a delightful one, and undesirable only on account of the distance up town. . . . The site is on a commanding eminence, affording an extensive and pleasant view." Subsequently, the trustees purchased the lots com- prising the remainder of the block, including a fac- tory, which was afterwards used for the School of Mines. The buildings continued to be occupied with but little change until i860, when the president's house was erected. In the same year, by an agreement between the two institutions, the College of Physicians and Surgeons became the medical department of Columbia College. In 1864 the trustees elected to the presidency the Rev. Frederick A. P. Barnard, S.T.D., a profound student of education, in sympathy with all forms of higher development, literary as well as scien- tific ; a man of extraordinarily wide attainments, of an enthusiastic and progressive temperament. Of his in- fluence upon the college, Dean Van Amringe writes : *' He gave vitalizing force to the extension and liber- alization of the undergraduate course, to the found- ing of fellowships for the encouragement and assist- ance in their higher studies of earnest and able young men ; to the extension of the library and the liberal- ization of its management ; to the project of a course for the higher study of political and historical sub- jects, and to the scheme for a broad and liberal system - of postgraduate or university instruction, which the college had long but vainly desired." % The School of Mines was at this time in its incipi- ency, but with his earnest support its faculty were soon able to make it the leading, as it was almost if not quite the first, school of its kind in the country. The Law School continued to prosper, and in 1880 the School of Political Science was established. Lec- tures upon political economy had been delivered as early as 1818, and Professor Lieber's course had af- forded a brilliant exposition of the principles of international law; but no scheme of systematic inde- pendent instruction in these and kindred subjects was provided until the organization of the school. It aimed to give a complete general view of both exter- nal and internal polity, from the point of view of law, history, and philosophy. It was a new departure, but it was most timely, and it has exerted a deep and far-reaching influence, as well through the publica- 49 tions of its officers and graduates as by means of the instruction it has afforded its students. Under Presi- dent Barnard's administration the library was greatly enlarged, and a liberal policy was adopted which rendered it available at all hours to every student, whether connected with the college or not, who de- sired to avail himself of its resources. In 1883 a collegiate course of study for women was opened, and from this was developed Barnard College, which was established six years later, with the official ap- proval of the trustees, Columbia undertaking to give the instruction and to confer degrees upon such women as should pass the examinations. At the beginning of Dr. Barnard's administration public attention was absorbed by the great political issues then pending, and the students and graduates of Columbia showed themselves no less patriotic than their predecessors of King's College. Over four hundred of her sons gave themselves to the ser- vice of their country in the army afid navy; while others filled important offices on the National De- fence Committee and the Sanitary Commission. Doubtless the War of the Rebellion somewhat retarded the growth of the college, but during Dr. Barnard's incumbency it began to receive a more adequate return from its real estate, and was in receipt of an income less out of proportion to the needs of a great institution. The president and the trustees were not slow to seize the opportunity to carry into effect their long-projected plans for expansion and development. When Dr. Barnard came to the college there were six 50 hundred and twenty-two students upon the rolls. On his retirement, twenty-five years later, there were seventeen hundred and twelve. During the same period the teaching staff was increased from twenty- three to about one hundred and fifty, and the devel- opment of the institution upon the educational side was in like proportion. President Barnard died April 27, 1889, devoting his fortune, as he had his life, to the college. On February 3, 1890, Seth Low, of the Class of 1870, was installed president. The date will always be recognized as the beginning of the new era in the history of the college. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Great as had been the development of the college under President Barnard, forces had been accumulat- ing tending to still greater expansion, and the time and the man had now come for the realization of Columbia's possibilities as a university. President Low's wide experience and catholic sympathies put him in touch with the city, and his progressive mind at once grasped the requirements and opportunities of the situation. Administrative reform was the first need of the institution, in order that its advantages might be rendered available and a consistent and systematic enlargement of its scope made practica- ble. Within the first two years of President Low's administration this was accomplished. The college was reorganized on a imiversity basis, with the Schools 51 of Medicine, Law, Mines (since expanded into the Schools of Applied Science, embracing mining, chem- istry, engineering, and architecture), Political Science, Philosophy, and Pure Science, under the general guid- ance of a university council, for the prosecution of professional and advanced study; and its School of Arts, which has since resumed its original title of col- lege, for undergraduate instruction. Courses of study were coordinated and new departments were estab- lished. Since 1890 the teaching staff has been increased to two hundred and eighty-eight, and the number of students matriculated during the present year will exceed eighteen hundred. In 1891 the Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons was formally con- solidated with Columbia, and became an integral part of the corporation ; reciprocal relations were estab- lished with the several theological seminaries of the city, and courses of public lectures were instituted; and in the following year the Teachers College became allied to