Page:Life of Isaiah V Williamson.djvu/137

Rh From the first he sought to give them an absolutely free hand, whether in large things or small. He had picked his men, and he felt that he could safely put on their shoulders the burden of management. Some of the Trustees doubted the wisdom of placing the School in the country. Mr. Baird particularly favored a city location. But all deferred to the feeling of the donor. As soon as the school scheme became known in a general way, they were, of course, beset with offers of country estates, and something like two hundred possible sites eventually came under discussion.

The first actual trip of inspection occurred toward the end of January, when Isaiah Williamson accompanied the Trustees in a special train, to examine the old Sharon Farm in Bucks County. They were shown every courtesy by officials of the Newtown Railroad and local representatives. The farm was seen to be admirable in many ways, but its distance of a mile or so from the railroad operated against it in the final choice. Williamson, though physically feeble and needing to be