On October 6, Jason Lee and his party of Methodist missionaries pitch camp in the homeland of the Kalapuya Indians, a few miles north of the present site of Salem. Soon afterward, Lee opens a mission school, the Indian Mission Manual Labor School, for Native children.
1834
A BOLD VISION By Tina Owen
The state of Oregon didn’t exist yet. Portland was a small village of 700 people. Some 13,000 white settlers occupied a vast territory ranging from present-day Oregon up to Washington and across to the Rocky Mountains. Yet, in this setting, a group of missionaries decided to establish a university in Salem. Against the odds, their bold vision became reality. From modest beginnings, Willamette University grew in size, influence and reputation to become a leading Pacific Northwest institution. As the university celebrates its 175th anniversary this year, here are some key moments from along the way.
1875 Willamette’s campus newspaper, The Collegian, begins monthly publication.
1880 A reference to the College of Liberal Arts appears for the first time in university publications.
1891 University Hall is damaged by fire. 1892 The school colors of cardinal and gold are chosen.
1883 The College of Law is established.
1915 Carl Gregg Doney becomes Willamette’s president, serving until 1934. Doney declares the official school mascot to be a “Bearcat.”
1916 The Oregon Institute closes following the development of public high schools. 1919 Willamette’s first sorority, Beta Chi, and fraternity, Sigma Tau, are organized.
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SPRING 2017
1872 The university includes an elementary school, a Commercial Department open to male and female students, a Music Department and a Medical Department (which moves to Portland in 1880 and in 1913 merges with the University of Oregon College of Medicine).
1894 Willamette plays its first football game against another institution, beating Polytechnic Institute 20-2.
1912 University Hall is renamed Waller Hall in honor of the Rev. Alvan Waller, a founding trustee who served the university until his death in 1872.
1920 Waller Hall is repaired following a fire the previous December. A new women’s dormitory, Lausanne Hall, replaces a previous one with the same name that was demolished.
1870 The university catalog of 1870-71 first uses the name Willamette University.
1909 Freshman Glee begins, Eaton Hall is completed and the Kimball School of Theology (which closes in 1930) is established.
1923 A large brick gymnasium, which later becomes the theatre building, replaces the older frame structure that burned down two years previously.
1927 Willamette earns accreditation from the Association of American Universities.