Columbia. A number of fellowships were established for the encouragement of advanced research ; and relations were entered into with the Met- ropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History, the collections serving to illustrate the lec- tures given by the college. Still more recently the undergraduate curriculum has been largely increased in scope and latitude, and so arranged as to afford in logical sequence the preliminary training requisite for admission to any of the professional schools. In all directions the college and its schools were broadened and strengthened with an almost startling , 52 rapidity, but with a sureness and wisdom which have already found ample justification. This extensive growth served to demonstrate the entire inadequacy and unfitness of the present site ; and in 1892 the trus- tees determined upon removal, and contracted for the purchase of four blocks of land on the summit of Mom- ingside Heights. Such an undertaking, involving an original outlay of two million dollars, demanded no small measure of courage and of confidence both in the possibilities of the college and in the liberality of the alumni and of the city of New York ; but the generous gifts already received show that that con- fidence was not misplaced, and the just pride which the city now feels in Columbia gives promise of even more generous support in the future. On May 2, 1896, the new site was dedicated in the presence of the Governor of the State, the Mayor of the City, the trustees and faculties, representatives of other insti- tutions, and about five thousand people ; and at about the same date the college fitly assumed the title of university. The history of the new site dates from 1701, when Jacob deKey purchased his farm from the city; but it was not till September 16, 1776, that the event occurred which renders it memorable, and which can best be described in the words of an eye-witness : *' On Monday morning, about ten o' Clock, a party of the Enemy consisting of Highlanders, Hessians, the Light Infantry, Grenadiers, and English Troops, (Number uncertain), attack 'd our advanc'd Party, commanded by Coll. Knowlton at Martje Davits Fly. 53 . They were opposed with spirit, and soon made to retreat to a clear Field, southwest of that about two hundred paces, where they lodged themselves behind a Fence covered with Bushes our People attack' d them in Turn, and caused them to retreat a second Time, leaving five dead on the Spot, we pursued them to a Buckwheat Field on the Top of a high Hill, dis- tance about four hundred paces, where they received a considerable Reinforcement, with several Field Pieces, and there made a Stand a very brisk Action ensued at this Place, which continued about Two Hours our People at length worsted them a third Time, caused them to fall back into an Orchard, from thence across a Hollow, and up another Hill not far distant from their own Lines. . . ." So wrote General Clinton to the New York Conven- tion describing the Battle of Harlem, which had been fought two days previously, on September i6, 1776. He presents a vivid picture, and we need but follow his description, beginning at " Martje Davits Fly," the meadow lying in the valley between One Hundred and Twenty-fifth and One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Streets, near the Hudson River, across the level ground to the foot of the northerly slope of Morning- side Heights, and up the hillside to the ** Buckwheat Field on the Top of a high Hill," and we find our- selves upon the field where the battle was fought : the field where Columbia is to stand. What was once the buckwheat field, made memorable by the first battle in which the American troops faced the British and routed them, has become the new site of Columbia ; 54 and where Colonel Knowlton fell the walls of the university are now rising. The college which the traveller of a hundred years ago described as the most beautifully situated in the world, once more looks forth upon the waters of the Hudson, but from a higher vantage ground and with the broader vision of the university. To the natural beauties of the situa- tion, which fit it so preeminently to be the home of learning, is added the element of historic interest, associating the university of to-day still more insepa- rably with the college of the Revolution. The land upon which the buildings are to be erected comprises a little more than seventeen aci^s. It is divided naturally into two levels. The southerly level or plateau, which is one hundred and fifty feet above high water and includes about ten acres, is the higher, and varies in elevation from five to ten feet above the surrounding streets. The buildings in pro- cess of erection are being constructed chiefly upon the higher plateau, thus preserving a fine grove of oaks and chestnuts that adorns the northern portion of the grounds, and leaving space for future development. The buildings are arranged in a series of quadrangles, but with spacious openings on the streets and avenues. The librar)^, already partially built, is to form the centre of the group, and its proportions and design will render it one of the most commanding features of Momingside Heights. The main approach to the grounds is from One Hundred and Sixteenth Street, by a broad flight of steps and a court three hundred and seventy-five feet in width by two hundred feet in 55 depth. Another flight of steps will lead to the por- tico of the library. Purely classic in style, the library, which will be surmounted by a dome, resembles in form a Greek cross. The width of the building will be one hundred and ninety-two feet, and the height of the dome one hundred and thirty-five feet. It will be constructed of Indiana limestone on a basement of Milford granite. The building is a memorial of Abiel Abbot Low, and is given by his son, Seth Low, the president of the university. To the east and west of the library are to be the chapel and the assembly hall, the latter being in- tended as a place of meeting for student organizations, such as the literary and debating societies and the glee club, and for public lectures ; and generally to serve as a centre for the social life of the students. Opposite each of these buildings will be an entrance from the adjoining avenue. Schermerhorn Hall, the northeasterly building on the plan, is the gift of Mr. William C. Schermerhorn, the chairman