History of Athens County, Ohio - 309 CHAPTER VII. The Ohio University. THE Ohio University was the first one established in all the territory northwest of the river Ohio ; it will be interesting, therefore, to trace its history somewhat minutely from the beginning. In authorizing the Board of Treasury to contract for a sale of lands to the Ohio Company, congress agreed that " two complete townships should be given perpetually to the uses of a university, to be laid off by the purchaser or purchasers as near the centre (of the purchase) as the case may be, so that the same shall be good land; to be applied to the intended object by the legislature of the state." * There is no doubt that this feature was incorporated in the contract at the instance and by the earnest effort of Dr. Manasseh Cutler. Himself a man of liberal education, thoroughly appreciating the value and pleasures of learning, he regarded the diffusion of knowledge * Appendix A. 310 - The Ohio University. not merely as a source of individual happiness, but as a chief element of political liberty and a necessary part of the policy of a free state. On the organization of the company he had urged the immediate employment of a competent instructor for the youth of the proposed settlement, and himself was authorized to Secure a proper person. After the settlement at Marietta was begun, he was most active in organizing plans of education. Common Schools were taught there from the first year of the settlement, and were kept up even during the period of the Indian war.* An academy was established at an early day. These persistent efforts to advance the cause of education are traceable to the energy of Dr. Cutler, who thus gave an impress to the society of the infant colony which has never disappeared. Nor have the beneficent results been confined to Ohio alone. The Ohio University for which he Secured so liberal a land endowment (as was then thought), was the first ever thus endowed by congress; but the policy then begun was continued and we now see the universities of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Alabama, Mississippi and other states all endowed by congress. It may fairly be asserted that these noble results are the legitimate fruits of Dr. Cutler's early efforts in fixing the policy of congress on the subject. * One of the schools kept during part of that time, was taught in the block house by Dr. Jabez True, an ancestor of the Trues in Dover township. History of Athens County, Ohio - 311 In his case, surely, the good that he did was not "interred with his bones." In his reply to the order of congress, Dr. Cutler urged that the location of the lands assigned for the establishment of a university, should be, as nearly as practicable in the center of the first million and a half of acres that the company should pay for; for, he said, " to fix it in the center of the proposed purchase, might too long defer the establishment.* But this country, it must be remembered, was a wilderness then, and some years of delay necessarily occurred in carrying Dr. Cutler's plans into effect. The college townships were not located and surveyed till 1795. t For some years after that the dense forests that covered the whole region were but slightly invaded by settlers and it was not until the town of Athens had been laid out and "confirmed and established" by the territorial legislature, that any action was taken by that body toward carrying into effect the compact for the establishment of the university. The following is a copy of the first legislative *Appendix B. t From the records of the Ohio Company : December 16th, 1795."  The reconnoitering committee having reported that townships number eight and nine in the fourteenth range are most central in the Ohio Company's purchase, and it being fully ascertained that the lands are of an excellent quality. Resolved, unanimously, that the aforesaid townships number eight and nine in the fourteenth range be reserved for the benefit of an university, as expressed in the original contract with the Board of Treasury. 312 - The Ohio University. act pas ed we t of the Allegheny mountain looking to the establishment of a college or Seminary of learning. " An act establishing an university in the town of Athens. WHEREAS, Institutions for the liberal education of youth are essential to the progress of arts and sciences, important to morality, virtue and religion ; friendly to the peace, order and prosperity of society, and honorable to the government that encourages and patronizes them ; and whereas, the congress of the United States did make a grant of two townships of land, within the purchase made by the Ohio Company of Associates, for the encouragement and support of an university therein ; and whereas, the interference of the legislature is rendered necessary, to point out and direct the mode in which the same shall be brought into operation, that the benefits of the grant may be applied to the purposes designed : Therefore, SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Legislative Council and House of Representatives in General Assembly, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That there shall be an university instituted and established in the town of Athens, in the ninth township of the fourteenth range of townships, within the limits of the tract of land purchased by the Ohio Company of Associates, by the name and style of the American Western University,' for the instruction of youth in all the various branches of the liberal arts and sciences, for the promotion of good education, virtue, religion and morality, and for conferring all the degrees and literary honors granted in similar institutions. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That there shall be and forever remain in the said university, a body politic and corporate by the name and style of ' The President and Trustees of the American Western University,' which body politic and corporate shall consist of the president ex-officio, and not more than History of Athens County, Ohio - 313 seventeen nor less than eleven trustees, to be appointed as here-in-after is provided. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Hon. Rufus Putnam, Joseph Gilman, Return Jonathan Meigs, Jun., and Paul Fearing, Esquires, the Rev. Daniel Story, Griffin Greene, Robert Oliver, Ebenezer Sproat, Dudley Woodbridge and Isaac Pierce, Esquires, together with the president of the said university, for the time being, to be chosen as hereinafter directed, be and hereby are created a body politic and corporate, by the name of The President and Trustees of the American Western University,' and that they and their successors, and such others as shall be duly elected members of the said corporation, shall be and remain a body politic and corporate, in law, by that name forever. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the said trustees shall have power and authority to elect a president, who shall preside in the university, and also to appoint a secretary, treasurer, professors, tutors, instructors, and all such officers and servants in the university as they shall deem necessary for carrying into effect the designs of the institution, and shall have authority from time to time, to determine and establish the name, numbers and duties of all the officers and servants to be employed in the university, except wherein provision is otherwise made by this act ; and may empower the president, or some other member of the corporation, to administer such oaths as they shall appoint and determine, for the well ordering and good government of the university : Provided, nevertheless, That no corporation business shall be transacted at any meeting, unless seven of the trustees, at least, be present. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the said corporation shall have power and authority, from time to time, to make and ordain reasonable rules, orders and by-laws for the government of the corporation, not incompatible with the constitution, laws and ordinances of the United States, the acts of the territory, or the laws of the state in which the university is or may be 314 - The Ohio University. founded, and the same to repeal as occasion may require, and also to determine the salaries, emoluments and tenures of the several officers. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the said corporation shall have power and authority to suspend, dismiss and disfranchise the president or any member of the said corporation, who shall by his misconduct render himself unworthy of the official station or place he sustains, or who from age or other infirmity, is rendered incapable to perform the duties of his office. And the said corporation shall have power and authority to suspend, dismiss, disfranchise and remove from the university, any professor, instructor, or resident student or servant, whenever the corporation shall deem it expedient for the interest and honor of the university. Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That whenever the president or any member of the corporation shall be removed by death, resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature the corporation shall hold a meeting (due notice of the design of which meeting shall be given to the several members) for the supplying such vacancy, who shall continue in office until the end of the next session of the legislature and no longer, by virtue of such appointment ; and in order to choose a president or member of the corporation, there shall be, at least, two- thirds of the whole number of said trustees present, and the said election shall be by ballot. Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That when any member of the corporation shall be removed by death, resignation, or otherwise, such vacancy shall be supplied at the next meeting of the legislature of the territory or state. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the president and such professors, tutors and instructors as the corporation shall appoint for that purpose, shall be styled The Faculty of the University,' and shall have power and authority, from time to time, to ordain, regulate and establish the mode and course of education and instruction to be pursued in the university, and also to make public and execute such code of rules, regulations History of Athens County, Ohio - 315 and by-laws as they shall deem necessary for the well ordering and good government of the university, and to repeal or amend any part thereof, which rules, regulations and by-laws shall continue in force till altered or disapproved of by the corporation. And it shall be the duty of the faculty, to lay before the corporation, from time to time, accurate statements of all their proceedings ; and the faculty shall direct and cause to be holden in the said university, quarterly in every year, a public examination, at which time the faculty shall attend, when each class of students shall be examined, relative to the proficiency they shall have made in the particular arts and sciences, or branches of education in which they shall have been instructed. SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the said corporation may have and keep one common seal, which they may change, break or renew at pleasure ; and that all deeds and instruments of writing signed and delivered by the trustees, and sealed with the corporation seal by order of the president and treasurer, shall, when made in their corporate name, be considered in law as the deed and act of the corporation. And the said corporation shall be capable of suing and being sued, pleading and being impleaded, in any action, real, personal or mixed, and the same to prosecute and defend to final judgment and execution, by the name of The President and Trustees of the American Western University.' Provided, That whenever any suit shall be commenced against the said corporation, the process shall be summons, and the service made by the officer leaving an attested copy of such process with the treasurer of the said corporation, at least twenty days before the return of such process. And the said corporation shall be capable of having and holding and taking in fee simple or by any less estate, by gift, grant, devise or otherwise, any lands or other estate, real or personal. SEC. 11. Whereas the congress of the United States have given, perpetually, for the use and benefit of an university, the two townships numbered eight and nine, in the fourteenth range of townships, in the grant of land made by congress to the Ohio Company of Associates : Therefore, 316 - The Ohio University. Be it further enacted, that the said two townships numbered eight and nine, in the said fourteenth range of townships, be, and the same are hereby vested in the said corporation, which by this act is erected, and in their successors forever, for the sole use, benefit and support of the said university, to be holden by the said corporation, in their corporate capacity, with full powers and authority to divide, subdivide, settle and manage the same, by leasing the said lands for such time or such times and in such way and manner as the said corporation shall judge will best promote the interest and welfare of the said university. Provided, That no lease shall be made for a longer term of time than twenty-one years ; and the tenants or lessees of the said university land, appropriated and vested as aforesaid, shall enjoy and exercise all the rights and privileges of citizens which they would be entitled to and enjoy, did they hold the same lands in fee 'simple, any law to the contrary notwithstanding. SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That the clear annual rents, issues and profits, of all the estate, real and personal, of which the said corporation shall be seized or possessed of, in their corporate capacity, shall be appropriated to the endowment of the said university, in such manner as shall most effectively promote virtue, morality, piety and the knowledge of such of the languages and of the liberal arts and sciences, as shall hereafter be directed, from time to time, by the said corporation. Provided, nevertheless, That in case any donation shall hereafter be made for particular purposes, relative to the design of this institution, and the corporation shall accept and receive the same, every such donation shall be applied in conformity to the intention and direction of the donor or donors. SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the treasurer of the said university shall, before he enters upon the execution of the duties of his office, give bonds to the said corporation in such sums and with such sureties, as they shall approve of, conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of the said office, and for rendering a just and true account of his doings therein, when all moneys, securities and other property that shall belong to the required ; and also for delivering over to his successor in office, History of Athens County, Ohio - 317 president and trustees of the said university, together with all the books and papers in which his proceedings as treasurer shall be entered and kept, that shall be in his hands at the expiration of his office ; and all money that shall be recovered by virtue of any suit at law, upon such bond, shall be paid over to the president and trustees aforesaid, and be subjected to the appropriations above directed in this act. SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That the lands in the two townships, appropriated and vested as aforesaid, with the buildings which may be erected thereon, for the accommodation of the president, professors and other officers, students and servants of the university, and any buildings appertaining thereto, and also the dwelling houses and out houses, or other buildings of the tenants or lessees, now erected and built, or which may hereafter be built and erected, on the lands within the said township, shall forever be exempted from all territorial and state taxes. Provided, nevertheless, That such exemption shall not exclude them from enjoying and exercising all the rights and privileges which otherwise they would be entitled to, under the eleventh section of this act. Provided, also, That nothing in this section contained shall be construed as an exemption of the land, houses and other property which now is or hereafter may be found or built within the said townships, from the payment of county taxes, rates and levies ; but the said land, houses and other property, now or hereafter to be found in said townships, are hereby declared subject to the payment of county taxes, rates and levies, in the county in which the said townships are or shall be situated, anything in this section to the contrary thereof, notwithstanding. And provided, also, That the polls and personal estates of such persons as may and shall live within the said townships, shall be and remain subject to taxation in common with those of other citizens within the