College of California: Difference between revisions

College of California
College of California
	Location in Oakland
Location	NE corner of 13th & Franklin Sts., Oakland, California
Coordinates	37°48′12″N 122°16′13″W / 37.8033°N 122.2702°W
California Historical Landmark
Reference no.	45

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The College of California was a private college in Oakland, California. It was the functional predecessor of the public University of California, and the site of its first campus. It was established in 1853, and initially known as the Contra Costa Academy. In 1868, the College agreed to merge with the public Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College, which had been created by the state to take advantage of the Morrill Land-Grant Act. However, the private and public colleges ended up contributing assets and objectives to the new public university, which was formed as a new entity and was not an actual merger.

History[edit]

In 1853, in the recently established town of Oakland, California, noted educators Rev. Henry Durant and Dr. Samuel H. Willey founded the Contra Costa Academy^[1] to provide boys with a liberal arts education with a strong emphasis on the classics (i.e., Greek and Latin).^[2] It was nominally nonsectarian with a general Christian atmosphere, although its trustees, educators, and supporters consisted of a coalition of Congregationalists and Presbyterians.^[2]

This private college preparatory school grew quickly and by 1855, with the benefit of government grants and a new charter, the newly renamed College of California opened in what by then had become the city of Oakland, on the four blocks bounded by Twelfth, Fourteenth, Franklin and Harrison Streets. Despite the new name, it continued to operate as a college preparatory school, only adding college-level courses in 1860.^[2]

Within a few years, the downtown Oakland site had become too small, and in the eyes of the faculty the distractions of a growing city seemed unsuitable for scholarly pursuits. In 1866, the college trustees sought out a quieter, more rural site north of Oakland for their College. At a time when the East Bay region did not yet have its own municipal water system, they also needed to ensure access to water by buying a large farm to the east which included the headwaters of Strawberry Creek.^[3] They planned to finance this expansion by buying, developing and selling land to the south of the prospective college site. To this end, they formed the "College Homestead Association" and purchased 160 acres (65 hectares) of land north of Oakland on a site that is part of the City of Berkeley today.^[3] The college hired landscape architecture firm Olmsted, Vaux & Co. for recommendations on the site. Olmsted produced a 25-page survey and plan, dated June 29, 1866.^[4] Olmsted's work is now regarded as part of the legacy of UC Berkeley's planning, even though it was largely discarded.^[5]

The homestead plan might have worked if all 128 lots had sold out immediately.^[3] In reality, the lots sold much more slowly than expected, while high interest quickly accumulated on the loan used to buy the land.^[3] Undeterred, the trustees formed the "College Water Company", built a reservoir in Strawberry Canyon, and tried to make more money by selling running water to the homesteads and to nearby parts of Oakland.^[3]

At the same time, another setback was that although the college's trustees and supporters strongly believed in the importance of a liberal arts education, it turned out there was not much local interest in pursuing one at the college level.^[2]

Meanwhile, the State of California had established an Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College in 1866, but it existed only on paper as a placeholder to secure federal land-grant funds.^[2] In 1867, Governor Frederick Low suggested a merger of the already-functional and land-rich but cash-poor College of California with the state college, which had money but nothing else. On October 9, 1867, the college's trustees reluctantly agreed to the merger on the condition that the new institution would be a complete university with a liberal arts college (the College of Letters, now the College of Letters and Science).^[2] They were aware the new state institution would have to be entirely secular but recognized it was more important to find some way to preserve the College of California's liberal arts educational mission as part of the new university.^[2]

The University of California was chartered with the enactment of the Organic Act on March 23, 1868, although it continued to use the College of California's Oakland facilities while the campus at Berkeley was being built.^[1] As legally constituted, the new university was not an actual merger of the two colleges, but was an entirely new institution which merely inherited certain objectives and assets from each of them.^[6] Governor Henry Huntly Haight saw no need to honor any tacit understandings about institutional continuity which the College of California people thought they had reached with Governor Low.^[2] As Haight himself said, "these gentlemen expected to have a good deal to say about organizing the University, but I'll see that they don't".^[2] As a result, only two trustees of the College of California became regents of the university and Martin Kellogg was the only faculty member of the college hired by the new university.^[2] The College of California had been founded and run by Protestants, who were dismayed to discover that the university's Board of Regents included several men regarded as "indifferents and skeptics", along with a Jew and a Catholic.^[2]

