User:RebelAt/Sandbox/project one

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The staging area for article drafts.

Contents 1 Expanded U of Arkansas history draft 1.1 Establishment of the University 1.2 The building of a university 2 Notes

[edit] Expanded U of Arkansas history draft

[edit] Establishment of the University

Prior to the establishment of the University of Arkansas, higher education existed sporadically throughout the state of Arkansas in the form of small academies and institutions, such as Cane Hill College not far from Fayetteville, and St. John's College in Little Rock.^[1] In addition, Fayetteville was also home to Arkansas College, which enjoyed a high reputation statewide and regionally until the destruction of the school's buildings in 1862 by fire.^[2] However, by the outbreak of the Civil War there were no state supported institutions, despite Antebellum attempts by various Arkansas governors to use the proceeds from federal lands bequeathed to Arkansas upon achieving statehood to establish an endowment for their creation. Instead, these funds were siphoned off by the legislature for support of other state programs. ^[3] Incidentally, the same year that saw the burning down of Arkansas College also saw the introduction of legislation in the United States Congress that eventually resulted in the establishment of the University of Arkansas.

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act, which offered to states federal land to sell with the proceedings going towards the establishment of state educational institutions. It was not until Reconstruction that the Arkansas legislature was able to take advantage of the act. The legislature had already shown its desire to establish an institution with Article 9, Section 3, of the Arkansas Constitution of 1868, which stated:

The General Assembly shall establish and maintain a State University, with departments for instruction in teaching, in agriculture and the natural sciences, as soon as the public school fund will permit.^[4]

Finally, in 1871, after one aborted attempt to pass a statute to mandate the establishment of an institution, the legislature passed, "An Act for the Location, Organization, and Maintenance of the Arkansas Industrial University, with a Normal Department Therein." This act called upon the legislature to accept the Morrill Act, establish a board of trustees, and established a process by which "any county, city, or incorporated town," could compete to be the location of the university by means of bonds, taxes, and donated sums. ^[5] However, by the rules of the Morrill Act, the state had until February 12, 1872, to have the university founded and operating to qualify, leaving less than a year to accomplish the deed.^[6]

There were three principal competitors to be the host of the new state university, Pulaski County (Little Rock), Independence County (Batesville), and Washington County (Fayetteville and Prairie Grove). Of the three, however, only the Fayetteville-Prairie Grove and Batesville supporters won requisite local elections to legitimize their bids to the legislature created board of trustees. The board of trustees was composed of eleven members, the state superintendent of public instruction, ex-officio president, and ten elective members approved by vote of a joint meeting of the Arkansas legislature with each selected from one of the ten judicial districts.^[7] Two men, Lafayette Gregg and David Walker, were among the primary pushers in Washington County to secure the successful passage of the bid via election and later played instrumental roles in the university's history. At this point, the board of trustees then traveled to both towns to judge the locations personally before selecting the winning bid.^[8]

The board of trustees visited Batesville on September 24th, 1871, and arrived in Fayetteville after a journey that involved the usage of trains, stagecoaches and steam boats by October. By the 11th of same month, the board of trustees put to a vote the two choices of Fayetteville and Batesville for the location of the new university. In a mixed vote, Fayetteville was selected, with the majority of the board in favor of Washington County as the location of the University of Arkansas.^[9]

[edit] The building of a university

Upon the selection of Fayetteville as the location for the state university, the board established two committees; one to supervise the procurement of land and construction of facilities, the other to organize the actual selection of instructors, establish departments, and to equip the university for operation. The date of their establishment was approximately four months prior to the deadline of February 12, 1872, after which the state would lose the benefits of the land grant act if the two committees could not have the university up and running by that time.^[10]

The homestead of William McIlroy, a local farmer and merchant, had been selected as a location for the university and purchased at cost of $12,000 by the Fayetteville lobbying committee prior to the final decision of the board.^[11] At the time, the grounds consisted of a total of 160 acres, just over a third of it cultivated, a six room residence, several outbuildings, and an orchard spread over four aches. By January 1, 1872, the committee had arranged for the completion of a two story frame building, no more than twenty-four by forty feet and with enough room to hold around 120 students. The total expense of the building was only $975, a fraction of the planned cost a permanent main building limited to $120,000. Six months later, a second similar building was erected for twice as much as the first to satisfy expected demands of the first matriculating class.^[12]

The construction of the iconic Old Main building did not begin until 1874. Earlier, the board of trustees had placed newspaper advertisements inviting architectural plans in line with a building costing between $85,000 and $120,000. From this search, the board had initially adopted plans drawn up by the Helena firm of McKay and Hemle. This decision did not remain in plan for long, due to the lobbying by individuals who had visited the University of Illinois previously by the selection of the board to investigate similar land grant universities. The lobbyists had returned with flattering drawings and descriptions of school's university hall and had quickly won over the board. The design by McKay and Hemle was dropped, and the board purchased a copy of the Illinois building plans, designed by Chicago architect John M. Van Osdel for $1,000.^[13]

On July 4th, 1873, the board of trustees opened up bidding for the construction of the hall, which was eventually won by the local Fayetteville firm of Mayes and Oliver at a bid of $123,855. Incidentally, John McKay of McKay and Hemle, was given the job of supervising architect by friends on the board, a job he held for one year until dismissed by a new board. Alexander Hendry was selected as his replacement by Lafayette Gregg, who had played an instrumental role in bringing the university to Fayetteville, and later, closely oversaw the construction of Old Main. Construction was declared complete and the hall opened on June 17, 1885. Despite the declaration, the upper two floors and the basement were left unfinished due to the belief they would be finished later when the student population had grown larger. The final cost of the building was more than $134,000.^[14]

[edit] Notes