territory or state in which the same may be. SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the aforesaid corporation, or for the trustees acting under this act as hereinafter mentioned, to lease for a small annual rent, on 318 - The Ohio University. condition of a capital sum being paid in hand or secured to be paid, the whole or any part of the house-lots, and out-lots, of five acres in the town of Athens, laid out agreeably to a resolution of the general assembly of the territory, made and approved December the eighteenth, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine, by Rufus Putnam, Benjamin Ives Gilman and Jonathan Stone, Esquires, a committee in the said resolution named and appointed for that purpose ; and the capital sum or sums of money, which shall be so received or as much thereof as the corporation shall judge expedient, shall be applied by the trustees to the purpose of erecting buildings for the accommodation of the president, officers and students of the university. SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That the before named trustees and their successors, and such others as shall be duly elected members of the said corporation, he, and they are hereby empowered to elect a president of the said university, whenever they shall judge it expedient. SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That until a president of the said university shall be elected, and shall have entered upon the duties of his office, and also in all cases of a vacancy or the absence of the president, the said trustees shall appoint one of their members to preside in their meetings, and all the doings and acts of the trustees, while acting under such circumstances, shall be considered in law as the doings and acts of the corporation, as fully and completely as when the president of the university shall be in office and preside. SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That the legislature of the territory or the legislature of the state within which the said university is or may be founded, may grant any further or greater powers to, or alter, limit or restrain any of the powers by this act vested in the said corporation, as shall be judged necessary to promote the best interest and prosperity of the said university, with all necessary powers and authority for the better aid, preservation and government thereof. SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That the Honorable Rufus Putnam, Esquire, shall be, and he is hereby authorized and empow- History of Athens County, Ohio - 319 ered, to fix the time and place for bolding the first meeting of the said corporation, of which he shall give notice in writing to each member, at least fourteen days prey ious to such meeting. EDWARD TIFFIN, Speaker of the House of Representatives. ROBERT OLIVER, President of the Council. Approved—the ninth day of January, 1802. AR. ST. CLAIR, Governor of the Territory of the United States, Northwest of the Ohio. This act was drafted by Dr. Cutler. The original manuscript, differing, however, from the act as passed by the legislature, both in the order of its sections, and in some of its material provisions, is now in the possession of the president of the university. It was sent by Dr. Cutler to Rufus Putnam in July, 1800, accompanied by the following letter, which is so illustrative of Dr. Cutler's ability and sagacity, that we insert it at length: " HAMILTON, MASS., June 30, 1800. DEAR SIR : " Such has been my situation that I could not find leisure to copy a rough draft I had made, many months ago, of an incorporating act, until this day. Whether any part of it will be agreeable, I think is very doubtful. I had long been contemplating a very different kind of constitution. Knowing that the colleges at Cambridge and New Haven had derived essential advantages from having the principal civilians in the states concerned in the government, I had thought of a constitution, in 320 - The Ohio University. which one portion of the corporate body should be the first characters in civil life, another portion clergymen, and a third wealthy land holders. I had also wished to have two branches in the government of the university, as checks, in some respects on each other, somewhat like the overseers and board of corporation at Cambridge. But so numerous and insurmountable were the difficulties that rose before me when I regarded the situation of your country, that I was obhged to abandon every idea of a government I had long been contemplating. It may be necessary to make a few remarks upon the enclosed draft : SECTION 1. As the American congress made the grant which is the foundation of the university, no name appeared to me more natural than American University. The sound is natural, easy, and agreeable, and no name can be more respectable. There is a Columbian college and a Washington college, etc., already in the country, but no American college. I hope the name will not be altered. SEC. 2. The number of the board of trustees may be thought small; but small numbers feel greater responsibility, do business with more dispatch and generally better, and are less expensive than larger numbers. Dartmouth college has an excellent government, which consists only of the president and ten trustees. The college at New Haven had only ten until connected with civilians. It will be best, on many accounts, to have a vice president. It creates no expense, as he will have no compensation only as a trustee, unless when he acts as president. New Jersey college has found much advantage in having a vice president. The trustees ought to live near the college, and by no means outside of our purchase. There will be many advantages in having tbe president and vice president members of the board, but I can not now enumerate them—they will readily occur to you. SEC. 3. The board is the proper body for appointing all officers, and prescribing the duties of such as steward, treasurer, etc., but the duties of all concerned in the immediate govern- History of Athens County, Ohio - 321 ment and instruction, should be established by the laws of the university. SEC. 4. The board must have the power of preserving and of purifying itself. The presidents and vice presidents, I believe, of all colleges hold their offices during good behavior. Other instructors hold their offices during the pleasure of the government, unless special provision is made by the laws of the college. The power of dismissing, rusticating, and expelling students is generally in the hands of the immediate government of colleges, and regulated by college laws. I thought, in this instance, for some special reasons, it would be best to give this power by act of incorporation, to tbe board in the first instance, but in such a manner that the board can transfer it to the immediate government of the university, and regulate it by college laws. There has been found advantage in giving the president the right of nomination ; no considerable evil can follow. In many colleges the president has the right of appointing his successor ; but this I should determinedly oppose. The incorporating act ought to require public commencements. These ought to be held, and, though there are some inconveniences, there are many and important advantages. The colleges in New York and Philadelphia have suffered much for want of them; in the country they are of the greatest importance. There has often happened, however, absolute necessity for altering the time and place; I have, therefore, so framed this article as to admit of alteration. SEC. 5. The immediate governors and instructors of the university, it is to be presumed, will always be the best judges of the mode and course of education, and of laws best adapted to the circumstances of the college. I have so constructed this section as to create, in a sense, two branches to the government with a kind of check on each other. With respect to every part of the incorporating act, I have aimed, as much as possible, at plain general principles, without descending to particular regulations. But, especially in the 322 - The Ohio University. course of study, and laws and rules for the immediate government of the university, the incorporating act ought to do no more than place the whole power in the hands of the board and instructors. For there must be continual variation as experience and circumstances shall dictate, and to be fettered by an incorporating act might prove extremely injurious to the college. It is safe in their