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Case Western Reserve University Archives

School of Medicine lecture ticket

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1. School of Medicine lecture ticket

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School of Medicine The School of Medicine was located in downtown Cleveland for 81 years (half of its existence), longer than any other WRU school or department. During its downtown period, the School graduated the second woman in the United States to receive a regular medical degree. WRU's School of Medicine also graduated the most women at a co-educational regular medical school before the 1860s. The School also began its program of research while downtown, constructing 2 buildings (the H.K. Cushing Laboratory and the Physiological Laboratory) for this purpose." In 1844 enrollment was 109 and tuition was $50. In 1923 enrollment was 197 and tuition was $250. Additional information about the history of the School of Medicine is available in the archived blog post, "School of Medicine Mini-History, " written by Archives staff.

School of Medicine Lecture Ticket School of Medicine Lecture Ticket 1 School of Medicine Catalog Medical School 1846 Exterior West Side 1 Medical School 1887 Exterior North and West Sides Medical School 1887 Interior Medical School 1887 Interior Dissection Room
Medical School 1887 Faculty Room

Medicine Commencement Invitation 1
Students Work with Microscopes
Students Prepare for Surgery
Medical Students in a Laboratory
Establishment of the Medical School
From the very beginning, there was a desire at Western Reserve College to teach medical students. In 1822, an appeal for funds to start the college in Hudson was printed, which mentioned the intent to eventually teach students the professions of law, theology, and medicine. In 1834, when it was announced that a medical school was forming in nearby Willoughby, Ohio, the Western Reserve College trustees passed a resolution that they still intended to create a medical department of their own.

The chance came in 1843, when the majority of the faculty of Willoughby University of Lake Erie Medical College resigned. Several of them held medical practices in Cleveland and had the idea to start a new medical school there. In August of that year, the trustees of Western Reserve College were asked to support their plan by adopting the new medical school as part of the already established university.

It was initially unclear if Western Reserve College’s charter would allow for students to be instructed in Cleveland and awarded degrees by the school in Hudson. After deliberation, the solution was to form a committee to examine the degree candidates. This committee would then submit the names of those who passed examination to the board of trustees in Hudson for official approval. Other universities had made similar arrangements in the past, so the trustees believed this would allow them to have their medical department in Cleveland. Instruction began in November 1843 with the first class of 67 students. Nearly half of those had been students in Willoughby, which prompted attacks and questions of legality by the Willoughby administration.

Although the current students and legal experts who were consulted were satisfied with the arrangements, to prevent any future problems, the faculty requested that the charter be amended. This was conveyed by the trustees to Augustus E. Foot, the Summit County representative in the Ohio House, who was also a resident of Hudson. Foot introduced a bill in December 1843 to amend the charter. Usually such a request was a routine matter. However, the Willoughby trustees used their political connections to rally opposition to the bill among supporters of railroad subsidies. The Western Reserve College supporters, therefore, sought the help of legislators who favored canals, as they were inclined to disagree with the railroad supporters. Eventually, the bill passed the House and then the Senate, on February 23, 1844. This was three days after the first class graduated from the medical school. In March, the trustees officially established the Medical Department of Western Reserve College, finally putting any legal challenges to rest.

Aside from degrees being presented by Western Reserve College, the Medical Department remained largely independent from the Hudson campus. In addition to being financially separate, it was often referred to simply as “Cleveland Medical College” at the time.

The medical curriculum originally lasted 16 weeks (growing to 20 weeks by 1880). Approximately 30 lectures were given a week, with all students in the same amphitheater to hear the same lessons. The lectures tended to remain the same from year to year, unless a new professor was presenting the material. Students were expected to attend two years’ worth of lectures, in addition to a year of working with a preceptor. A preceptor was a working physician, usually with little prior teaching experience, who gave students hands-on training by bringing them along on their medical calls. The students’ experiences also included dissection of a cadaver as part of their required practical anatomy exam.

After the first two years were spent using rented space, the medical department began its third session on November 5, 1845, in the nearly completed building that was erected specifically for this purpose. The building would be used continuously until March 1884.

Sources
For more information about the School of Medicine’s history, see the list of published histories on our CWRU Archives Sources page. In addition to the published histories, information comes from records in the Case Western Reserve University Archives.
200 Events in 200 Years: 1840s 1840
About this time, compulsory manual labor was abandoned; however, voluntary manual labor continued. Pictured here is the manual labor shop after a fire. Students produced articles which were sold by the College. Part of the proceeds could be applied to the students' term bill.

1841
Alpha Delta Phi, the first fraternity at Western Reserve College, was established. Its founding members consisted of four seniors and two juniors.

1842
The early graduates received diplomas written in Latin. Since all students were required to study Latin, reading them was not a problem.

1843
The first classes were held by the Medical Department. Students had to contact each teacher to enroll in that teacher’s course, and pay a stated fee. Pictured is an example of the "admission ticket" required to enter the lecture hall.

1844
Expenses for the year at Western Reserve College included $30 for tuition and $1.50 for use of the library. Students were also expected to spend $1.00 per cord of wood and to provide (besides books) their own furniture and lights.

1845
Concerning the admission of students: "No person shall be admitted to membership in the College until he has completed his fourteenth year; … Every person proposing to become a member of the College, shall present satisfactory testimonials of good moral character, and sustain before one or more of the Faculty an approved examination…."

1846
The annual Junior Exhibition featured student orations and music.

1847
Phi Beta Kappa established the first Ohio Chapter (Alpha) at Western Reserve College.

1848
The "public phase" of a $100,000 fundraising campaign for endowment was launched. "Unless the whole sum of $60,000 [remaining] shall be subscribed by…Jan. 1st, 1850, the effort fails, the whole labor is lost, and the suspension of the College seems inevitable."

1849
Before online catalogs and even before card catalogs, the holdings of the Western Reserve College library were recorded in printed pamphlets. The 1849 Catalogue of Books Belonging to the Library of Western Reserve College is the earliest in the Archives. Regular return days for borrowed books were the 1st, 5th, 9th, and last Saturdays each term. The regulations also state that "No books are to be taken out of town."