Salina Normal University
Encyclopedia
Salina Normal University, sometimes called Salina Normal College, was an independent coeducation
al normal school
established in 1884 in Salina, Kansas
. The college offered collegiate, normal, business, science, and fine arts courses.
The university's first proprietor was Alexander Hopkins, who closed his East Illinois College in Danville, Illinois
and brought some students and faculty with him. A building was constructed on College Street, at the western end of Iron Avenue, and the college opened on Tuesday, September 2, 1884 with a record-breaking initial enrollment for a Normal School of 60. The building had 57 rooms, cost a total of $40,000 to build, and the ground floor measured 100 by 65 feet. It had two wings: a dormitory wing, able to house 60–75 students, and the college wing, able to accommodate 500–600 students. The campus grounds occupied six acres, while the surrounding 53 acres were owned by the college stock company and sold in platted parcels.
Attendance in the first year reached 125, but at mid-year many students and faculty became dissatisfied and ownership of the institution was transferred to J. Walter Fertig and L.O. Thoroman, with the latter becoming president. A prominent Salinan, Oscar Seitz, also served as president of the university in the 1880s while simultaneously managing the streetcar company. In 1884–85 the college library had approximately 1,000 books, the only library in Salina listed in the U.S. Office of Education 1886 survey of public libraries. By 1893, despite a lack of financial backing, annual enrollment was almost 700.
The university was destroyed by fire on September 4, 1904 and not rebuilt. At that time it had 400 students. The Salina Journal gave the following account of the fire:
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
al normal school
Normal school
A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...
established in 1884 in Salina, Kansas
Salina, Kansas
Salina is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 47,707. Located in one of the world's largest wheat-producing areas, Salina is a regional trade center for north-central Kansas...
. The college offered collegiate, normal, business, science, and fine arts courses.
The university's first proprietor was Alexander Hopkins, who closed his East Illinois College in Danville, Illinois
Danville, Illinois
Danville is a city in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is the principal city of the'Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Danville and Vermilion County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 32,467. It is the county seat of...
and brought some students and faculty with him. A building was constructed on College Street, at the western end of Iron Avenue, and the college opened on Tuesday, September 2, 1884 with a record-breaking initial enrollment for a Normal School of 60. The building had 57 rooms, cost a total of $40,000 to build, and the ground floor measured 100 by 65 feet. It had two wings: a dormitory wing, able to house 60–75 students, and the college wing, able to accommodate 500–600 students. The campus grounds occupied six acres, while the surrounding 53 acres were owned by the college stock company and sold in platted parcels.
Attendance in the first year reached 125, but at mid-year many students and faculty became dissatisfied and ownership of the institution was transferred to J. Walter Fertig and L.O. Thoroman, with the latter becoming president. A prominent Salinan, Oscar Seitz, also served as president of the university in the 1880s while simultaneously managing the streetcar company. In 1884–85 the college library had approximately 1,000 books, the only library in Salina listed in the U.S. Office of Education 1886 survey of public libraries. By 1893, despite a lack of financial backing, annual enrollment was almost 700.
The university was destroyed by fire on September 4, 1904 and not rebuilt. At that time it had 400 students. The Salina Journal gave the following account of the fire:
Carl Gunter, Charles Ruppenthal and a new student named Atkins were asleep on the second floor. Gunter, who had not retired but had fallen asleep reading, was aroused by the noise of the fire. Mr. Wilbur, the janitor, and his sons, asleep in the basement, escaped as the roof fell in. Those on the second floor, cut off from the stairways by flames, crawled through windows and dropped to the ground. When the fire department arrived, flames were issuing from the roof. Firemen used three streams of water in fighting the blaze, but succeeded only in saving the walls.
Notable students
- John R. ConnellyJohn R. ConnellyJohn Robert Connelly was a U.S. Representative from Kansas.Born near Mount Sterling, Illinois, Connelly moved to Thayer County, Nebraska, with his parents in 1883....
, Congressman from Kansas
- Frank M. Cron, State Legislator from Kansas
- Oscar Stanton De PriestOscar Stanton De PriestOscar Stanton De Priest was an American lawmaker and civil rights advocate who served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois from 1929 to 1935. He was the first African American to be elected to Congress in the 20th century....
, Congressman from Illinois
- Dean M. GillespieDean M. GillespieDean Milton Gillespie was a U.S. Representative from Colorado.Born in Salina, Kansas, Gillespie attended the public schools and Salina Normal University....
, Congressman from Colorado
- Thomas H. McKay, State Legislator from Washington
- W.D. Struble, Assistant State Superintendent of Education, Kansas
- Joseph TaggartJoseph TaggartJoseph Taggart was a lawyer and a Democrat member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 2nd Congressional District of Kansas from November 7, 1911, to March 3, 1917....
, Congressman from Kansas
External links
- Advertisement for Salina Normal University in American College and Public School Directory, 1891
- Salina in retrospect . . . a Bicentennial feature . . . the way we were pdf. at Rootsweb: James Geisendorf, "Salina Normal University" p. 2.