hands, for the board and instructors must always feel tbe highest inducements to establish the best possible regulations ; and they will ever be better judges than a legislature. But the importance of quarterly examinations is, in my view, so great, and is a regulation so absolutely essential, so apt to be neglected by the government of the university, and so often opposed and resisted by the students, that I would, by all means, insure the practice by making it an article of incorporation. SEC. 7. To have the two townships as well secured as possible to the board—and as claims to land are liable to so many contests—I thought it would be best to be very particular in describing the title by which the university claims the improvement, and that the disposition of all the funds of the university should be unconditionally within the control of the board, and left wholly to their discretion in applying them. Many colleges have suffered much from having their hands tied, in disposing of the funds to the best advantage, and most for the interest of the institution. SEC. 8. In all the incorporations granted by the general court of this commonwealth, the amount of the income of real and personal property estate have been, each of them, limited— but to sums far beyond any probability of their ever arising. Whether other states do the same I know not. If your assembly would not be likely to make any limitation, it might be best to say nothing about it. But, if they will do it, then forty and fifty thousand dollars can not be too high, as it must be applied to one of the most useful and important purposes to society and to government. The sums sound large, but no one can say to what amount the income of the endowments of this university History of Athens County, Ohio - 323 may arrive in time. The income of Oxford and Cambridge, in England, is much greater. SEC. 9. This will be the bugbear. You suggested the idea, though I had often thought of it before. I am in doubt whether the section is clearly and properly expressed, or sufficiently guarded to answer the purpose. But I am in much greater doubt whether it is possible to get any article of this kind inserted in the act. Sure I am it is an object worthy of great exertion to obtain. If those lots and their income were under the direction of the board, it could not fail of rendering them of incomparably more benefit than if they should be placed in the hands of the people. The board will only be the committee for each township, and infinitely better than any committee they can choose. They will have better instructors in their schools, and under better regulations, and the income probably of higher amount than if the people managed the lots themselves. And the ministerial lots may be rendered incomparably more useful. It will tend to prevent sectaries, secure the people from continual contentions among themselves, become a great inducement to entice respectable characters to engage in the ministry, and, in a much greater degree, alleviate the taxes of the people. The lands will also much sooner become productive. With regard to erecting public buildings for the university, I can not so fully express my mind to you as I would wish. At present, I should think it not best to erect any considerable public building. It will be necessary, in the first instance, to open a Latin school, for I conceive it improbable that any youth can now be found in the country qualified for admission as the students of a college ; or, if a freshman class can be formed, it must be small. A building of two stories, pretty large on the ground, in form of a school house, may answer every purpose for some years. I feel an aversion to large buildings for the residence of students, where there are regular families in which they can reside. Chambers in colleges are too often made the secret nurseries of every vice, and the cages of unclean birds. 324 - The Ohio University. It must require time to mature plans for large buildings. I will endeavor to attend to the matter, and give you my ideas of public buildings. In the meantime, be assured that I am, with great respect, Your friend and humble servant, MANASSEH CUTLER. RUFUS PUTNAM, Esq., Marietta." It will be noted that additions to, and material alterations in, the draft as submitted by Dr. Cutler, were made before the incorporating act was passed. Section nine of his draft, referred to by him as the "bugbear," gave the board of trustees full and Separate control of the School and ministerial lots, Nos. Sixteen and twenty-nine, with authority to lease or improve the same, the rents and income always to go to the respective townships, etc. The charter as passed contains no similar proviion. It does not appear that any effective action was taken under this law of 1802. It is probable that the widely separated residences of the trustees, the difficulty of communication, and the extreme badness of the few roads that existed, operated to prevent action. Doubtless, too, the political excitement of the day had its influence, as the contest relative to the formation of a state government and admission to the Union, was, at that time, absorbing every other interest. The next legislation on the subject was the following joint resolution passed by the first legislature of the state : History of Athens County, Ohio - 325 Resolved, That Samuel Carpenter, James Wells, and Henry Abrams, be appointed commissioners to appraise the land included within the two college townships,in the county of Washington, at its real value in its original and unimproved state ; to divide and value said land into four different qualities or rates and make return of the quantity contained in each division, as near as may be, and the value thereof, to the next general assembly on oath. And that the said commissioners also value the land in its present situation, mentioning the number of houses and quantity of cleared land contained within the two townships. Resolved, That the trustees appointed by the act entitled an act establishing an university in the town of Athens, be and they are hereby required to report to the next general assembly of this state, what measures they have taken to carry the said act into operation. NATHANIEL MASSIE, Speaker of the Senate. MICHAEL BALDWIN, April 16, 1803. Speaker of the House. The land was appraised during the summer and autumn of 1803, and on the 27th of January, 1804., the legislature passed the following : " An act allowing compensation to the commissioners for appraising the college lands in the county of Washington. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, etc., That the commissioners appointed to appraise the two college townships in the county of Washington, by a resolution of the first legislature of the state, viz : Samuel Carpenter, James Wells and Henry Abrams, for eighteen days' service each, in accomplishing said business, be, and they are hereby entitled to receive each for said services, the sum of thirty dollars, to be paid out of the 326 - The Ohio University. contingent fund, to be audited by the auditor and paid out of any monies in the treasury of the state. NATHANIEL MASSIE Speaker of the Senate ELIAS LANGHAM, Speaker of the House January 27, 1804." On the 18th of February, 1804, the legislature passed another act "establishing an university in the town of Athens," differing in some respects from the original act of 1802. We give a synopsis of this act : SECTION I. Establishes the university by the name of the " Ohio University ;" remainder of the section same as in first act. SEC. 2. Same as in the first act, except change of name and making the governor of the state, president of the board of trustees, ex-officio, and fixing the number of trustees at not less than ten nor more than fifteen. SEC. 3. Names as the trustees, Elijah Backus, Rufus Putnam, Dudley Woodbridge, Benjamin Tappan, Bazaliel Wells, Nathaniel Massie, Daniel Symmes, Daniel Story, Samuel Carpenter, Rev. James Kilbourne, Griffin Green, Sen., and Joseph Darlinton. SECS. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, same as in the original act. SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That one or more of the aforesaid trustees (to be appointed by the board for this purpose) shall within six months from the passage of this act, proceed (by the oath of three disinterested and judicious freeholders.) to lay off the lands in said townships (those included in the town of Athens excepted), or such part thereof as they may deem expedient, into tracts of not less than eighty, nor more than two hundred and forty acres, and to estimate and value the same as in their original and unimproved state—for which service such compensation shall be allowed as the treasurer shall think reasonable, to be paid out of the funds of the university ; and having History of Athens County, Ohio. - 327 thus laid off and estimated said lands, the trustees, after giving four weeks' notice in the newspaper printed at Marietta, shall proceed to make out leases of the said tracts to such of the present occupants as shall apply for the same within three months after such notice given, and to all persons that shall apply hereafter, for the term of ninety years, renewable forever, on a yearly rent of six per centum on the amount of the valuation so made by the said freeholders ; and the land so leased shall be subject to a re-valuation at the expiration of thirty-five years, and to another re-valuation at the expiration of sixty years from the commencement of the term of each lease, which re-valuation shall be conducted and made on the principles of the first valuation ; and the lessee shall pay a yearly rent of six per centum on the amount of the re-valuation so to be made, and forever thereafter a yearly rent equal to and not exceeding six per centum of the amount of a valuation to be made as aforesaid, at the expiration of the term of ninety years aforesaid (which valuation the trustees and their successors are hereby authorized and directed to make): Provided, however, that such last mentioned rent shall be subject to the following regulations, to wit, at the expiration of the aforesaid period of ninety years, three referees shall be appointed, the first by the corporation of the university, the second by the lessees under the provisions of this section of this act, and the third by the two referees thus chosen ; or in case either or both of the parties shall neglect to choose such referee or referees, or said referees shall neglect to choose an umpire, the general assembly at its next session shall appoint sucb number of referees, not exceeding three, as the case may require, which referees shall meet within a reasonable time, to be agreed on between them, at the town of Athens, and there and then determine on and declare the medium price per bushel of the article of wheat, which determination shall be grounded on a calculation of the average price of said article at the town of Marietta for the five preceding years, which declaration shall be male in writing and entered of record on the books of the corporation ; and at the commencement of each and every period of twenty years there- 328 - The Ohio University. after the amount of rent of such period shall be fixed on and determined, by referees to be chosen upon the principles herein before directed. from a comparison of the aforesaid recorded price of wheat with its average price at Marietta for the five years which shall have been then last past ; in which leases shall be reserved a right of distress and of re-entry for non-payment of rent at any time after it shall have been due two months, provided, always that the said corporation shall have power to demand a further yearly rent on the said lands and tenements not exceeding the amount of the tax imposed on property of like description by the state, which rent shall be paid at such time and place, to such person, and collected in such manner, as the corporation shall direct." SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That the trustees shall lay off the aforesaid town of Athens, conformably to a plan made out by Rufus Putnam and others, in pursuance of a resolution of the territorial legislature of the eighteenth of December, 1799, with such variations, however, as they may find it expedient to make ; and the same being thus laid off and a plat of the same, with a designation of the uses of the general parts, recorded in the office of the recorder of the proper county, and six weeks' previous notice given in at least two of the newspapers of this state, may proceed to sell, from time to time, at public auction, such of the house and out-lots as they may think proper, for which lots on payment being made or satisfactory security given, according to the conditions of such sale, they shall execute to the purchasers, respectively, leases for the term of ninety years, renewable forever, on an annual rent equal to and not exceeding six per centum of the amount of the purchase money ; which lots with the improvements which may be made on the same shall be subject to such further yearly rent, as may be equal to the tax imposed from time to time, on property of like value and description, by the state ; and they are likewise authorized to deliver a reasonable compensation for the improvements which have made on lands within the town of Athens, to be paid out of the funds of the university." History of Athens County, Ohio - 329 SEC. 13. Trustees to lay off the town of Athens, agreeably to Putnam's plan, &c. SEC. 14. Provides that the rent and profits of the land shall be appropriated to the endowment of the university. SEC. 15. Requires the treasurer to give bond. SEC. 16. Be it further enacted, That the said corporation shall have full power from time to time to contract for and cause to be erected such buildings as they shall deem necessary, for the accommodation of the president, professors, tutors, pupils and servants of said university, as also to procure the necessary books and apparatus for the use of said university, and shall cause payment therefor to be made out of the funds of the university, and shall reserve such lot or lots in said town of Athens as they may deem necessary for the purpose aforesaid and for the erection of buildings for the use of the town and county. SEC. 17. Provides that all the college lands and buildings erected thereon shall forever be exempted from all state taxes. SEC. 18. Provides that in the absence, &c., of the president Sec., one of the trustees may be appointed to preside at their meetings and act in certain cases. SEC. 19. Provides that the governor of the state shall fix the time for holding the first meeting of the board of trustees. SEC. 20. Repeals all previous acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act. Under this law early steps were taken toward an organization. We quote from the records of the first meeting of trustees : " At a meeting of the trustees of the Ohio University, convened at the house of Dr. Eliphaz Perkins, in the town of Athens, on the first Monday of June, 1804, the day ordered by His Excellency Edward Tiffin, Esq., governor of the state of Ohio, for the first meeting. The following trustees present, viz : 330 - The Ohio University. His Excellency Edward Tiffin, Elijah Backus, Rufus Putnam, Dudley Woodbridge, Daniel Story, Samuel Carpenter, James Kilbourne." The board elected Governor Tiffin president, Dudley Woodbridge secretary, Eliphaz Perkins treasurer, and adjourned till next day, June 5th. This first session of the board lasted three days, and was principally spent in arranging for the appraisal and leasing of the college lands. Rufus Putnam and Samuel Carpenter were appointed to lay off and appraise such lands in the two townships as were claimed and occupied. Since the surveying of these townships in 1795, numbers of new settlers had come in and occupied the lands. Some of these were rough and determined characters, and were bent on maintaining possession. To adjust these cases, settle disputed titles, etc., required patience, tact, and wisdom. The parties had either to be mollified and induced to come to terms, or be ejected from the lands. The first business of the board was to adjust the claims of conflicting parties, secure titles and protect the corporation in its rights. These matters, together with the surveying and laying out of lots, classifying lands, etc., employed the trustees during this session. We can not refrain from remarking that the meeting of these men, under the circumstances, afforded a high proof of their character—of their appreciation of the value of education, and their honest devotion to the welfare of the new country. They had traveled fifty, History of Athens County, Ohio - 331 seventy-five or a hundred miles, by blind paths or Indian trails through dense forests, inhabited only by wild animals, to this embryo village, for the purpose of establishing an institution of learning. It is gratifying, after the lapse of nearly