amline niversityThe Founding of Minnesota’s

First UniversityH U

By Kelly Reller

The Methodist Protestant Church separated itself from the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1830 over the issue of congregational power. Ten years later, the remaining Methodist Episcopal Church found itself divided over the issue of slavery. At 1844’s General Conference , it was determined that the church would be split into two conferences to accomodate the growing tensions over bishop powers and the allowance of slavery. The resulting divisions were the Methodist Episcopal Church-South, and its northern namesake. Just over 95 years passed until The Methodist Protestant Church and the regional Methodist Episcopal churches reunited to form The First United Methodist Church in 1939. It was during the decades of separation within the Methodist Church that a preacher

by the name of Leonidas Lent Hamline rose to prominence. The young reverend had spent his first years of preaching in congregations throughout the Midwest, and would continue to make a lasting impression on not only the Methodist Church, but also the development of higher education in the Midwest.

A statue of Hamline stands at the center of the St.

Paul campus.

Leonidas Lent Hamline (1797-1865), although

born in Connecticut, began

his professional career by practicing law in Ohio before

turning to the ministry of the

Methodist Church in 1830.

He took on a pivotal role in the shaky

1844 General Conference in

Louisville, of which he was a legislative

member.

Hamline was responsible for the creation of the plan to divide the Church between the North and South in effort to diffuse

slavery tensions. Now “Bishop Hamline”, he set his sights to the North.

Map denotes areas of practicing Methodists in 1850 (darker shades denote denser member

population). Note: Minnesota had not yet been admitted to the Union (1858)

In 1837, Methodist missionary Alfred Brunson brought the religion to the then-territory of Minnesota in his teachings to the Dakota tribes in Kaposia (present-day South St. Paul). With a growing population of Methodists, 1856 brought the conference of the Northern Methodist Episcopal Church to be centered in present-day Red Wing, MN. Bishop Hamline saw Minnesota as the ideal location for his vision of a Methodist institution of higher education.

On March 3rd 1854, the Minnesota territorial legislature granted a charter for what would become the first state university "at some point on the Mississippi between St. Paul and Lake Pepin.” Two months later, Bishop Hamline offered $25,000 for the creation of an institution of higher education with an affiliation with the Methodist Church. Red Wing, the center of Methodist activity, was determined to be the site of construction for the university. Construction began on a hillside overlooking the Mississippi River. 73 students attended class above a general store in Red Wing for the first semester before the first building was completed in early 1856.

Hamline University opened its doors to both women and men from the first day, despite the male-only admissions of most colleges of the day. Jabez Brooks, a Wesleyan graduate, served as the first president, followed by renowned Methodist preacher Reverend Benjamin F. Crary in 1857. Hamline University’s increasing prestige attracted students from Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

3 Areas of Study offered at 1857

Hamline University

Classical ProgramGreek, Latin, English language and literature, and mathematics

Scientific CourseStudies of the classical program but substituted German for Greek and Latin

Lady Baccalaureate of ArtsA separate course for women, omitting Greek and abridging Latin and mathematics while introducing French and German and the fine arts

The first graduating class of Hamline University received their diplomas in 1859. Two members of the class were women—sisters Elizabeth A. and Emily R. Sorin (shown below). They were the first female college graduates in Minnesota as part of the state’s first class of graduates.

The onset of the Civil War in 1861 led to a significant drop in enrollment. 119 Hamline male students served in the Union Army during the war. Consequently, there was no graduating class in 1862 at Hamline.

Due to financial hardship and a shockingly low enrollment, Hamline University closed its doors on June 6th, 1869. In 1871, a charter was granted to Hamline University for a move to St. Paul. The Panic of 1873 delayed the project, however. After reorganizing its financial situation, the institution began reconstruction at its new location in 1875.

Hamline University’s doors opened once again in 1870 in its new home of St. Paul. David Clarke John was named president, and 113 students enrolled in the first semester. The university continued to serve as Minnesota’s top private institution.

Hamline UniversitySt. Paul, 1885

Hamline UniversitySt. Paul, 2013

Today, Hamline University has an undergraduate enrollment of 2,140

students. Students choose between over 50 areas of study, and the Hamline Pipers compete in NCAA

Division III Athletics. Graduate studies are

offered in law, education, business, and liberal arts.

The founding of Hamline University is entirely indebted to the vision of Bishop

Leonidas Lent Hamline and the

spread of the Methodist faith in

Minnesota. Minnesota’s first

university continues to prosper and serve as a private liberal arts college with an affiliation with the United Methodist

Church. “Religio, Literae,

Libertas”

WorksCitedAsher, Hellen D. A Frontier College of the Middle West: Hamline University, 1854-’69. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. Print.

Hibbard, F. G. Biography of Rev. Leonidas L. Hamline, D.D. Cincinnati : Jennings and Pye, 1881. Print.

www.dbpedia.org www.hamline.eduwww.minnesotaumc.orgwww.umc.org