Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/882

578 Rev. W. J. Monteith as principal; which developed into the Albany College a year later when Walter and Thomas Monteith donated seven acres of land for a site, and the citizens generally subscribed $8,000 to erect a permanent building, and at which time by decision of public meeting and general assent the land and property was conveyed to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church for educational purposes.

THE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTEEIANS

The pioneer of the Cumberland Presbyterians was Rev. J. A. Cornwall from Arkansas, who reached Oregon in 18-16. Cornwall was the only ordained minis-, ter of this church in Oregon until 1851, when Neill Johnson of Illinois and Joseph Robertson, of Tennessee, arrived. By direction of Synod of Missouri these ministers met at the house of Samuel Allen in Marion county in 1852, and organized the Oi-egon presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian church, Rev. W. A. Sweeney, another minister of that denomination, being present. At this meeting there were, in addition to the ministers, five ruling elders present who had partially organized congregations, as follows: John Purvine from Abiqua, Joseph Carmack from La Creole, Jesse C. Henderson from Yamhill, David Allen from Tualatin and D. M. Keene from Santiam. There were at that time four licentiates in the territory licensed to preach, viz: B. F. Music, John Dillard, Wm. Jolly and Luther White; and the whole numbers in communion was 103.

In 1853 an effort was made to raise funds to found a college in the interest of this denomination, which resulted in securing subscriptions to the amount of $20,000, of which $4,000 was available, and was expended in erecting a building at Eugene City, in which a school was opened in November, 1856, with E. P. Henderson, a graduate of Waynesburgh College, Pennsylvania, as principal teacher, with fifty-two students. Within four days after this auspicious opening the building was destroyed by a fire believed to have been set by an incendiary enemy. Another building was rented, and the school continued until a second building was erected, and the second session of the school doubled the number of students. The attendance of pupils increased to 150 in 1857; but again on the night of February 26, 1858, the second building was destroyed by fire. Determined to defeat the imp of incendiarism that dogged the path of this energetic church, a third building was commenced to be built of stone. But before it was completed a division took place in the ranks of the supporters of the infant college on the question of reading the Bible with prayers in the school; and being outvoted, the opponents of prayers withdrew their support, and the unfinished building was sold by the sheriff to pay off the mechanicsliens. After two more terms of school in a rented building. Parson Henderson seeing no hope for the future, closed the doors of his school, and thus ended the Cumberland Presbyterian College enterprise. But these labors of the zealous Presbyterians w^ere not without fruits. Out of this effort germinated the impulse to secure the State University for Eugene. At the legislative session of 1857-8 an act was passed incorporating the Union University Association, section 4 of which provides: ' ' That the utmost care shall be taken to avoid every species of preference for any sect or party, either religious or political."