three-quarters of a century, to be able to record that, notwithstanding the immense difficulties of the case, their labors, and those of their coadjutor, were ultimately rewarded with complete success. A vast amount of preliminary labor, however, was yet to be performed before the actual educational work could be begun. In his message, at the opening of the third session of the general assembly, December 4, 1804, Governor Tiffin gave proper prominence to the topic of Schools and education. After general remarks on the subject he then refers to the Ohio university : " These observations will naturally lead you to inquire whether any, and if any, what improvements are necessary to the act entitled an act establishing an university in tbe town of Athens.' Under this act a quorum of the trustees met in June last, and, so far as their powers extended, carried it into effect ; a committee of two members of the board was appointed to superintend the surveying of such part of the two townships of land, which were appropriated for the university, as might be applied for by those willing to become lessees ; also to superintend the sales of a small part of the town and out-lots, which were designated by the board to be sold as an experiment ; and in exhibit No. 1, I lay before you a communication from 332 - The Ohio University. General Putnam*, one of the committee, which shows that the prospects are flattering. But it is necessary to observe, from actual observation, when there, and from information derived from intelligent characters since, that the settlers on these lands were induced to apply for leases, under an impression that the legislature would review the law, and be governed by a more liberal policy. Should it be thought that these lands ought to be valued at, a generous price, once for all, and leases be authorized to issue, upon the payment of the legal interest yearly, there can be no doubt but that they would soon be all occupied, and from the sales of the town and out-lots, a sufficient sum would be raised to erect such public buildings as may be immediately wanted ; and that the rents of the lands and lots would be sufficient to support the university, answer every purpose for which the donation was originally made, and the state be immediately benefited by the institution. " It is further thought, that it would greatly increase the demand for those lands and town lots, as well as prepare the way for the accommodation and comfort of the youths who may be sent to the university, if a new county were erected and its seat established at Athens. This may conveniently be done without injury to the counties adjacent, and, in my opinion, the convenience of that part of the country imperiously demands it." At this session the following act was passed, viz : * General Putnam and Colonel Samuel Carpenter were the committee referred to. The former *rote to Governor Tiffin, November 6, 1804, that the sales of the house and out-lots of the town of Athens amounted to $2,223.50 ; average of house-lots 43.33 1/2 ; of the out- lots $39. In the south township (Alexander), seventy-five tracts, or 11,000 acres, were applied for. As to the north township (Athens), under the superintendence of Colonel Carpenter, General Putnam was not fully informed ; but in August previous, seventy-five applications for leases, covering 8,760 acres, had been made. History of Athens County, Ohio - 333 " An act to amend an act entitled an act establishing an university in the town of Athens.' " SECTION I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That James Denny, Emanuel Carpenter, Jun., Isaac Dawson, Pelatiah White, and Ezekiel Deming, residents of this state, are appointed appraisers of the two college townships numbered eight and nine, in the fourteenth range of townships within the grant of land made to the Ohio company of associates; and the said appraisers, or any three of them, on oath or affirmation, are hereby required to appraise the townships aforesaid, within nine months, at the present real value, as also in its original and uncultivated state, and make report thereof to the board of trustees of the said university ; and the said trustees shall lease the same to any persons who have applied, or may apply, agreeable to law, for the term of ninety-nine years, renewable for ever, with a fixed annual rent of six per centum on the appraised valuation : provided, that no lands shall be leased at a less valuation than at the rate of one dollar and seventy-five cents per acre. SEC. II. Be it further enacted, That the commissioners aforesaid shall meet on the first day of April next, at the town of Athens, and shall then proceed to discharge the duties imposed on them by this act, and the act to which this act is an amendment, and shall perform the same within the time mentioned in this act. SEC. III. Be it further enacted, That the trustees of the corporation of the said university lands are hereby authorized and empowered to remove, by due course of law, all persons living on said lands, in case such persons refuse or neglect to take leases within six months after the valuation of the lands as aforesaid. SEC. IV. Be it further enacted, That the secretary of this state shall cause notice to be given, as soon as convenience will permit, to each of the commissioners aforesaid, of their appoint- 334 - The Ohio University. ment under this act ; and the commissioners, respectively, on receiving the notice aforesaid, shall, within a reasonable time thereafter, forward to the governor of this state, their acceptance or declination of the appointment under this act made. SEC. V. Be it further enacted, That so much of the aforesaid act, passed the 18th day of February, 1804., as is contrary to this act, be and the same is hereby repealed. This act shall be in force from and after its passage. MICHAEL BALDWIN, Speaker of the House. DANIEL SYMMES, Speaker of the Senate. February 21st, 1805."  The next year was consumed in Settling titles, appraising the lands, and accumulating a small fund with which to begin the actual educational work. The second meeting of the board of trustees was called for November l0th, 1805, but no quorum was present and they adjourned. The third meeting was held April 2d, 1806, when the committee for Selling town lots reported,* and other business was transacted relative to titles and leases. At this Session it was Resolved, That Jacob Lindley, Rufus Putnam, and William Skinner, be a committee to contract with some person or persons for building a house in the town of Athens for the purpose of an academy, on the credit of the rents that will hereafter become due. *Ante, p. 201. History of Athens County, Ohio - 335 At the next meeting, December 25, 1806, the committee reported a plan, and were empowered to contract for a building. The academy building was begun very soon after this, and nearly completed in 1807. It was built of brick and stood almost directly east of the present college buildings and just outside of the present enclosure. It has long since disappeared. March 2d, 1808, the Rev. Jacob Lindley, Eliphaz Perkins, and Rufus Putnam were appointed a committee to report a system " for opening the academy, providing for a preceptor, and conducting that branch of the Ohio university," and they reported a plan of study and certain regulations at that meeting. A few days later Mr. Lindley was chosen preceptor, and entered on his duties in the Spring of 1808. The difficulties of appraising and leasing the lands were still a source of great vexation and labor. The. following act of the legislature belongs to this period : " An act to amend the several acts establishing an university for the town of Athens. SECTION I. Be it enacted, etc., That the trustees of the Ohio university be and they are hereby authorized to lease the appraised lots of land lying in the two college townships, numbers 8 and 9, in the 14th range of townships, of the Ohio Company's purchase, that have been appraised at a less value than one dollar and seventy-five cents per acre, at six per cent. on the appraised value. SEC. II. Be it further enacted, That the said trustees be and 336 - The Ohio University. they are hereby authorized to appoint appraisers to appraise such parts of the aforesaid townships, as have not been heretofore appraised, whenever they may deem it expedient. SEC. III. Be it further enacted, That so much of the act entitled an act establishing an university in the town of Athens,' passed the 21st day of February, 1805, as is contrary to the provisions of this act, be and the same is hereby repealed. This act to take effect and be in force from and after its passage. ABRAHAM SHEPHERD, Speaker of the House. THOS. KIRKER, Speaker of the Senate. January 23d, 1807." The infant college struggled along, and its friends were most persevering in their efforts. Further legislation becoming necessary, the next winter the legislature passed " An act altering several acts establishing an university in the town of Athens. SECTION I. Be it enacted, etc., That all persons residing in either of the two college townships, numbered eight and nine, in the fourteenth range in the Ohio Company's purchase, and holding leases, shall be considered as freeholders. SEC. II. Be it further. enacted, That the second section of the act entitled an act supplementary to, etc.,' passed January 17, 1806, which allows a compensation to the trustees for their services, be and the same is hereby repealed. SEC. III. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the treasurer of the corporation of the Ohio university, in all History of Athens County, Ohio - 337 cases where the rent of any person or persons has been due for two months, immediately to transmit a certified copy, under his hand and the seal of said corporation, to the collector of the said corporation, of an accurate list of all such delinquents, which list, certified as aforesaid, shall be sufficient power for the said collector to distrain on the goods and chattels of each and every delinquent, and the same to advertise in three public places in the township in which such goods and chattels are distrained, ten days previous to the sale ; and the said collector shall then proceed to sell the same at public vendue, and the rent and costs forthwith to pay to the treasurer of said Ohio university, and the overplus, if any, to refund to the delinquent ; and for want of goods and chattels, to re-enter and take possession of the premises for the use of the trustees of the said university as provided by law : and the said collector shall receive the same compensation for his services as sheriffs do in similar cases. Provided, however, that if any delinquent shall think himself aggrieved, he shall have his action against the said treasurer or collector (as the case may be), or both, and shall recover all damages he may unjustly sustain. SEC. IV. Be it further enacted, That Eliphaz Perkins, Silvanus Ames, Jehiel Gregory, Abel Miller, Leonard Jewett, and Moses Hewitt, be appointed in addition to the present number of trustees of said Ohio university. SEC. V. Be it further enacted, That the said corporation shall have power and authority to adjourn to any period they may think proper ; and the number of trustees of said university shall never exceed nineteen, nor be less than eleven, any five of whom shall be a quorum to transact any business of ,aid corporation. SEC. VI. Be it further enacted, That all laws and parts of laws contrary to the provisions of this act be and the same are hereby repealed. This act to be in force from and after its passage. PHILEMON BEECHER, Speaker House of Reps. THOS. KIRKER, February 20th, 1808." Speaker Senate. 338 - The Ohio University. Great difficulty was Still experienced, owing to reasons before mentioned, in getting the board together, and also in collecting the rents on the university lands, in money and promptly. The next year further changes were made in the board, and the following act was passed " An act amendatory to the several acts appointing trustees to the Ohio university, and for other purposes. SECTION I. Be it enacted, etc., That Robert G. Wilson, Jesup N. Couch, John P. R. Bureau, Elijah Hatch, Jun., and Henry Abrams, be and they are hereby appointed trustees of the Ohio university. SEC. II. Be it further enacted, That the trustees shall have power and authority, until the year one thousand eight hundred and eleven, to receive of any of the lessees in payment of rent, such article or articles of produce as may by them be agreed on at any regular meeting of said trustees; provided it shall not exceed two-thirds of the annual rents. SEC. III. Be it further enacted, That nine of the trustees of the said university shall hereafter be necessary to form a quorum to transact the business of said corporation, any law to the c on trary notwithstanding. SEC. IV. Be it further enacted, That the trustees shall have authority to resurvey, or cause to be resurveyed, any large tract of land (at the expense and request of the lessee), and the same to lay off in such lots as they shall think will best promote the interests of said institution. SEC. V. Be it further enacted, That when a tract of land has been surveyed and leased to one or more persons, and by him or them sold to one or more persons, the parties shall be entitled to receive from the treasurer of said institution, separate leases History of Athens County, Ohio - 339 in their own names, by paying a reasonable compensation therefor, to be agreed on by the trustees at a regular meeting. This act to take effect from and after its passage. ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, Speaker House of Reps. THOS. KIRKER, Speaker of Senate. February 15th, 1809." By an act of January 29, 181 I, the Second Section of the foregoing act, relative to receiving produce for rents, was revived and declared to be in force until repealed by future legislation. By an act passed February 15, 1812, entitled " an act to authorize the trustees of the Ohio university to issue orders in certain cases and for other purposes," the trustees were authorized to lend any surplu money of the university at the rate of six per cent. yearly interest to such personS, on such security and under such conditions as the trustee should determine. Meanwhile Dr. Lindley constituted the whole faculty, and was laboring faithfully with the grammar school which was now in successful operation. In 1812, Mr. Artemas Sawyer, a graduate of Harvard university, an accomplished linguist and fine general scholar, was appointed an assistant instructor in the academy. In the year 1815, the first degree of bachelor of arts awarded in Ohio was conferred by the Ohio university on Thomas Ewing. He had entered the 340 - The Ohio University. institution three years previously and pursued his studies with great energy, spending his later vacations in laying out country roads, surveying, etc., to raise means to carry him through. In 1815, the success of the university was thought to be so far assured, and the necessity for increased facilities was so apparent, that the trustees resolved to erect a new college building. June 4th, 1816, a committee, consisting of Jacob Lindley, Eliphaz Perkins, and J. Lawrence Lewis, appointed in September previous, reported to the board that, after due advertisement and consultation with an architect, they had contracted with William T. Dean for 370,000 bricks at $4.50 a thousand; with Christopher and Daniel Herrold for 27,964 feet of lumber, to be delivered and piled up during the Summer, at $1.12 per hundred feet; with Messrs. Bingham & White for Stone; with Pilcher & Francis for laying the foundation of the rough stone and making the window and door sills, and with Wm. and James Wier for digging the cellar—which last was already completed. The corner stone of the building, now known aS the center college, was laid in the Summer of this year. The work was pushed forward as rapidly as the condition of the treasury would permit, and the building was completed in 1817. The two wing building were built in 1836. About this time a singular expedient was adopted to raise funds. June 16th, 1814, the board of trustees had History of Athens County, Ohio - 341 Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to draft a petition to the legislature praying for a grant of a lottery to assist in building a college house for the university. Messrs. Putnam, Hildreth, and Perkins appointed. The result of their petition and labors in this behalf appear in the following act. " An act to authorize the drawing of a lottery for the benefit of the Ohio university. WHEREAS, the diffusion of science and literature has ever been found to be auspicious to the interests of liberty and the purity and permanence of republican institutions. SECTION I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That Eliphaz Perkins, Dudley Woodbridge, Jun., William R. Putnam, John P. R. Bureau, Joseph B. Miles, William Skinner, and Edward W. Tupper, any