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 Wake Forest College 
 
 
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 HISTORY 
 
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Wake Forest College 
 
 CIRCULAR OF INFORMATION 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 EDWARDS <k BROUGHTON, PRINTERS AND BINDERS, 
 RALEIGH, N. C. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2017 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates 
 
 https://archive.org/details/wakeforestcollegOOwake 
 
History. 
 
 ORIGIN. 
 
 During the first quarters of the 19th century there were 
 few schools in North Carolina. The State University was the 
 only institution of higher learning. The efforts to organize 
 a public school system had proved futile. During this period 
 there came into North Carolina several well trained young 
 Baptist ministers. Among these were Samuel Wait, Thomas 
 Meredith, and John Armstrong. They found many Bap- 
 tists, but these were without organization or an educated 
 ministry. Under the leadership of these men, the Baptists 
 of the State organized their Convention, one of whose chief 
 purposes was the preparation of young men “called to the 
 ministry.” There was no school under Baptist control to 
 which these young men could be sent. There were in the 
 State, however, schools taught by Baptists. These young 
 men were sent to them and part of the expenses were borne 
 by the Convention. The need of a school of their own was 
 felt to be urgent. At the second annual session of the Con- 
 vention, in 1832, a committee was appointed that planned 
 such a school. 
 
 WAKE FOREST INSTITUTE. 
 
 This committee purchased the farm of Dr. Calvin Jones, 
 seventeen miles north of Raleigh, containing 615 acres, for 
 which the sum of $2,500 was paid. Manual labor schools 
 were popular at that time. The Baptists of Virginia, South 
 Carolina, and Georgia, were adopting the system. The 
 Convention committee thought that the system would suit 
 the needs in North Carolina, and that manual labor in con- 
 nection with study would not only tend to preserve health, 
 but also assist in defraying the expenses of the students. 
 The Legislature of 1833 grudgingly granted a meagre char- 
 
4 
 
 Wake Forest Coeeege. 
 
 ter for a manual labor and classical institute. Samuel Wait 
 was chosen principal. The Convention placed the entire 
 management of the property in the hands of a self-perpetu- 
 ating Board of Trustees. In February, 1834, Principal 
 Wait opened the Institute with sixteen students. For sev- 
 eral years the only buildings were those on the farm. For 
 a year Principal Wait was the only teacher. Others were 
 added as the institution grew. For five years the manual 
 labor feature was continued, but without success. The 
 number of students, however, increased rapidly for two 
 years, reaching 142, and then fell off to 51. In 1838, the 
 manual labor feature was abolished and the Institute was 
 re-chartered as Wake Forest College. 
 
 beginning oe the coeeege. 
 
 The equipment of the farm, the erection of a proper build- 
 ing, and the annual deficit in the running expenses, made a 
 debt that hampered the institution for its first fifteen years. 
 Variations in the price of food supplies caused a yearly loss 
 in the steward's department. The years 1837 an d 1839 were 
 years of financial panic. Subscriptions were not paid, pat- 
 ronage diminished, and debts increased. The educational 
 spirit was not strong enough to remove these obstacles. The 
 Trustees, desiring none to be turned away, maintained a 
 faculty of men well-trained in the universities of the North, 
 and continued to hope for better days. Principal Wait 
 spent much of his time in the field endeavoring to collect 
 funds to meet the obligations. Money was borrowed from 
 the Literary Fund of the State, but soon all these obligations 
 became due. Finally in 1849, through the efforts of James 
 S. Purefoy, William Crenshaw, George W. Thompson, and 
 a few other devoted friends of the College, the incubus of an 
 increasing debt of $20,000 was removed. Many years were 
 yet to follow before the income would be able to meet the 
 expenses of the institution. 
 
History. 
 
 5 
 
 BUILDINGS. 
 
 Dormitory . — The first college building was completed in 
 1838, — a large, plain structure, costing $14,000. When 
 erected it was doubtless the best school building in North 
 Carolina. For fifty years it was the only building and 
 served all the purposes of the College. In its original form, 
 the north and the south wing contained each twenty-four 
 bedrooms the central portion contained the Chapel, the 
 lecture rooms, and the Society Halls. 
 
 In 1900, the central part was completely remodeled and 
 refitted. It now contains the administration offices, and lec- 
 ture rooms for the Schools of Latin, Greek, English, His- 
 tory, Education, the Bible, and Applied Mathematics. 
 
 Library Building . — In 1878, through the munificence of 
 Col. J. M. Heck and Mr. John G. Williams, both of Raleigh, 
 the present Library Building was erected. The center is 
 used for Library and Reading Room. The Reading Room 
 was equipped through the generosity of Judge Charles M. 
 Cooke of Louisburg. The wings contain lecture rooms for 
 the Schools of Mathematics and Law, and the Halls of the 
 Euzelian and Philomathesian Literary Societies. 
 