By April 1869, the college's trustees were beginning to have second thoughts about their agreement to donate the college's assets to the state and disincorporate.^[7] Their failure to promptly comply with the agreement forced the regents to suspend the development of the university's planned campus on the college's land in Berkeley.^[7] To get the trustees to proceed as promised, regent John B. Felton helped them bring a "friendly suit" against the university to test that agreement's legality.^[7] The Supreme Court of California swiftly ruled against the college's trustees and upheld the agreement.^[7] Although another year of negotiations lay ahead, the court victory strengthened the regents' bargaining position and cleared the way for them to eventually receive the college's assets as expected.^[7] Twenty years later, Willey was still bitter about what he regarded as Haight's betrayal.^[2]

In September 1873, the university moved, with great ceremony, to Berkeley.^[1]

On December 6, 1932, the former site of the College of California in Oakland was designated as California Historical Landmark #45.^[1] As of May 2019, the site of the plaque at the corner of Franklin and 13th Street has been under construction as part of the Atlas development by Carmel Partners.^[8]^[9]

Notable alumni[edit]

Margaret Cairns Munns (1870-1957), teacher, social reformer, parliamentarian

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Site of College of California". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Marsden, George M. (1994). The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 134–40. ISBN 9780195106503.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Stadtman, Verne A. (1970). The University of California, 1868–1968. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 20.
^ Olmsted, Frederick Law (29 June 1866). Report Upon a Projected Improvement of the Estate of the College of California, at Berkeley, Near Oakland. Towne and Bacon. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
^ "University of California Berkeley". Cultural Landscape Foundation. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
^ Stadtman, Verne A. (1970). The University of California, 1868–1968. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 34.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Stadtman, Verne A. (1970). The University of California, 1868–1968. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 39.
^ "Atlas - Carmel Partners".
^ "Home". atlasoakland.com.

External links[edit]

Photographs and transcription of marker - Markeroni.com

[chl-1] "Site of College of California". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-03-30.

[Marsden-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Marsden, George M. (1994). The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 134–40. ISBN 9780195106503.

[Stadtman_Page_20-3] Stadtman, Verne A. (1970). The University of California, 1868–1968. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 20.

[4] Olmsted, Frederick Law (29 June 1866). Report Upon a Projected Improvement of the Estate of the College of California, at Berkeley, Near Oakland. Towne and Bacon. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

[5] "University of California Berkeley". Cultural Landscape Foundation. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

[Stadtman_Page_34-6] Stadtman, Verne A. (1970). The University of California, 1868–1968. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 34.

[Stadtman_Page_39-7] Stadtman, Verne A. (1970). The University of California, 1868–1968. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 39.

[8] "Atlas - Carmel Partners".

