Page Twenty ; '; 80th Anniversary Edition The Oregon Statesman -. . I . .
Umvfirsitv Mem ..hiM or IV
lission
Roots of School Go Back 97 Years; Instruction to Indian Ghilpren Gives
Way to
Teaching of Whites; Jason Lee Forbear o f School Today; 5 Students Enrblljin 1 344
THE history of , Willamette university offers a wealth of
rtmantic and sacrificial incident to the chronicler,
while the sociological historian finds it a perfect institu
tional "cross-section". study of Pacific northwestern history.
The school had its origin as a direct result of the work of
the first American settlers on the Pacific, coast and it has
enjoyed a continuous .existence .to the present time. Its
span of life is 97 years if we dat!e its genesis with the mis
sion school of which It is an out growth; or 89 years if we
start the chronicle with its organization ; or 87 years if we
take the date of tbe actual open-o
ing oi the school doors. During
all of these years the university
has developed with th9 country of
which it is such an essential fac
tor.
The ocuool is the child ,ot the
Oregon Mission of the Methodist
church. The Indian God-seekers'
call that brought this mission to
the Oregon country is so touched
with romance and idealistic faith
that the modern historians of cyn
ical tendency squirm painfully
because they can not discredit Its
historic foundations; but they
find enough bitter reality and. dis
appointment in the after story; of
the mission to satisfy even their
savage love of realism. Jason Lee
and his comrades in the great
quest found not the Godseekers
of their dreams but the plague
afflicted remnants of the Willam
ette valley tribes, and burned but
their hearts, and lives in an heroic
effort to save a doomed race. On
the banks of the Willamette fiv
er, about 10 miles below where
Salem is now located, they bulld
ed their'log cabin in the late fall
of 1834. In early winter the first
orphan children of the neighbor
ing tribes were received into the
mission which from the first -was
an orphanage and school.
Lee Erected Building
Later to be Institute
Mission reinforcements in 1840
made it ( possible for Lee to at
tempt his greatest project, an en
ual arts to Indian youths gather
ed from all parts of the Pacific
northwest. Re selected a site on
what is now the Willamette cam
pus and in 1840-41 he erected a
large threestory frame building
In which the school was to oper
ate. On February 1, 1841, at a pub
lic meeting held at the Old Mis
sion House on the Willamette,
the Oregon Institute was organ
ized and its first announcement
declared that "as soon as the re
sources of the institution shall
Justify it, that it will become a
university."
"The trustees of the- institute
planned to erect a echo a few
miles north of where SaTem now
stands, and to 4lat a town-about
It in the hope that inconjing set
tlers would make thei hordes
nearby and create a village. How
ever, before the new building was
4 ..
Statesman linked With State
j Julius L. Meier
Governor of Oregon
behalf of the State of Oregon, I
v-J in extending congratulations to
Statesman on the occasion
sary of its foundation. Before Oregon was admitted
into the family of states, The Oregon Statesman, un
der thefggxridance of its j brilliant and aggressive pio
neer editor, was exercising a forceful influence on the
life of our commonwealth. Throughout the entire
history bf the Statfe of Oregon, The Statesman has
been identified with the: life of the capital city.
"Eighty years is a long period of consecutive
service in our western world where the wilderness is
only a century in the past. The Statesman is indeed
to be congratulated on a record that few existing
western institutions can equal."
ready for use Jason Lee's suc
cessor determined to close the In
dian school for which he could
see no future. He offered it to
the trustees of the institute for
the nominal sum of $4000, be
cause the new school like the In
dian school was (he child of the
same mission family.