 Wingate Memorial Hall . — On the death of President W. 
 M. Wingate in 1879, h* s friends and former pupils wished to 
 show their appreciation of his years of service, and deemed 
 that a memorial building would be a fitting monument. This 
 building, erected with this end in view, contains the Audito- 
 rium, the lecture room of the School of Modern Languages, 
 and the lecture room and laboratory of the School of Phys- 
 ics. The subscriptions for the erection of this building were 
 secured by President Taylor and James S. Purefoy. 
 
 Lea Laboratory . — In 1888 the erection of a Chemical Lab- 
 oratory was made possible largely through the liberality of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Sidney S. Lea, of Caswell County. This 
 building, one of the best of its kind in the South, contains a 
 
6 
 
 Wake; Fore;st College;. 
 
 lecture room, private laboratory, class laboratories, and stor- 
 age room. 
 
 Gymnasium . — In 1900 the need of a gymnasium was so 
 urgent that the Trustees ordered the erection of a suitable 
 building at a cost of $12,000. The ground floor contains 
 bath-rooms, toilets, and storage rooms; the main floor con- 
 tains offices, and a room eighty by fifty feet, equipped with 
 modern apparatus. The equipment is renewed and increased 
 year by year. 
 
 Alumni Building . — The most recently erected building is 
 the Alumni Building, which has just been completed and is 
 now being equipped for the Schools of Biology and Medi- 
 cine. It is the most handsome building on the Campus, is 
 three stories in height, well-lighted and arranged for labora- 
 tories and lecture rooms. The funds for this building were 
 secured through the agency of Professor J. B. Carlyle. 
 
 Infirmary . — This building, now in process of erection, in 
 the southwest corner of the Campus, will contain two wards, 
 an operating room, a dining-room, a kitchen, seven private 
 rooms, and verandas on two sides, above and below. 
 
 Faculty. 
 
 The early Faculty was composed of New England men. 
 Most of them had been graduated from Brown University 
 while Dr. Francis Wayland was president. These men 
 brought high ideals of scholarship and learning. Others of 
 the Faculty were graduates of Columbian College, Washing- 
 ton City. Even the Wake Forest Institute had a faculty 
 composed of graduates. Upon the resignation of President 
 Wait in 1845, his successor was Dr. William Hooper, one of 
 the most scholarly men in the South. Later the University 
 of North Carolina and Wake Forest Institute contributed to 
 the teaching force. In more recent years the Johns Hop- 
 kins University, the University of Chicago, Cornell Univer- 
 sity, the University of Virginia, and Columbia University 
 
History. 
 
 7 
 
 have furnished teachers. The Faculty now consists of sev- 
 enteen professors and a number of assistants in the various 
 departments. 
 
 ENDOWMENT. 
 
 For fifteen years the College had no endowment. In 1849 
 the first money was given for this purpose. Mr. Barclay 
 Powers, of Warren County, gave James S. Purefoy ten dol- 
 lars for endowment. In 1852 the Trustees resolved to raise 
 fifty thousand dollars. In October, 1852, W. M. Wingate, 
 of the class of 1849, was elected agent. In two years he 
 raised thirty-seven thousand dollars in subscriptions. By 
 1854 there were forty-two thousand dollars in subscriptions, 
 with ten thousand dollars in legacies for Ministerial Edu- 
 cation. These legacies were made by Rev. Wm. H. Merrit 
 of Orange County, William Warren of Person, and John 
 Blount of Edenton. On some of these very little was ever re- 
 alized. The affairs of the College were now in a hopeful con- 
 dition, but it was realized that the method of raising endow- 
 ment by the sale of perpetual scholarships, did not materially 
 improve the condition of the College. In 1856 the Board of 
 Trustees met in Raleigh with the Baptist State Convention, 
 and resolved to raise fifty thousand dollars of unencumbered 
 endowment. A committee was appointed, consisting of 
 James S. Purefoy, J. J. James, W. M. Wingate, and John 
 Mitchell. The plans of the committee were adopted by the 
 Board of Trustees, and when the Convention re-assembled 
 President Wingate introduced the following resolution : “Re- 
 solved, that we have heard with pleasure the plan proposed 
 by the Board of Trustees of Wake Forest College, to raise 
 an unencumbered fund of fifty thousand dollars for the en- 
 dowment of Wake Forest College.” A feeling of deep and 
 solemn interest and anxiety pervaded the entire body, as well 
 as the crowd of spectators in the galleries of Commons Hall. 
 As the last speaker closed, C. W. Skinner, a charter mem- 
 
