I860.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



679 



Richmond Female Institute. 



From the Southern LWy Messenger. 



Among the many unmistakable evidences 

 of prosperity and progress which Richmond 

 now affords, none is more decided, or more 

 gratifying, than that evinced by the number 

 and character of its institutions for the educa- 

 tion of young ladies. A glance at the crowded 

 advertising columns of our city papers, at this 

 period of the year, will soon reveal the fact 

 that the interest felt in this subject, and the 

 activity manifested, are of no ordinary kind. 



The Richmond Female Institute, a cut of 

 whose building we present above, is one of the 

 largest and best known of these institutions, 

 and the only one, we believe, that is not strictly 

 a private enterprise. It occupies a beautiful 

 lot fronting on 10th street, and extending 

 across from Marshall to Clay — a quiet and 

 retired yet central spot, fitly chosen for such a 

 purpose. The building is in the form of a T, 

 with a depth along the stem (not shown in 

 the cut,) of 100 feet, and a front of 125 feet, 

 to which two wings of 30 feet each are to be 

 added to complete the plan. 



This institution originated in the felt want, 

 on the part of some of our citizens of facilities 

 for the education of their daughters, conside- 

 rably above any which were then within reach. 



However excellent and numerous the pri- 

 vate schools might be, they were seen to be 

 liable to fluctuations and uncertainties — rising 

 or falling with the personal popularity of the 

 proprietor, varying in the advantages furnish- 

 ed with his varying pecuniary success, and 

 thus scarcely able to offer any large and settled 



course of study, or any invariable standard of 

 graduation. 



It was determined, therefore, to establish a 

 Female College, to be equal in grade to the 

 best of our Colleges for young men, and to 

 be located at Richmond, which seemed to offer 

 almost unequalled advantages as the place for 

 such an institution. 



In order to enlist in its behalf the sympathy 

 and support of as large a number as possible, 

 and with a view too, to the pecuniary profits 

 which it promised, it was decided to raise the 

 necessary funds upon the joint-stock principle, 

 and to collect them from different portions of 

 theState. 



Accordingly, a charter was obtained in 

 March, 1853, incorporating a Board of Trus- 

 tees, and authorizing them to raise on this 

 plan, not less than $15,000, nor more than 

 $100,000. Its provisions are unusually liberal, 

 vesting all authority directly in the Trustees, 

 and giving to the Institute the powers and 

 privileges of a College. 



U nder this charter about $50,000 were raised 

 in shares of $50 each, a most eligible lot was 

 purchased, the buildings erected almost as if 

 by magic, an extensive and costly apparatus 

 secured, and all the appertenances supplied 

 in liberal abundance. All the arrangements 

 were on a most magnificent scale ; and yet, 

 with so much dispatch was the whole con- 

 ducted, under the direction of the President, 

 Rev. B. Manly, Jr., that the institution was 

 opened in October of the same year, and be. 