[9] "Home". atlasoakland.com.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{About|College of California|New College of California|New College of California}}
+{{more citations needed|date=November 2017}}
 {{Infobox historic site
 | name = College of California
@@ Line 5: / Line 6: @@
 | caption =
 | location= NE corner of 13th & Franklin Sts., [[Oakland, California]]
+| coordinates = {{coord|37.8033|-122.2702|region:US-CA_source:gnis-218162_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
-| latitude = 37.80325
-| longitude = -122.270217
-| coord_parameters = region:US-CA_source:gnis-218162_type:landmark
-| coord_display=inline, title
 | locmapin = United States Oakland
 | map_caption = Location in Oakland
@@ Line 19: / Line 17: @@
 }}
+The '''College of California''' was a private college in [[Oakland, California]]. It was the functional predecessor of the public [[University of California]], and the site of its first campus. It was established in 1853, and initially known as the '''Contra Costa Academy'''. In 1868, the College agreed to merge with the public Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College, which had been created by the state to take advantage of the [[Morrill Land-Grant Act]].  However, the private and public colleges ended up contributing assets and objectives to the new public university, which was formed as a new entity and was not an actual merger.
-The '''College of California''' was the predecessor of the [[University of California]] system of public universities.  The private college was founded in 1855 by noted educator Dr. Samuel H. Willey.  It was located in the recently established city of [[Oakland, California]].
+==History==
-In 1853, [[Henry Durant]] had founded the Contra Costa Academy<ref name=chl>{{cite ohp |id=45 |name=Site of College of California |accessdate=2012-03-30}}</ref> in Oakland with an eye to preparing students for his ultimate goal of establishing a Christian college.  By 1855, he was ready and the new college opened in Oakland on the block bounded by Twelfth, Fourteenth, Franklin and Harrison Streets.
+In 1853, in the recently established town of Oakland, California, noted educators Rev. [[Henry Durant]] and [[Dr. Samuel H. Willey]] founded the Contra Costa Academy<ref name=chl>{{cite ohp |id=45 |name=Site of College of California |accessdate=2012-03-30}}</ref> to provide boys with a [[liberal arts education]] with a strong emphasis on the [[classics]] (i.e., Greek and Latin).<ref name="Marsden">{{cite book|last1=Marsden|first1=George M.|title=The Soul of the American University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief|date=1994|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=9780195106503|pages=134–40|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9QOfEZrrLYC&pg=PA134}}</ref> It was nominally nonsectarian with a general Christian atmosphere, although its trustees, educators, and supporters consisted of a coalition of [[Congregational church|Congregationalists]] and [[Presbyterian Church in the United States of America|Presbyterians]].<ref name="Marsden" />
+This private [[University-preparatory school|college preparatory school]] grew quickly and by 1855, with the benefit of government grants and a new charter, the newly renamed College of California opened in what by then had become the city of Oakland, on the four blocks bounded by Twelfth, Fourteenth, Franklin and Harrison Streets.  Despite the new name, it continued to operate as a college preparatory school, only adding college-level courses in 1860.<ref name="Marsden" />
-In time, the Oakland site was considered unsuitable owing to the general rowdiness of the area.
+Within a few years, the downtown Oakland site had become too small, and in the eyes of the faculty the distractions of a growing city seemed unsuitable for scholarly pursuits. In 1866, the college trustees sought out a quieter, more rural site north of Oakland for their College.  At a time when the [[East Bay]] region did not yet have [[East Bay Municipal Utility District|its own municipal water system]], they also needed to ensure access to water by buying a large farm to the east which included the headwaters of [[Strawberry Creek]].<ref name="Stadtman_Page_20">{{cite book|last1=Stadtman|first1=Verne A.|title=The University of California, 1868–1968|url=https://archive.org/details/universityofcali00stad|url-access=registration|date=1970|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/universityofcali00stad/page/20 20]}}</ref>  They planned to finance this expansion by buying, developing and selling [[Southside, Berkeley, California|land to the south]] of the prospective college site.  To this end, they formed the "College Homestead Association" and purchased 160 acres (65 hectares) of land north of Oakland on a site that is part of the [[Berkeley, California|City of Berkeley]] today.<ref name="Stadtman_Page_20" /> The college hired landscape architecture firm [[Frederick Law Olmsted|Olmsted]], [[Calvert Vaux|Vaux]] & Co. for recommendations on the site.  Olmsted produced a 25-page survey and plan, dated June 29, 1866.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Olmsted |first1=Frederick Law |title=Report Upon a Projected Improvement of the Estate of the College of California, at Berkeley, Near Oakland |date=29 June 1866 |publisher=Towne and Bacon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m1tDAQAAMAAJ&q=frederick+law+olmsted+berkeley+california+1866 |accessdate=8 October 2018}}</ref> Olmsted's work is now regarded as part of the legacy of UC Berkeley's planning, even though it was largely discarded.<ref>{{cite web |title=University of California Berkeley |url=https://tclf.org/landscapes/university-california-berkeley |website=Cultural Landscape Foundation |accessdate=8 October 2018}}</ref>
-In 1866, the trustees of the College sought out a new site for the College.  They planned to finance this expansion by selling land in the vicinity of the prospective college site.  To this end, they formed the "College Homestead Association" and purchased 160 acres (65 hectares) of land north of Oakland on a site that is part of today's [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]].
+The homestead plan might have worked if all 128 lots had sold out immediately.<ref name="Stadtman_Page_20" />  In reality, the lots sold much more slowly than expected, while high interest quickly accumulated on the loan used to buy the land.<ref name="Stadtman_Page_20" />  Undeterred, the trustees formed the "College Water Company", built a reservoir in Strawberry Canyon, and tried to make more money by selling running water to the homesteads and to nearby parts of Oakland.<ref name="Stadtman_Page_20" />