8 
 
 Wake Forest Coeeege. 
 
 ber of the Board of Trustees of 1833, subscribed five thou- 
 sand dollars; R. Felton, five thousand; C. Wooten, C. D. 
 Ellis, and President Wingate, a thousand dollars each. Over 
 twenty-five thousand dollars was subscribed in a few min- 
 utes. No more thrilling meeting was ever held in North 
 Carolina. An old record reads “and surely none who wit- 
 nessed it can ever forget it, or cease to thank God that they 
 were permitted to witness it.” Within the space of a year 
 John Mitchell, the general agent of the Board, was able to 
 report that the entire amount had been subscribed. In June, 
 i860, there had been collected and invested forty thousand 
 and five hundred dollars. Many subscriptions had never 
 been paid, while others were paid in Confederate money. 
 With the downfall of the Confederacy went a large part of 
 the invested funds. Out of the wreck eleven thousand and 
 seven hundred dollars was saved — largely through the finan- 
 cial judgment of the treasurer, James S. Purefoy. In 1875, 
 through the work of various agents, the invested funds 
 amounted to twenty-five thousand, six hundred and thirteen 
 dollars and fifty-nine cents. In 1876, Professor Chas. E. 
 Taylor collected in the State about $10,000, while James S. 
 Purefoy traveled in the North and collected $8,949.72. By 
 1880 the endowment had again reached forty-six thousand 
 dollars, as in 1861. 
 
 In November, 1882, Professor Chas. E. Taylor undertook 
 to raise the amount to one hundred thousand dollars. Pledges 
 were taken on the condition that they be null and void unless 
 the entire amount was secured in cash by January 1, 1884. 
 On the night of December 31, 1883, the Treasurer had in his 
 hands an endowment of one hundred thousand dollars. The 
 largest contributor to this fund was Mr. James A. Bostwick 
 of New York, who gave ten thousand dollars. December 
 31st was a notable day. All day and far into the night came 
 letters, checks, telegrams, and subscriptions, but the cash was 
 
History. 
 
 9 
 
 not in hand. At io o’clock, Professor Taylor, W. H. Pace, 
 W. G. Simmons, and James S. Purefoy decided that the cash 
 condition had not been met. Then they agreed to pledge 
 their own real estate by mortgage for the payment of the 
 $5,000 pledged but not yet paid in. In this way the $100,000 
 was secured. In 1885 Mr. Bostwick created the Bostwick 
 Loan Fund for indigent young men by a gift of $12,000. In 
 1886, Mr. Bostwick made a gift of $50,000. These dona- 
 tions were secured through the labor of Professor Taylor, 
 who had then become President. By May, 1890, the total 
 investments amounted to $174,562.65. In this year it was 
 determined to increase this fund so that the College might 
 meet its growing needs. Mr. Bostwick generously agreed 
 to add one-half to whatever amount, up to $50,000, should be 
 raised by March 1, 1891. President Taylor took the field and 
 secured $26,000. In this way nearly $40,000 was added to 
 the endowment. These funds have been carefully guarded 
 and have increased. At present the invested funds amount 
 to $210,176.93, and the College property may be conserva- 
 tively valued at $100,000. 
 
 administration. 
 
 1829 - 1845 . — Samuel Wait was the only Principal of the 
 Institute and first President of the College. His adminis- 
 tration covers the initial period from February, 1834, to 
 June, 1845. His zea l an d industry were untiring. It was 
 necessary to white-wash slave cabins and use them for dor- 
 mitories. Beneficent institutions were not yet popular in the 
 State. A division in the denomination on these questions 
 was about to take place. There was no trained ministry to 
 uphold his hands. The manual labor idea was an experi- 
 ment in the South and the experiment failed. There were 
 no loyal alumni as yet to rally to the support of the institu- 
 tion. President Wait’s influence was strong among the most 
 enlightened and progressive, but these were few. Even Bap- 
 
IO 
 
 Wake Forest Coeeege. 
 
 tists did not patronize the institution. The increasing debt 
 made many of them think that it would fail. In 1836 the en- 
 rollment reached 143, but by 1843 it had dropped to 41. In 
 January, 1844, President Wait resigned, but his resignation 
 was not accepted. In 1845 he resigned again, and his resig- 
 nation was accepted to take place in June, 1845. He was at 
 once elected President of the Board of Trustees, which posi- 
 tion he held for twenty-one years. He loved the College 
 with a tender devotion, as is shown by his letter of resigna- 
 tion. 
 
