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• 1 2025-01-23T17:13:36+00:00 The Founding of Western Reserve College 10 This page provides information about the founding of Western Reserve College plain 2025-01-31T20:23:59+00:00
  Case Western Reserve University was created by the merger of two institutions established in the 19th century: Western Reserve University (WRU) and Case Institute of Technology (CIT). WRU, the older of the two institutions, was founded in 1826 in Hudson, Ohio. Its original name was Western Reserve College.
  
  Western Reserve College was granted its charter by the state of Ohio 2/7/1826. However, efforts to establish a college in northeast Ohio began as early as 1801 when Reverend Joseph Badger prepared a petition to the territorial legislators for a charter to found a college. The petition was denied.
  
  Two years later Ohio was admitted to the union as the 17th state. In the first session of the General Assembly the Erie Literary Society was formed. Though it was called a literary society the charter allowed for the formation of an academy or college. The incorporators opened a school in Burton in 1805 and intended to create a college. The institution lasted nearly 20 years but never developed a college. David Hudson was a leader in the project. He was authorized by the legislature to organize the incorporators into a board of trustees.
  
  Early leaders did not give up in their efforts to establish a college. In the early 1820’s a series of meetings was held by the Grand River Presbytery and the Portage Presbytery and on 6/3/1824 a committee on location was appointed. Aurora, Cleveland, Euclid, Hudson and Tallmadge were considered as locations for a college. In January of 1825 Hudson was chosen because of its central location in the Western Reserve and the citizens of Hudson offered $7,150 in subscriptions, including a pledge of $2,000 by David Hudson. In March, work began on drafting a charter. The bill was first presented to the legislature in December.
  
  According to university historian Frederick C. Waite, when word reached Hudson in January that the bill might be defeated,

  “Mr. [Caleb] Pitkin mounted his horse and rode through snowy roads fifty miles to Brownhelm to get Judge Brown, and these two rode together nearly a hundred miles to the state capital. The tradition is that after two days of endeavor Judge Brown advised Mr. Pitkin to return home and look after his church, saying that dealing with legislators was a job for a sinner, not for a minister.”

  After several months of negotiations and changes, the charter was approved. While the college was established as a secular institution, it was heavily influenced in the early years by its Presbyterian and Congregationalist leaders.

  
  The incorporators held a three-day meeting in March, 1826. Caleb Pitkin was elected president of the board and William Hanford was elected secretary. The cornerstone was laid for the first building (Middle College) on 4/26/1826. The beginning was modest. Classes were first taught at nearby Tallmadge Academy for 3 students in the fall of 1826 - the College building not being completed yet. The first classes were held in Hudson in fall 1827.

  Early Leaders
  David Hudson, founder of the town of Hudson, was a leader in the early efforts to establish a new college. He was a farmer and served as justice of the peace. He established the first school in Hudson and served on the board of the Erie Literary Society. He was an incorporator and served as trustee of Western Reserve College 1826-1836. He died in Hudson 3/17/1836.
  
  Caleb Pitkin, 1806 graduate of Yale College, was a clergyman. In addition to his involvement in establishing the College, he served Western Reserve College on the Board of Trustees 1826-1864. He was president of the board 1826-1830, and vice president 1834-1835 and 1852-1864. He died in Hudson 2/5/1864.
  
  Sources
  For more information about the founding of the university, see the list of published histories on our CWRU Archives Sources page. In addition to the published histories, information comes from Western Reserve College records in the Case Western Reserve University Archives.
• 1 2025-03-21T20:09:34+00:00 The Hudson Campus 9 Bicentennial celebration - details about the buildings on Hudson campus plain 2025-04-04T18:49:01+00:00 The original Western Reserve College campus was located in Hudson, Ohio - about 26 miles from the university's current campus in Cleveland. Let's explore the original campus buildings.
  
  Middle College was the first building constructed on the new campus. Therefore, it was the first university building! It was a 3-story brick building with a footprint of 56 x 37 feet. Lemuel Porter designed and oversaw construction. It had an open cylindrical belfry with wooden pillars supporting a dome surmounted  by a flagstaff. The dome housed the college bell. In 1836 this bell was moved to the Chapel's tower.
  
