Sonoma County CA Archives History - Books .....Pacific Methodist College 1877
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Book Title: Historical And Descriptive Sketch Of Sonoma County, California

PACIFIC METHODIST COLLEGE.

   In the year 1859 the Pacific Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church South inaugurated measures looking to the early organization of a
college. Trustees were appointed, and Rev. J. C. Stewart was elected agent. The
citizens of Vacaville and vicinity proposed to furnish buildings and grounds,
and turn the same over to the trustees free of debt. The offer was accepted, and
a meeting of the board of trustees was held in February, 1861, when the
following persons were elected to positions in the college, namely: Rev. J. C.
Stewart, president pro tem., and C. S. Smyth, professor of mathematics. A short
time after this O. H. O'Neill was employed as temporary professor of languages.

   It was decided to open a preparatory school on the 11th of March, 1861. The
first regular session of the college was opened in July, 1861, with Professor C.
S. Smyth, department of mathematics; Professor S. B. Morse, department of
language?, and Miss E. A. Caldwell in charge of primary department. The first
day showed au attendance of only thirteen students; yet within four months the
number had increased to forty-six. Three weeks before the close of the session,
Rev. W. T. Lucky, who had previously been elected president, arrived and took
charge of the institution.

   The first annual catalogue, published in May, 1862, contained the names of
over eighty students enrolled for the year. There was a period of uninterrupted
prosperity from 1862 to April, 1865, when the main college building was
destroyed by fire—the work of an incendiary. Provision was promptly made for the
accommodation of classes, and the exercises of the institution went on as usual,
without the loss of a single recitation.

   After a year and a half of zealous effort on the part of the agent, Rev. W.
M. Winters, another building was erected, at a cost of sixteen thousand dollar*.
In December, 1866, Dr. Lucky tendered his resignation, to take effect in May,
1867. At the annual meeting of the board of trustees, in May, Dr. J. B. Thomas,
of Emory College, Georgia, was elected president. The institution continued its
sessions in Vacaville until May, 1870, when, by vote of the trustees, it was
removed to Santa Rosa.

   The citizens of Santa Rosa and vicinity generously donated ten acres of land,
and erected thereon a spacious college building, at a cost of twenty-five
thousand dollars. The present value of the building and grounds is estimated at
thirty thousand dollars. The college grounds are situated in the northeastern
part of the city, and are beautifully ornamented with evergreens and native
oaks. The building is commodious, affording accommodations for three hundred
students. There are two literary societies connected with the college, which
have their halls neatly furnished. The libraries of the two societies contain
about eight hundred volumes.

   The first regular session in Santa Rosa was opened in August, 1871, with A.
L. Fitzgerald, A. M., president and professor of mental and moral science; C. S.
Smyth, professor of mathematics; Charles King, professor of languages, and Miss
Florence Miller in charge of the primary department

   In July, 1876, President A. L. Fitzgerald tendered his resignation, to take
effect in October, when Rev. W. A. Finley was elected to take charge of the
institution.

   The present faculty consists of Rev. W. A. Finley, D. D., president and
professor of mental and moral science; C. S. Smyth, A. M., professor of
mathematics; O. H. Roberts, A. M., professor of Latin language and literature;
E. J. Griffith, A. M., professor of natural science; W. A. Finley, A. M.,
professor of Greek language and literature; Ferdinand Kenyon, A. B., tutor in
mathematics; W. A. Wright, A. M., commercial and business department; Miss Lilla
Werlien, department of music.

   The present attendance is good, and the prospects of the college are in every
respect encouraging. While the institution has enjoyed marked prosperity under
previous administrations, we are confident that in the future its reputation for
good discipline and thorough work will be fully equal to that which it has
already established. The graduates of the institution, up to May, 1876, number
fifty-eight. The annual commencement takes place in the month of May, each year.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORICAL
AND
DESCRIPTIVE SKETCH
OF
SONOMA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA,
BY
ROBERT A. THOMPSON,
EDITOR OF "THE SONOMA DEMOCRAT."
PHILADELPHIA:
L. H. EVERTS & CO. 
1877.


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