of the trustees, and will be devoted to the natural sciences. The adjoining building is des- ignated the " Physics Building " only until the name of a donor may be substituted. These buildings are also under construction. They are to be built of the over-burned brick of a dull-red color, generally known as Harvard brick, and of Indiana limestone. In style they are in keeping with the library, and represent to some extent a reversion to the best construction of the colonial period : Schermerhorn Hall offers a pleasing reminder of old King's College. Their simple and 56 dignified lines and generous windows fitly express the purpose for which they are to be used, and the inten- tion of the design to subserve the needs of modem scientific education. Havemeyer Hall, which is to occupy the northwest- erly angle of the upper plateau, will be erected as a memorial of Frederick Christian Havemeyer by his sons Henry O., Frederick C, Theodore A., and Thomas J. Havemeyer, his daughters Kate B. Belloni and S. Louisa Jackson, and his nephew Charles H. Senff. It has been especially planned for the study of chemistry, and eventually will be devoted exclusively to that department, but temporarily the u|^per floor will be used by the students in architecture. The engineering building, as well as the university build- ing, is also in course of construction. The university building will be situated immediately to the north of the library, about two hundred feet distant, and, next to the library, will be the most important and conspicuous building on the grounds. It will include a theatre, a dining-hall, and a gymnasium. The alumni have undertaken to raise a fund for the erec- tion of the dining-hall, to which they propose to give an historic and personal interest by making it the " Alumni Memorial Hall." Here are to be preserved the names and portraits of those sons of King's Col- lege who were among the founders of the Republic ; of those sons of a later day, Phil Kearney and his brave associates, who gave their lives to preserve the Union; and of all the long line of graduates who, from the time of the Revolution to the present, in the 57 service of the city, the state, and the country, have achieved distinction for themselves and their Alma Mater. Only a portion of the building' is to be erected at present, but it will advance as the means are forthcoming, and the design and plans already perfected indicate that it will be one of the most im- posing of the entire group. Of the other buildings for which space has been reserved, the particular uses remain to be determined by the rapidly increasing needs of the university. Possibly some of them may be used as residences for students, as the trustees have recently declared them- selves in favor of making provision for this want, but it seems more probable that such buildings will be erected by private capital on land adjacent to the university. A large residence-hall for students, to be known as " Hamilton Court," which has already been projected, bids fair to supply what has long been one of Columbia's greatest deficiencies. The reestablish- mentof the student life which existed in King's Col- lege will add not only a most attractive feature but an important element of strength to the new life of the university. To realize to the full the great opportunities afforded by its environment is the duty that now confronts the university. The loftier elevation and greater extent of its new site should find expression in the higher ideals and broader scholarship of the university, in an influence for good more far-reaching and potent. That these results will follow is best assured by the progress that the university has made during the past 58 few years under conditions far less favorable. To the advancement of the highest, and broadest, and sound- est learning the university stands pledged, irrevocably ; while upon the material side the best professional tal- ent, after the most careful study, has projected the lines of future development. The generosity of Co- lumbia's graduates, officers, and friends has already afforded conspicuous evidence both of their confidence in the work that the university is doing and of their belief in the complete success of her present enter- prise. " Upon the university," said Mayor Hewitt in his address upon the dedication of the new site, ''we must build the foundations of our municipal glory and greatness. ... So far as the city of New York is concerned, the Columbia University must be made the fountain head of knowledge, the centre from which will flow the conservative and recuperative prin- ciples of social progress. . . . The city which is its home will feel its influence in every profession, in the walks of business, in its public institutions, in the conduct of its churches, in the execution and administration of the great undertakings which will be demanded by its continued growi:h. Its citizens will come to its halls for instruction, for guidance, and for inspiration, and as they approach the portal of a higher municipal life, and are confirmed in noble aims, they will feel the force of the prophetic motto of King's College, the mother of Columbia Univer- sity in the city of New York, In lumine Tuo vide- BIMUS LUMEN," 59 Barnard College 343 MADISON AVENUE COURSES IN AMERICAN HISTORY For Undefgraduates* General course, read- ing, recitations and lectures.— Three hours a week : H. A. Gushing, A.M. For Graduates. Political History of the Golonies and of the American Revolution. — This investigation course, extending through two years, deals in the first year with the settlement of the Golonies and their development in the seventeenth century, and in the second year with the growth of the system of colonial administration, the conflict with the French, and the revolt of the Golonies. The work of the students consists chiefly in the study of topics from the original sources, with a formal account of the results of such study.— -Two hours a week for two years: Professor Herbert L. Osgood, Ph.D. These courses are open not only to candidates for degrees, but to special students who can show ability to read French and German, and can satisfy the Dean and Faculty of their general competence. £anrcl-in-tlK-Pine$ LAKEWOOD, NEW JERSEY Beautifully located on elevated ground. Accommodations for 350 guests. 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