 1845 - 1840 — President Wait’s successor was Dr. William 
 Blooper, the grandson of William Hooper, signer of the 
 Declaration of Independence; a graduate of the University 
 of North Carolina, and a student of Theology at Princeton. 
 In 1845 he was teaching in South Carolina. The Trustees 
 had always been anxious to have him in the College. He 
 had taken great interest in building up the institution and 
 was elected the first president of the Board of Trustees. Pie 
 had also been elected Professor of Moral Philosophy in 
 1834, but had declined. Now when the office of the Presi- 
 dency was tendered him he accepted. To this position he 
 brought polished scholarship and fine rhetorical powers, but 
 these were not the needs at this critical juncture. What 
 was most needed was a financier, for financial embarrass- 
 ments were crippling the institution. Dr. Hooper became 
 despondent and resigned at the end of 1848. 
 
 1849 - 1855 — Dr. Hooper’s successor was John B, White, 
 Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. Profes- 
 sor White had been with the institution for eleven years. 
 He had been graduated from Brown, had studied law, had 
 taught in the schools of New England, and in 1838 had 
 come to Wake Forest. President White administered the 
 internal affairs of the institution. The finances of the Col- 
 lege were largely entrusted to James S. Purefoy. The debt 
 had now become embarrassing — especially to men who, like 
 
History. 
 
 ii 
 
 William Crenshaw and James S. Purefoy, had assumed the 
 responsibility for its payment. It was during White's ad- 
 ministration that relief was obtained from the debts. In 
 1853 President White resigned and returned to Illinois, 
 where he took charge of an institution for girls. 
 
 1854 - 1879 . — After the Trustees had failed to secure the 
 services of several men elected, they chose Washington 
 Manly Wingate president. This administration was a long 
 one, extending to 1879 ,when President Wingate died. The 
 three-fold object of this administration was the raising of 
 endowment, the abolition of the preparatory department, 
 and the establishment of scholarships. The war interrupted 
 these plans. The personality of the President and his gifts 
 as preacher and man won many active friends for the Col- 
 lege. He was the first to bring the College home to the 
 people and place it on their hearts. He travelled and spoke 
 much, and at the time of his death the future was hopeful. 
 Strong men had been brought into the Faculty, but the 
 expansion was greater than was warranted by income. It 
 was during this administration that Wake Forest began 
 really to be generally felt in the life of the Baptist denomi- 
 nation. The spirit of the President provoked no opposition ; 
 students felt the power of his personality, and its influence 
 was felt throughout the entire ranks of the denomination. 
 
 1879 - 1882 . — Dr. Thomas H. Pritchard was President 
 Wingate's successor. This administration was brief, ending 
 in 1882. President Pritchard determined to increase the 
 patronage of the institution, and this he did by speaking in 
 nearly every county in the State. He found the enrollment 
 1 17, but he left it 169. Dr. Pritchard's short administration 
 did much to popularize the cause of general education in 
 North Carolina. 
 
 1884 - 1905 . — In 1884 Charles E. Taylor, Professor of 
 Latin, was chosen president. Plis work as agent for the 
 endowment and his scholarly attainments had already been 
 
12 
 
 Wake: Fore:st Cotmge;. 
 
 felt in the institution. His administration extended from 
 1884 to 1905, when President Taylor resigned to devote his 
 time more fully to agency and to teaching. This was the 
 notable administration in the history of the College. The 
 work done is destined to be permanent and far-reaching. 
 President Taylor came to Wake Forest in 1870 as an assist- 
 ant in Latin and German; in 1871 he was made Professor 
 of Latin, and in 1884 Professor of Moral Philosophy and 
 History. He found the College with a meagre endowment 
 of $40,000; he left it with an endowment of more than 
 $210,000. The strong feature of his plans for endowment 
 has been to secure cash rather than notes and subscriptions. 
 He became president of a faculty of six professors and one 
 tutor; in 1905, the Faculty numbered seventeen professors 
 and six assistants. The enrollment increased from 161 to 
 328. The equipment, also, was greatly increased. The Lea 
 Laboratory, the Gymnasium, and the Alumni Building were 
 erected, and the other buildings remodelled and improved. 
 The campus has been beautified, from an old field of gullies 
 and pines, into a park. In accepting the presidency, Dr. 
 Taylor had declared that he "might not make Wake Forest 
 a large institution, but he hoped to make it a good one.” 
 How well he succeeded the loyalty of the alumni and friends 
 speaks in strong terms. 
 
 In 1905 Dr. Taylor resigned and was succeeded by Dr. 
 William Louis Poteat, whose administration is now in its 
 first year. 
 
 CHARTER HISTORY. 
 
