We offer an intimate look at 160 years of Cornell College history
through objects that tell stories about student life, academics, the Hilltop,
and how the college was shaped by the larger world.
Photos by Envisage Studios
With gratitude to historians William Heywood, Richard Thomas, and
Charles Milhauser, and especially to college archivist and librarian Mary Iber.
Click on any of the images below to see a full-screen slideshow.
Amphictyon Literary Society frame:
From 1853 until the 1920s, literary societies were the primary social outlet for Cornell students. Amphictyon was the first, founded by Principal Samuel Fellows just days after Cornell opened its doors. After 1927 the societies disbanded and some became social groups. Two of those still remain active: the Milts, descended from the Miltonian Literary Society, and the Arrows, descended from the Aonian Literary Society.
Anamosa Limestone:
This dolomitic limestone is approximately 430 million years old and was quarried locally. Anamosa Limestone provided the building materials for King Chapel, as well as the foundations of numerous buildings on campus. Cornell’s geology department—the first in Iowa, with instruction beginning in 1855—offered this sturdy specimen.
Ginko Tree:
When Cornell was founded, this magnificent tree—now the state’s largest ginkgo—probably already graced the Hilltop. The tree is a majestic backdrop for gatherings on the President’s lawn, and legend has it that female students may see the image of their beloved in the mirror while brushing their hair beneath its boughs on a moonlit night.
1853 Iowa Seminary Catalog:
When Cornell was founded in 1853, it wasn’t Cornell yet. It was the brainchild of itinerant preacher George Bowman, and was founded as the Iowa Conference Seminary. Despite the name the school was more than a religious institution. The 1854 catalogue declared: “Those wishing to pursue a full course of liberal studies will be instructed in all the branches, Mathematical, Classical and Philosophical, usually pursued in the best schools.”
College Hall Keys:
These keys were given to future president William Fletcher King when he arrived on campus in 1862, and unlocked the front door to College Hall, as well as his office. College Hall marked the shift from the Iowa Conference Seminary to Cornell College, and was part of an early expansion of the campus and a way of realizing the school’s ambitions to produce graduates grounded in the precepts of the traditional liberal arts and sciences.
Academy Diploma:
From 1853 until 1923 Cornell was more than a college; it was a high school as well. There was a practical necessity in this: Before Cornell, the only educational options in the Mount Vernon area were one-room schoolhouses and private tutoring. Cornell needed a high school to prepare students for college-level work. And the preparation was solid—the courses were taught in the same buildings, and often by the same instructors, as the college courses.
Civil War Flag:
This flag was made by four Cornell women and given to a Cornell High School student going off to fight for the Union in the Civil War. The war pitted brother against brother, and, in one case, Cornellian against Cornellian. John Alexander Bonaparte Putnam, who fought for the Confederacy, found that one of the men his company was holding prisoner was a fellow alumnus and helped him escape.
Architectural Plans for King Chapel: In 1874 the board of trustees wanted a chapel worthy of Cornell’s ambitions, and hired Chicago architect Cass Chapman to design the building. It would take eight years (and nearly bankrupt the college) but in 1882 the chapel, with its gothic towers and painted glass windows, opened. Today it bears the name of the man who worked hard to ensure its building and the survival of the college, president William Fletcher King.
Gradebook from 1892:
What would college be without grades? Times have changed the way those grades are recorded, but for more than a century grade books like this one from an 1892 logic course were the way faculty members kept track of students’ progress.
Meneely Bell:
From their installation in 1882 until the 1950s, four bells made by the Meneely Company in New York—2,000, 500, 275, and 110 pounds—tolled the hours from their perch atop the tower of King Chapel. A fifth Meneely bell hung in the cupola of College Hall until 1977, when a crack was discovered. That bell was replaced with the 500-pound bell from King Chapel, and it was destroyed in September 2012 when lightning struck the College Hall cupola. The hourly tones heard on campus now are made by the carillon in King Chapel, which was installed in 1950.
Master’s Thesis on Evolution and Creationism:
In 1894 the first mention of evolution appears in a Cornell College catalog. It was taught by William Harman Norton, Class of 1875. By 1897 evolution had its own course at the college. Norton was both a committed Darwinian and a religious man, and while the teaching of evolution was controversial elsewhere, it appears never to have caused concern at Cornell. This is the second oldest student thesis in the Cornell archives. It was customary at that time for the college to award master’s degrees, upon payment of a fee, to graduates of good moral character engaged in an intellectual or professional pursuit.
