THE COLLEGE AND THE STUDENTS, 1857-1860 



CHARLES JAY MONROE 



The College, when I first saw it May 10, 1857, consisted of 

 a tract of mainly timber land, without an acre fully cleared. 

 A few acres had been slashed down and the logs and brush 

 cleared. On every hand were old stubs and partially burned 

 trees. The fire had scorched the timber next to the clearing, 

 so that at every point of the compass to which you turned, you 

 beheld dead and blackened trees which presented a most deso- 

 late scene. There are a few pictures in the library which give 

 a faint idea of it. 



College Hall, a dormitory, and a small brick barn constituted 

 the buildings. The old dormitory, known for many years as 

 " Saints' Rest," stood a little east of the present site of Wilhams 

 Hall, and was burned in 1876. These buildings were sur- 

 rounded by logs and stumps, the carpenters' and masons' 

 leavings, and other rubbish. The roads to the buildings were 

 lined with stumps which had been dug or pulled out and in 

 some cases partially burned. 



The road from the College to lower Lansing was fairly good, 

 judged by the road standard of those days. Lansing consisted 

 of three parts, Upper, Middle, and Lower, and the distances 

 and partition woods between them were sufficient to make them 

 distinct towns. 



The travel to the College was mainly from Middle Lansing, 

 via Michigan Avenue. This street was usually a mud hole from 

 the hotels to the College, particularly in the spring and fall, 

 and was lined with timber except now and then a small opening 

 made by new settlers. In this connection I wish to call attention 

 to the large stone beside the road with a fair-sized tree seemingly 



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