 In 1833 the following Charter of "Wake Forest Insti- 
 tute” was granted : 
 
 AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A LITERARY AND MANUAL LABOR INSTITUTION 
 IN THE COUNTY OF WAKE. 
 
 I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of North 
 Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That 
 William P. Biddle, John Armstrong, William Sanders of the county 
 
History. 
 
 13 
 
 of Craven, Isaac Beeson of Guilford, James Watkins of Anson, 
 Thomas Boyd of Mecklenburg, John Portevant of Brunswick, Thomas 
 Stradley of Buncombe, Hugh Quinn of Lincoln, Alfred Dockery of 
 Richmond, William Crenshaw, George W. Thompson, Allen S. Wynn, 
 William Roles, Alfred Birt, John Purify of Wake, Simon J. Jelfers, 
 Thomas Crocker, Allen Bowden of Franklin, James King of Person, 
 John Culpepper, Sen., of Montgomery, John McDaniel, Charles Mc- 
 Callister of Cumberland, Aaron J. Spivey, Joseph B. Outlaw, Turner 
 Carter of Bertie, Henry Austin of Edgecombe, Daniel Boon, David 
 Thompson of Johnston, Paul Phifer of Rowan, Alexander Moseley of 
 Lenoir, George M. Thompson of Pasquotank, Joseph Halsey of Tyr- 
 rell, Charles W. Skinner of Perquimans, William Hooper of Orange, 
 Amos J. Battle of Nash, Josiah Wiseman of Davidson, Stephen Gra- 
 ham, Geo. W. Hufiham of Duplin, and David S. Williams of Sampson, 
 be, and they are hereby, constituted a body corporate and politic for 
 the purpose of educating youth, and for no other purpose whatever, 
 by the name and style of “The Trustees of the Wake Forest Insti- 
 tute” ; and by that name shall have a perpetual succession and a com- 
 mon seal, and be able and capable in law to sue and be sued, plead 
 and be impleaded, in all courts either in law or equity; and shall 
 take, demand, receive and possess all moneys, goods and chattels 
 which may be given; and all donations made shall be applied, accord- 
 ing to the wish of the donor, to the purposes therein declared ; and by 
 purchase or otherwise to take, hold and possess, to them and their 
 successors forever, any lands sufficient for the purposes of said insti- 
 tution, rents and tenements, in special trust and confidence, and to 
 apply the same, together with the profits arising therefrom, to the 
 use and purpose of endowing and supporting said institution; and 
 may purchase and hold for the purposes aforesaid such chattels and 
 personal property as they may deem necessary : Provided , the amount 
 of real and personal estate held by this institution shall not at any 
 one time exceed fifty thousand dollars. 
 
 II. And be it further enacted, That in case of the death, resigna- 
 tion, refusal to act, or removal from the State of any of the said 
 trustees for the time being, then the surviving trustees, a majority 
 being present, shall fill said vacancies. 
 
 III. And be it further enacted , That the said Trustees shall have 
 power to auppoint their own president, secretary, and treasurer, 
 and such professors, tutors and all officers in and over the said insti- 
 tution, as they shall deem qualified to discharge the duties of their 
 
14 
 
 Wake Forest College. 
 
 several offices, and may remove the same for misbehaviour, inability 
 or neglect of duty; they shall have power to make all necessary by- 
 laws and regulations, not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws 
 of the State, for the government of the said institution; and the 
 said trustees shall hold meetings from time to time, as often as neces- 
 sity may require; and that nine trustees shall constitute a quorum 
 to transact all manner of business in relation to said institution. 
 
 IV. Be it further enacted , that all the real estate belonging to the 
 said corporation shall be subject to taxation as other real estate. 
 
 V. Be it further enacted , That the provisions of said act shall 
 continue in force twenty years and no longer. 
 
 The following amendment to the Charter, ratified Decem- 
 ber 28, 1838, changed the name of the institution to Wake 
 Forest College: 
 
 AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT ENTITLED AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A LITER- 
 ARY AND MANUAL LABOR INSTITUTION IN THE COUNTY OF WAKE, 
 
 PASSED IN ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE. 
 
 I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of North 
 Carolina, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same , That 
 the before recited act shall continue and be in full force and opera- 
 tion, except so far as it may be hereby repealed, for the term of fifty 
 years from the expiration of the present charter now to be amended, 
 and that the successors of the trustees hereby appointed shall con- 
 tinue to possess and enjoy all the rights and privileges thereby 
 granted, and that in future they shall be known by the name and 
 style of “The Trustees of Wake Forest College, ” and by that name 
 shall have succession, and may take, demand, receive, possess, and 
 enjoy all property or moneys which may be acquired by them by gift, 
 devise, or otherwise, provided the same shall not exceed in amount 
 two hundred thousand dollars, and shall dispose of the same in pro- 
 moting learning and virtue in the establishment aforesaid, situate in 
 Wake Forest, in the county of Wake, according to the will of the 
 donor, or donors; thereof. 
 