-Sales of lots were less than had been hoped for.  Consequently, the trustees collaborated with the State of California's Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College to establish a public university.
+At the same time, another setback was that although the college's trustees and supporters strongly believed in the importance of a liberal arts education, it turned out there was not much local interest in pursuing one at the college level.<ref name="Marsden" />
-The University of California came into existence on March 23, 1868.  While the campus at Berkeley was being constructed, the new University used the buildings of the College of California in Oakland.  In September 1873, the University moved to Berkeley.<ref name=chl />
+Meanwhile, the State of California had established an Agricultural, Mining, and Mechanical Arts College in 1866, but it existed only on paper as a placeholder to secure federal land-grant funds.<ref name="Marsden" />  In 1867, Governor [[Frederick Low]] suggested a merger of the already-functional and land-rich but cash-poor College of California with the state college, which had money but nothing else.  On October 9, 1867, the college's trustees reluctantly agreed to the merger on the condition that the new institution would be a complete university with a liberal arts college (the College of Letters, now the [[UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science|College of Letters and Science]]).<ref name="Marsden" />  They were aware the new state institution [[Separation of church and state in the United States|would have to be entirely secular]] but recognized it was more important to find some way to preserve the College of California's liberal arts educational mission as part of the new university.<ref name="Marsden" />
-The site of the College of California in Oakland is now [[California Historical Landmark]] #45.<ref name=chl />
+The University of California was chartered with the enactment of the Organic Act on March 23, 1868, although it continued to use the College of California's Oakland facilities while the campus at Berkeley was being built.<ref name=chl />  As legally constituted, the new university was not an actual merger of the two colleges, but was an entirely new institution which merely inherited certain objectives and assets from each of them.<ref name="Stadtman_Page_34">{{cite book|last1=Stadtman|first1=Verne A.|title=The University of California, 1868–1968|url=https://archive.org/details/universityofcali00stad|url-access=registration|date=1970|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/universityofcali00stad/page/34 34]}}</ref>  Governor [[Henry Huntly Haight]] saw no need to honor any tacit understandings about institutional continuity which the College of California people thought they had reached with Governor Low.<ref name="Marsden" />  As Haight himself said, "these gentlemen expected to have a good deal to say about organizing the University, but I'll see that they don't".<ref name="Marsden" />  As a result, only two trustees of the College of California became [[Regents of the University of California|regents of the university]] and [[Martin Kellogg]] was the only faculty member of the college hired by the new university.<ref name="Marsden" />  The College of California had been founded and run by [[Protestantism in the United States|Protestants]], who were dismayed to discover that the university's Board of Regents included several men regarded as "[[Secularism|indifferents]] and [[Religious skepticism|skeptics]]", along with a [[American Jews|Jew]] and a [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholic]].<ref name="Marsden" />
+By April 1869, the college's trustees were beginning to have second thoughts about their agreement to donate the college's assets to the state and disincorporate.<ref name="Stadtman_Page_39">{{cite book|last1=Stadtman|first1=Verne A.|title=The University of California, 1868–1968|url=https://archive.org/details/universityofcali00stad|url-access=registration|date=1970|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/universityofcali00stad/page/39 39]}}</ref>  Their failure to promptly comply with the agreement forced the regents to suspend the development of the university's [[Campus of the University of California, Berkeley|planned campus]] on the college's land in Berkeley.<ref name="Stadtman_Page_39" /> To get the trustees to proceed as promised, regent [[John B. Felton]] helped them bring a "friendly suit" against the university to test that agreement's legality.<ref name="Stadtman_Page_39" />  The [[Supreme Court of California]] swiftly ruled against the college's trustees and upheld the agreement.<ref name="Stadtman_Page_39" />  Although another year of negotiations lay ahead, the court victory strengthened the regents' bargaining position and cleared the way for them to eventually receive the college's assets as expected.<ref name="Stadtman_Page_39" />  Twenty years later, Willey was still bitter about what he regarded as Haight's betrayal.<ref name="Marsden" />
+In September 1873, the university moved, with great ceremony, to Berkeley.<ref name=chl />
+On December 6, 1932, the former site of the College of California in Oakland was designated as [[California Historical Landmark]] #45.<ref name=chl /> As of May 2019, the site of the plaque at the corner of Franklin and 13th Street has been under construction as part of the Atlas development by Carmel Partners.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.carmelpartners.com/property/atlas/|title=Atlas - Carmel Partners}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.atlasoakland.com/ |title=Home |website=atlasoakland.com}}</ref>
+==Notable alumni==
+* [[Margaret Cairns Munns]] (1870-1957), teacher, social reformer, parliamentarian
 == References ==
@@ Line 37: / Line 47: @@
 ==External links==
-[http://www.markeroni.com/catalog/display.php?code=CA_0045 Photographs and transcription of marker] - Markeroni.com
+* [https://archive.today/20150504010444/http://www.markeroni.com/catalog/display.php?code=CA_0045 Photographs and transcription of marker] - Markeroni.com
 {{DEFAULTSORT:College Of California}}
@@ Line 47: / Line 56: @@
 [[Category:Education in Oakland, California]]
 [[Category:California Historical Landmarks]]
-[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1855]]
+[[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1855]]
-[[Category:19th century in Oakland, California]]
+[[Category:1855 establishments in California]]