  The cornerstone laying ceremony was held 4/26/1826. One of the oldest documents in the University Archives is a copy of the hymn from the cornerstone ceremony. Construction concluded in 1827. The cost was around $5,500. Middle College was used for classes and as a dormitory until 1830 after which it was used only as a dormitory. The building was still standing after the college moved to Cleveland, but it was eventually razed by Western Reserve Academy in 1912.
  
  South College was the second building constructed. It was built in 1829-1830 and was 4-stories high with a footprint of 74 x 37 feet. The 1st floor was built of dressed sandstone and the 2nd-4th floors were built of brick. It was considered two buildings. The first floor was used as a chapel and had classrooms used by the theological department. The second floor had classrooms and a library. The third and fourth floors were dormitories.
  
  Over time, the uses changed. After the Chapel was completed in 1836, the first floor was used for student activities such as literary societies and a reading room. After 1843 when the Athenaeum was built, the second and third floors were used for student societies and fraternities. South College still stood in 1882 when the college moved, but it was razed in 1884. It was the first campus building razed.
  
  The President's House was authorized by the trustees at the same time as South College. It was built in 1829-1830. It was a 2-story brick house built as a double-residence. The north half of the building was for the president and the south half was originally intended for the professor of theology. From 1830 until 1874 the president or president emeritus resided in the north half of the house. The residents of the south half varied. Several faculty members and at least one trustee resided there. It was the first president's house. It still stands today on the campus of Western Reserve Academy and is still known as the President's House.
  
  The Chapel was built in 1835-1836. It was 3-stories with a tower in 3 sections. The footprint was 60 x 40 feet. Simeon Porter oversaw construction. The cost was $6,231.52. The Chapel was dedicated 8/23/1836. It was used as a library, classrooms, auditorium, and gallery. The classrooms were originally for the theological department. All theological department activities moved to this building from South College. In 1836 the college bell was moved from Middle College to the Chapel. Several other bells were used over the years. The Chapel still stands on the campus of Western Reserve Academy.
  
  North College was built in 1837-1838. It was 4-stories with a footprint of 58 x 37 feet, and had a hip roof which differed from the roof lines of the other buildings. The cost was $8,070.29. It was a dormitory building, originally for theological students and seniors. It is the only original dormitory building still standing and is now called North Hall on the Western Reserve Academy campus.
  
  The Observatory was built in 1838. It is a 37 x 16 foot, 1-story brick building with a revolving dome. The foundation, sills, and lintels of are dressed sandstone. There are 2 monolith piers inside the building to support a transit and equatorial telescope. It was built after Elias Loomis was hired as professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. He traveled to Europe to purchase the equipment for the observatory and performed the first scientific research and observations in the building. The building still stands and is now called the Loomis Observatory. It was the university's first observatory. It was the first observatory built west of the Appalachian mountains and the third observatory built in the country.
  
  The Athenaeum was built in 1841-1843. It was a 64 x 47 foot, 3-story brick building with a tower. It was also referred to as the natural science building. It contained classrooms, laboratory, and a museum (on the 3rd floor). There was a skylight in the roof to give lighting for the museum. It took almost 3 years to complete the building because of a lack of funds. The cost was around $8,000. It was in this building that Edward Morley established a laboratory where students learned chemistry by doing experiments themselves instead of only observing a professor. Morley was an early adopter of this mode of laboratory teaching. In the 1860s the tower was removed. The building still stands and is still called the Athenaeum.

  Other Buildings

  There were 3 manual labor shop buildings constructed 1828-1832. They were located in a row behind North College and were referred to as north, middle, and south shops. See the section, Academics at Western Reserve College, for more information about the manual labor program. The middle building also held the printing plant for the College. The manual labor program faded by the 1840s and these buildings were put to other uses. In 1844 the north and middle shops burned down. The middle shop was rebuilt and eventually was moved behind Middle College and became the first gymnasium.
  
  Sources
  For more information about the Hudson campus, see the list of published histories on our CWRU Archives Sources page. In addition to the published histories, information comes from Board of Trustees records and other Western Reserve College records in the Case Western Reserve University Archives.