Fond Hopes Center
In jOregon Institute
On August 13, 1844, the Ore
gon Institute opened with five
students. Around this school cen
tered the fondest hopes of the
Mission group as we term the pio
neers who came to Oregon in tbe
Mission, even though at This time
many of them were no" longer of
ficially connected with it. The
distant Mission Board also was
interested; although not official
ly sponsoring the new school, the
board in the annual repofl for
1847 said. "It is ardently hoped
that this institution is destined to
wield a powerful influence in
molding the mind and heart of
the medley mass with which, the
valley of the Columbia is so rap
idly filling up"." i
Students Young; Older
Children Had to Work
- From the first the school was
principally a 'boarding school, for
the settlement close at hand was
too limited to furnish many stu
dents, and the lack of roads made
it impossible for students at any
distance to be day pupils and live
at home. In 1845 there were
about 15 families living near the
institute; these constituted the
total population of the newly plat-,
ted town of Salem. In the early
years of the 'school most of the
students were young, because the
pioneer conditions tended to keep
the older boys and girls in other
occupations. The opening of new
lands demanded the labor of all
the family. The laws permitting
a married man to take up 640
acres of land, and the absence of
laws regulating the age of those
who could be married encouraged
mere children to marry and main
tain, households. Naturally such
a school was concerned .primarily
with the. elementary subjects, al
though the more advanced "clas
sical", subjects were offered as
older and more advanced students
came seeking them. Reports from
visitors to the school during these
years of its beginnings had only
take pleasure
The Oresron
of the eightieth anniver
farorable words to say concern
ing It. expressing their; firm con
viction that its work would com
pare favorably with the work be
ing done in the -eastern . acadt
emies. " . ' j
Changes Often Made
In Early Teaching Staff
, The teaching staff changed
rather constantly befora 18 53. We
find Joseph S. Smith, James H.
Wilbur, Cushing C. Eells, Nehe
mlah Doaue, Francis S. Iloyt and
many others listed among those
who taught at the institute for
: ,. -. i ,
THE OCEAN WAS THERE THEN
V
' jm
PICTURE OP SAtjEM PROWD AT
FIELD GLASSES IS Jl'DE" 11LRSETT;
POI,E,ISJUDGE BINGHAM.
: i , ,
varying periods of time.: Some
the purpose of taking up the
came from the east primarily for
work, some took part in it until
they made other adjustments in
the pioneer community. But the
struggling ' condition of the Old
Oregon Institute, its constantly
changing teaching force, the im
possibility of having more than
two or three teachers at any one
time, need not surprise us.
'An undivided Pacific north
west witnessed .the transforma
tion of the Oregon Institute into
Willamette university in January,
1853. Washington, Idaho and
Oregon were still under the same
territorial government. The dis
tances were magnificent, hut
apalling when they had to be cov
ered afoot, on horseback, by In
dian canoe, or at best by slow,
puffing river boat, which made it
necessary, later, for the settle
ments on Puget sound and Wil
lamette valley to separate.
It was not altogether clear
whether the institute had been
absorbed by the new university
or if it had merely consented to
add college classes to its curricu
lum, and even the trustee min
utes use the terms Oregon Insti
tute and 'Willamette university in
terchangeably during the early
years.
The organization of the pioneer
university naturally reflected the
undeveloped conditions of the
country. The by-laws directedthat
the collegiate department be un
der tbe control of a president who
was also- to be the professor of
"mental and moral philosophy."
In addition. to his teaching and ex
ecutive work in the collegiate de
partment he was to act as princi
pal of the academical department
and to "give such instruction, not
inconsistent with his duties as a
professor in the collegiate depart
ment, as the wants, of the institu
tion require ". For these duties he
was to receive an annual salary
of $J(M)0. The other members of
the faculty were to consist of a
professor of "ancient and modern
languages" and st piofessor of
natural and exact sciences." Pro
fessorial friaries were fixed at
?90. '
: 4 ' '
I
In 1850, thh Rev. Krancia p.
Hoyt came to regora as principal
of the institutl and assumed tie
added burdensfof the president's
tak when tire university wk
chattered.;! He jteontlnued in thjls
office until 18f0,when he resign
cd l:o join the faculty of Ohio Wj
leyait universif.'His were tin
hard years of desperate effort lo
maintain the wery existence of
the pioneer school, i . I
.... For years Alyin F. Waller serir
ed as university s agent seeking
funds to keep its doors open ajid
Vovrrzht ! -iirtev Cronit Rtuiii
BEACTf. TUB (iKNjl.KMAN WITH TH
AND IHE ONE tlTH THE riSHIN
i
J
to huijd the "iew College ball'
which we now aU "old" Wallei.
So zealous was? he in this wort:
that ftnen, unwfiling to face his
pleading, not infrequently urne4
other ways whfin they saw hi
coming. The drafts he receive'
during his late years in paymen
for his services were all saved u
cashed and uppn his death-be!
he turnecL.themiver to the school
as his parting rift.