 II. Be it further enacted, That the Faculty of said Wake Forest 
 College, that is to say, the president and professors, by and with 
 the consent of the trustees, shall have the power of conferring all 
 such degrees or marks of literary distinction as are usually conferred 
 in colleges or universities. 
 
History. 
 
 i5 
 
 III. Be it further enacted, That if any member of the trustees of 
 said college shall fail to give his personal attendance at any of the 
 meetings of said board for the term of three years, the seat of said 
 absent trustee shall be, and is hereby declared to be, vacated, and 
 the trustees are hereby authorized to fill the same, as is provided 
 in the act aforesaid, and that said trustees may also remove any 
 member of their board for improper conduct: Provided , that the 
 cause thereof shall be entered on their journal, and that the mem- 
 ber to be proceeded against shall have three months’ notice of the 
 procedure, and that a majority of two-thirds of the trustees then 
 assembled shall be necessary to effect such removal. 
 
 IV. Be it further enacted, That the lands and other property be- 
 longing to the said trustees for the benefit of the said college, shall 
 be, and the same is hereby, exempted from all kinds of public tax- 
 ation, provided the amount of lands so exempted shall not exceed 
 at any time six hundred acres. 
 
 V. Be it further enacted , That no license to retail spirituous liq- 
 uors at the site, or within one mile of said college shall be granted, 
 and if granted, the same shall be void. 
 
 VI. Be it further enacted , That no person shall set up or keep 
 any billiard table, or other public table constructed or erected for 
 playing games of chance by whatever name called, and no person 
 shall exhibit any theatrical, sleight-of-hand or equestrian perform- 
 ance, dramatic recitation, rope or wire dancing, or natural or arti- 
 ficial curiosities at the college aforesaid, or within one mile thereof, 
 without the permission, in writing, of the Faculty thereof, and any 
 person or persons offending herein, or who shall sell, give, or convey 
 to the students of said college any intoxicating liquors at or within 
 one mile of said college, without the special permission, in writing, 
 of the Faculty of said college, shall forfeit and pay the sum of one 
 hundred dollars, to be recovered in any court of record having cog- 
 nizance of the same, one-half to the use of the informer and the 
 other to the college, and any person or persons offending herein shall 
 be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction in the County or 
 Superior Court of Wake shall be fined at the discretion of the 
 court . 
 
 VII. And be it further enacted, That this act shall be in force 
 from and after the ratification thereof. 
 
i6 
 
 Wake: Forest College. 
 
 On March n, 1875, the Charter was amended as follows: 
 
 AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT RATIFIED THE TWENTY-EIGHTH OF DECEM- 
 BER, ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT, ENTITLED 
 “AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A LITERARY AND MANUAL 
 LABOR INSTITUTION IN THE COUNTY OF WAKE. PASSED IN ONE 
 THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE.” 
 
 Section 1. The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact , 
 That an act ratified the twenty-eighth of December, one thousand 
 eight hundred and thirty-eight, and entitled “An act to amend an 
 act entitled an act to establish a literary and manual labor institu- 
 tion in the county of Wake, passed in one thousand eight hundred 
 and thirty-three,” shall be amended to read as follows : W. T. 
 Brooks, T. IT. Pritchard, J. M. Heck, J. H. Foote, W. T. Walters, 
 A. McDowell, R. D. Graham, A. R. Vann, James Poteat, J. S. 
 Purefoy, W. W. Vass, John Mitchell, G. R. French, J. D. Hufham, 
 John Kerr, J. H. Mills, G. W. Thompson, Haynes Lennon, W. R. 
 Gwaltney, G. W. Blount, F. M. Jordan, W. H. Avera, G. W. 
 Purefoy, M. L. Eure, J. C. Hiden, Peterson Dunn, R. R. Overby, 
 J. C. Scarborough, R. H. Marsh, C. M. Cooke, B. G. Covington, 
 J. G. Williams, William Turner, J. B. Richardson, C. J. Nelson, 
 W. H. Mitchell, J. L. Stewart, and their successors, be, and they are 
 hereby declared to be, a body politic and corporate for the purpose 
 of educating youth, to be known and distinguished by the name and 
 style of “The Trustees of Wake Forest College,” and by this name 
 and style they shall have perpetual succession and a common seal, 
 and shall be able and capable in law to sue and be sued, plead and 
 be impleaded in all the courts, and shall take, receive and possess 
 all moneys, goods and chattels which may be given to them, and shall 
 apply the same, according to the wish of the donors, to the purpose 
 herein declared; and they shall have power, by purchase or other- 
 wise, to take, demand, hold and possess, rents and tenements in 
 special trust and confidence, and apply the same, together with the 
 profits arising therefrom, to the purpose of endowing and supporting 
 said Wake Forest College ; and they may purchase, for the purposes 
 aforesaid, such chattels and real estate as they may deem necessary, 
 and may dispose of the same in promoting learning and virtue in the 
 college aforesaid, situated in Wake Forest, in the county of Wake: 
 Provided , That the amount of real and personal property held by 
 the said trustees shall not at any one time exceed the sum of five 
 hundred thousand dollars. 
 