four of whom shall form a board for transacting business, be and they are hereby appointed commissioners, with full power and authority to raise by lottery, a sum of money not exceeding twenty thousand dollars, to be appropriated to defray the expense of completing the college edifice lately erected at Athens, and to purchase a library and suitable mathematical and philosophical apparatus for the use of the Ohio university. SEC. II. Be it further enacted, That the said commissioners, before they shall proceed to the sale and disposal of the tickets in said lottery, shall enter into sufficient bonds, in the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to the treasurer of the state of Ohio and his successors in office, with condition that they will well and truly apply the moneys to the payment of the prizes that shall be drawn in said lottery : provided the payment thereof shall be requested within one year after the drawing of said lottery ; also that they will faithfully pay over to the treas- 342 - The Ohio University. urer of the Ohio university the surplus of said moneys, to be by the trustees of said university applied to the purposes specified in the first section of this act ; and that in case of failure to draw said lottery within the time limited in this act, the said commissioners shall cause to be refunded to the purchasers, severally, all moneys which they shall have received for tickets in said lottery. And the said bond shall be lodged in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas, in the county of Athens, and on such bond or office copy thereof, suit or suits may be instituted by any person or persons interested for any breach thereof. SEC. III. Be it further enacted, That the said commissioners are hereby authorized and required to take bond and security from all persons to whom they may deposit for sale, the tickets in said lottery, conditioned that such persons shall justly account for the value of the tickets by him or them received, or return the same ; and such bond shall be made payable to the said commissioners by name, and the survivors of them, and if the conditions of any such bond shall be broken, the obligees therein named, or their survivors, may sustain an action thereon, to recover the value of the tickets not accounted for. SEC. IV. Be it further enacted, That the said commissioners, when they shall have sold and disposed of such a proportion of tickets as shall, in their opinion, render expedient the drawing of said lottery, shall proceed to draw the same publicly, having given due notice thereof, by publication in one or more newspapers printed at Marietta, Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Philadelphia, Washington City, and Chillicothe, setting forth the time and place of said drawing. SEC. V. Be it further enacted, That the said commissioners, when about to proceed to the drawing of said lottery, shall be duly sworn by some judge of the supreme court, or of the court of common pleas, to the faithful discharge of the several duties appertaining thereto, and shall also appoint a clerk who shall be sworn to keep a true and impartial account of the drawing. SEC. VI. Be it further enacted, That the trustees of the said History of Athens County, Ohio - 343 Ohio university are hereby authorized to allow to said commissioners and clerk, a reasonable compensation for their respective services in the management and drawing of said lottery. SEC. VII. Be it further enacted, That the drawing of the said lottery shall be completed by the commissioners aforesaid, within three years from the passage of this act. DUNCAN McARTHUR, Speaker of the House. ABRAHAM SHEPHERD, Speaker of the Senate. December 29th, 1817." This scheme was never carried out. In fact, the commissioners never, So far as can be learned, took any action under the law, and it became a dead letter. It is, however, illustrative of the views which obtained in the State at that day on the subject of lotteries. About this period, and during a few years prior, they were authorized by the legislature for various purposes, such as educational movements, road or river improvements, etc., but shortly after this they were prohibited by law, and public sentiment in Ohio has been, Since that time, wholly against them. In 1819 (Mr. Sawyer having ceased his connection with the institution some time before this), Professor Joseph Dana was brought in as teacher of languages. Mr. Dana was a fine classical scholar, and his fitness for the chair of languages was pre-eminent. In 1820, the following act was passed by the legislature, viz : 344 - The Ohio University. "An act further to amend the several acts establishing an university in the town of Athens. SECTION I. Be it enacted, etc., That it shall be the duty of the president and trustees of the Ohio university, at their first meeting after the taking effect of this- act, to appoint three disinterested freeholders as appraisers, whose duty it shall be (after taking an oath faithfully to perform the duties of their appointment), to appraise all such tracts of land, belonging to said institution, as have reverted back to said board, either by re-entry or otherwise, which appraisal shall be made according to the present value of said tracts of land, in money, and the said appraisers shall make out a list of all such tracts of land by them so appraised, together with the appraised value of each tract, which list they shall return to the office of the secretary of the board of trustees. SEC. II. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the president and trustees to lease all or any part of said tracts of land agreeably to the provisions of the acts of February 21St, 1805, and of January 23d, 1807, and it shall be the duty of the president and trustees, whenever hereafter any tract of land, which has been appraised and leased, shall revert back to the board, either by .re-entry or otherwise, to have them appraised and leased as directed in this act. JOSEPH RICHARDSON, Speaker of the House. ALLEN TRIMBLE, Speaker of the Senate. February 18th, 182O." The pecuniary embarrassments of the university were so far overcome that its complete organization was accomplished in 1820, and in 1822, the faculty was con- History of Athens County, Ohio - 345 stituted as follows : Rev. James Irvine, president and professor of mathematics ; Joseph Dana, professor of languages ; Rev. Jacob Lindley, professor of rhetoric and moral philosophy; Rev. Samuel D. Hoge, professor of natural Sciences, and Henry D. Ward, academical preceptor. From this period may be dated the complete working system and large usefulness of the university. Literary societies had been organized Some years before ; the nuclei of three respectable libraries—a college library, a library of the Athenian, and one of the Philomathean literary Society—had been formed, philosophical apparatus secured, and a fine cabinet of minerals begun. The institution has had its times of prosperity and depression, but, during the last half century, it has, in the aggregate, accomplished noble results, and sent forth from its halls a large number of able and active men. At the present time the university is with difficulty sustained, and its condition is no credit to the State. It has an able and faithful corps of instructors, who, in spite of difficulties, are laboring, not without success. But the institution should have state aid. It was the design of the Ohio Company, and the purpose of congress to make it a richly endowed university—the most richly endowed at that time of any in the United States. But, by mismanagement and trickery, it has been, 346 - The Ohio University. through a series of years, cheated of its revenues. It should have a large income from its original endowment, and that without, in the least degree, burdening the lessees of these lands. The state owes it to the fathers of the university who founded it with prayers and amid difficulties, such aS we little comprehend, that it shall not be permanently kept out of its rights by legal technicalities; and we can not doubt that the people and the legislature of Ohio will eventually come to this conclusion. It will be a disgrace to them if the first university founded west of the mountains and around which "memories cluster thick as flowers," Shall be allowed to fall into decay and disappear from the land for the want of aid which it has a right to expect and demand. Trustees of the University from its Organization, to the present time.