': ,r - $ '
The outstanding accomplish!-
inent : of these!- years we novr
chronicle was the building of Wal
ler hall. The od institute, buildl
ing had served beyond its use
fulness and! a new structure was
imperative, j Th . faithful agent,
Waller, and others worked togeth
er without ceasing to secure the
needed funds ttt some 1 4 0,000
from the pionee community and
during the dark years it seemed
that only failurt could be theirs.
But heroic effort prevailed and
high faith and great love made
possible the gift needed and the
new 'structure jwas started,, the
cornerstone being laid on July 24,
1864.?;' Y'. v j
Brick CampusMade
From Excavated Clay
The brick Were made on
the campus from clay excavated
for foundation? bd basement, and
the walls- weref builded so well
Patton's Book
m i ft y
1 1 . .4
opened for business in its present location, 340 State Rt
when the building was completed in 1869, being one of
Salem's oldest business structures still in use. The location
was Occupied in the early O's as a book store bjr! II. D.
Boone. . Purchased in 1886 by the late T. McF. Patton. as a
going concern for his two boys. E. Cooke Patton and Hal D.
Patton.; Th firm being known then as T. McFi,
Sons. The Ifather died in
changed to he present title,
cooke Patton passed away in December 1929, and Hal D.
Patton has kjnee been manager of the business. This busi
ness .has passed, through the coal oil light period; was the
first etore IrJ Salem to-install illuminating ; gas and likewise
was. the firf business houoe to install electricity fori light
ing,' fThoma( Holman wired and installed ! the lighting sys
tem; One oi the first phones installed lit Salem was in Pat
ton's Book Store as was the first cash? register., i Patton's
were, in business before the advent of the fountain pen, the
writing tabhft and the kodak. In early days Patton's car-
iicu a. uue i IMHIJOS. OTKanS.
eyiaence ,anc me store remained open till 10 P. IM
i Anon naK waicned saiem grow from a village j of
souls to the present population of more than 26.000.
that they stand despite the lati
that twice fire has burned away
the Interior1 structure. A half-ccn-tury;
failed to.s erase from the
memories of thosejwho first went
proudly Into their new junlversity
hall the thill they experienced on
that memorable occasion. One of
these students wrote, "Well do 1
remember the day. All was ex
citement among both young and
older students, and although daily
admonished by our teachers to re
member bur station in life, that
of young ladies and gentlemen,
and to act accordingly; yet. so
great was our enthusiasm that 'to
spectators, we no doubt appeared
aa children, 'casting off the old
shoes, foij a pair of new-ones.' To
us. the younger ones. It was a
gala day.i Up early in the morn
ing, in .preparation for the hour,
we donned our best clothes and
bled us to our accustomed rooms,
eager to be placed In line for the
Wonderful event i the grand
march across the jcampus to the
new building the new Willam
ette university.'
Mrs. Duniway ,took the floor
and in a caustic speech contended
for "rights! -of herself and co-delegates
to teats upon the floor as
association members.- 1 8 7 3.
W. II. HOBSON, STAYTON
. (Continued from Page 15)
man by- tl)e ; name ' of Goodman
living where the . Conrad Neibert
place now is, wanted oxen to go
to eastern Oregon, so Rev. Jeter
atod he had "a little argument in
making a trade.. ' j
Mrs. Stayton had a fine Indian
pony as a young girl, which she
always rode to town. It gave her
many a thrill. One day It Jumped
on top or. a pile of lumber near
the Spajilol flour mill. Mr. Span-
iol, seeing her plight, came; and
held the bony until she ' could
dismount. Much could be written
about her. trip along the old Im
migrant tfall. There were -i 160
wagons in the "train until it
reached the divide, where many
took" the road to California. , She
married Drury Stayton, Jr., a son
of the man, for whom the town
was named and has made ! her
home In Stayton since 1872. There
were only six or seven families
here at the time, and Mr. Mobson
was a boarder in the Stayton
home. About 837 ! Mrs. Stayton
realized the need of a millinery
store here and started a shop. She
was left a widow with four chil
dren in 1899 so continued with
lier millinery work later in com
pany with; her daughter, Mrs.
Imilda Robertson until about
1916. Today she is more active
and better company than many
Women half her age.' ) "
Store . . .
Patton ic
name was
Store. E.
1892 and the firm
Patton Bros. Book
etc. . A wnnI hiirna. a .
Was
dally.
3,000