 Sec. 2. That in the event of the death, resignation, refusal to 
 
History. 
 
 17 
 
 act, or removal from the State of any of the trustees for the time 
 being, then the remaining trustees shall have the power to fill the 
 vacancies created. 
 
 Sec. 3. That if any one of the trustees shall fail to attend the 
 meetings of the said trustees continuously for the time of three 
 years, his seat is hereby declared to be vacated, and the said trus- 
 tees are authorized to fill the same as in case of death, resignation, 
 refusal to act, or removal from the State. 
 
 Sec. 4. That the trustees shall have the power to remove any 
 member of their board for improper conduct: Provided , that the 
 cause thereof shall be entered on their journal: And provided fur- 
 ther, that the accused shall have three months’ notice of the pro- 
 cedure, and that a majority of two-thirds of the members present 
 shall be necessary to effect such removal. 
 
 Sec. 5. That the said trustees shall have the power to appoint 
 their own president, secretary and treasurer, and such professors, 
 tutors, and other officers in and over said college as they shall deem 
 qualified to discharge the duties of their several offices, and may 
 remove the same for misbehavior, inability, or neglect of duty; they 
 shall moreover have power to make all necessary rules and regula- 
 tions, not inconsistent with the laws of the State, for the govern- 
 ment of said college. 
 
 Sec. 6. That the said trustees shall hold meetings from time to 
 time, as often as necessity may require, and nine trustees shall con- 
 stitute a quorum for the transaction of all kinds of business. 
 
 Sec. 7. That the Faculty of said Wake Forest College, by the ad- 
 vice and consent of the said trustees, shall have power to confer all 
 such degrees and marks of literary distinction as are usually con- 
 ferred by colleges and universities. 
 
 Sec. 8. That the lands and other property belonging to the said 
 trustees for the benefit of said college shall be, and the same are 
 hereby, exempted from all kinds of public taxation: Provided , That 
 the amount of lands so exempted shall not exceed three hundred 
 acres . 
 
 Sec. 9. That no license to retail any spirituous or intoxicating 
 liquors at or within three miles of said college shall be granted, and if 
 granted the same shall be void. 
 
 Sec. 10. That if any person shall sell, give, or carry to any 
 student or students of said college, at or within three miles from 
 the site thereof, any spirituous or intoxicating liquor, without special 
 permission in writing from the Faculty thereof, the same shall 
 forfeit and pay the sum of one hundred dollars, to be recovered in 
 
i8 
 
 Wake; Forest College. 
 
 any court of record, one-half to the use of the informant and the 
 other half to the use of said college, and the offender shall more- 
 over be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof in the 
 Superior Court of Wake County shall be fined at the discretion of 
 the court. 
 
 Sec. 11. That no person shall set up any billiard table, bowling 
 alley, or other contrivance for playing any game of chance, by what 
 ever name it may be called, or exhibit any theatrical, sleight-of-hand, 
 or equestrian performance, dramatic recitation, rope or wire danc- 
 ing, or any natural or artificial curiosities at said college, or within 
 one mile thereof, unless by permission in writing from the Faculty 
 thereof, and any person who shall offend herein shall forfeit and pay 
 the sum of one hundred dollars, to be recovered in any court of 
 record, one-half to the use of the informant, and the other half to the 
 use of said college. 
 
 Sec. 12. That all laws conflicting with any of the provisions of 
 this act be, and they are hereby, repealed. 
 
 Sec. 13. That this act shall be in force for fifty years from and after 
 the date of its ratification. 
 
 Ratified the 11th day of March, A. D., 1875. 
 
 On February 14, 1879, the charter was amended as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE OF THE PRIVATE LAWS OF 
 
 ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOUR AND ONE THOU- 
 SAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE IN REGARD TO WAKE FOR- 
 EST COLLEGE. 
 
 Section 1 . The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact , 
 That chapter eighty-three of the Private Laws of one thousand eight 
 hundred and seventy-four and one thousand eight hundred and 
 seventy-five, be, and the same is hereby amended by striking out all 
 of sections nine and ten, and inserting in the lieu and stead thereof, 
 the following: 
 
 “Sec. 9. That if any person at or within three miles of the site 
 of said college shall sell any alcoholic liquors, distilled or undistilled, 
 or any brandy-peaches or other alcoholic fruits, or any spirituous 
 or intoxicating bitters or beverages by whatever name they may be 
 called; or shall without special permission in writing by the Faculty 
 thereof, give or convey the same to any student or students thereof, 
 at or within three miles from the site thereof, he shall for each 
 offence forfeit and pay the sum of one hundred dollars, to be re- 
 covered in any court of record, one half to the use of the informant 
 
History. 
 
 19 
 
 and the other half to the use of said college; and the offender shall 
 moreover be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof 
 in the Superior Court shall be fined in the discretion of the court.” 
 
 Sec. 2. That all laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this act 
 are hereby repealed. 
 
 Sec. 3. That this act shall be in force from and after its ratifi 
 cation . 
 
 Ratified the 14th day of February, A. D., 1879. 
 
 On January 20, 1881, the charter was amended as follows : 
 
 AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER THIRTEEN OF THE PRIVATE LAWS OF ONE 
 
 THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-NINE, IN REGARD TO WAKE 
 
 FOREST COLLEGE. 
 
 Section 1 . The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact, 
 That section one of chapter thirteen of the Private Laws of one 
 thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine, be, and the same is hereby 
 amended by striking out the words “three miles,” wherever the same 
 shall occur in said section, and inserting in lieu and stead thereof 
 the words “five miles.” 
 
 Sec. 2. That all laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this act 
 are hereby repealed. 
 
 Sec. 3. That this act shall be in force from and after its ratifica- 
 tion . 
 
 Ratified the 20th day of January, A. D. 1881. 
 
 The following amendment was made March 11, 1889: 
 
 AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER EIGHTY-THREE OF THE LAWS OF EIGHTEEN 
 
 HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOUR AND EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY- 
 
 FIVE, IT BEING AN ACT AMENDING THE CHARTER OF WAKE FOREST 
 
 COLLEGE . 
 
 Section 1 . The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact, 
 That chapter eighty-three of the laws of eighteen hundred and 
 seventy-four and eighteen hundred and seventy-five, be amended 
 by striking out at the end of the first section the words “five hun- 
 dred thousand dollars,” and inserting “one million dollars .” 
 
 Sec. 2. That this act shall be in force from and after its ratifi- 
 cation . 
 
 Ratified the 11th day of March, A. D., 1889. 
 
 ORGANIZATION. 
 
 The system of independent “ Schools” is now an estab- 
 lished feature of the College, and the wisdom of the system 
 
20 
 
 Wake; Forest College. 
 
 is believed to have been demonstrated by long and thorough 
 testing. In the arrangement of the courses leading to the 
 degree of Bachelor of Arts, the elective principle is so 
 guarded as to make it impossible to secure a diploma by 
 eliminations fatal to solid learning. 
 
 There is no preparatory department in the College. It 
 is, however, deemed necessary to retain, for the present, 
 sub-collegiate classes in Latin, Greek, Mathematics, and 
 English. These are intended to meet the needs of two 
 classes of young men — those who are unprepared to enter 
 only one or two Schools of the College, and those who, 
 though somewhat advanced in years, wish to avail them- 
 selves of the incidental advantages of the College during a 
 limited period. It is for the sake of such young men that 
 the sub-collegiate classes are retained at Wake Forest Col- 
 lege, as, in some form and under some name, they are still 
 retained in the majority of colleges. Those students who 
 take work in one or more of these sub-collegiate classes, and 
 those who are members of collegiate classes only, sustain 
 the same relation to the general discipline of the College. 
 
 The Faculty urges all prospective students to take a thor- 
 ough academic course, and not to come to the College until 
 they are well prepared to enter its classes. 
 
 LOCATION. 
 
 The location of the College, sixteen miles from Raleigh, in 
 a high, gently rolling and healthful country, is most fortu- 
 nate. Six passenger trains of the Seaboard Air Line stop 
 daily at the College. There are six mails daily. The ex- 
 press and telegraph offices are near the College buildings. 
 The town of Wake Forest and the surrounding neighborhood 
 are as free from bad influences as any in the country. The 
 proximity of the College to the capital of the State affords 
 many of the advantages, without the moral dangers of city 
 life.