Moose Head:
The moose head that has resided since 1925 in Law Hall—and from which Moosehead Lounge takes its name—is the sole survivor of a natural history museum the college once operated. The moose disappeared briefly in 1982, but since 2000 it has watched over students as they study or relax.
The Rock:
History can be heavy, and very little on this list is heavier than The Rock, which weighs in at 5,000 pounds. First dragged to campus in 1889, the granite boulder has been stolen, buried, moved countless times, and painted countless more. Its current location between Old Sem and King Chapel makes it an ideal billboard for bragging from Greek groups, and, on at least one occasion, a marriage proposal.
May Music Festival Program:
For 100 years, the spring air in Mount Vernon was filled with the sound of music. In 1899 the college presented its first May Music Festival, the first such festival west of Chicago. Its rosters featured the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (which performed 63 times including in this 1901 program) and many of the greatest classical and jazz musicians the world had to offer.
Glass Negative of Mount Vernon Railroad Tracks:
Cornell’s campus wouldn’t be the same without the regular passage of trains and their whistles, which punctuate the silence. The railroad came in 1859, just six years after the founding of the college, and made Mount Vernon a crossroads for commerce. It also made it easier for students from around the region to reach Cornell, which had a major impact on enrollment.
Alma Mater Copyright:
The college’s alma mater, “Cornell, Greater Be Thy Name” was written by T. Stanley Skinner, with lyrics by Jennie Francis Cook (Class of 1910), and have reminded Cornellians for more than 100 years of both the accomplishments and promise of their college.
William Fletcher King Bust:
Beside founder George Bowman, no one was as important to Cornell during its first decades as was William Fletcher King. He arrived on campus in 1862 as a professor, and by 1863 he was interim president. He would remain as president for 45 years, finally retiring in 1908. His fundraising prowess and leadership saw the college through difficult years in the 1870s, when it faced bankruptcy because of the construction costs of what later became known as King Chapel.
Lincoln Highway Marker:
Mount Vernon was built on the Military Road, which ran from Dubuque to the Iowa-Missouri border. In 1913 the Lincoln Highway, the country’s first transcontinental road, was built, and ran through Mount Vernon on its way to Marion, Cedar Rapids, and points west. In the ensuing decades the automobile would almost entirely replace the train for interstate travel, and the highway passing through town, much like the railroad in the previous century, made it easy to get to and from Cornell.
Roe Howard Distinguished Service Cross:
More than a dozen Cornellians died from wounds or disease during World War I. Roe Howard (Class of 1917) was the most distinguished, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism on the battlefield. He died in battle Oct. 16, 1918—less than a month before the armistice. Howard was a Mount Vernon native and founder of Beta Omicron, better known as the Owls.
Homecoming Program:
Starting in 1913 Cornell has hosted Homecoming, a gathering of alumni and students to celebrate the college and reconnect with old friends. One highlight of the weekend is the Saturday football game where Cornellians gather to cheer on their Rams as they fight, fight, fight for victory.
Ticket to the Pal:
For 14 years an interurban railway made it easier than ever for Cornell students to enjoy the beauty of what’s now Palisades-Kepler State Park. By the late 1920s the advent of the car meant the railway wasn’t needed, but recreation at the park still was. Starting with an illicit “Flunk Day” in 1920, Cornell students headed to the park for a day of spring recreation for nearly 50 years in a tradition known more genteelly as “Pal Day.”
Phi Beta Kappa Pin: Since 1923 Cornell has been one of fewer than 300 colleges in the United States to shelter a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
Cornell Pennant:
There are a lot of ways to show support for your alma mater, and one of the most visible is a college pennant like this one from the 1920s. The triangular flag, descended from the ways ships once signaled each other, is now a signal of loyalty to Cornell. And the pennant is still going strong—admitted students get a pennant with their acceptance letters, and dozens of alumni have participated in the Purple Pennant Project, taking photos of themselves with a Cornell pennant in places around the world.
“The Husk” Literary Journal:
For 45 years Cornell’s English department published The Husk, a literary journal. It featured short stories, essays, and poems by students, faculty and, occasionally, well-known writers. One of those was Carl Sandburg, who was a regular visitor to Cornell from 1920 through 1951.
“Beat Coe” Button:
Cornell found an athletic archrival in nearby Coe. Starting in 1891 the colleges faced off each year in football, making theirs the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi. The archive houses numerous buttons such as this one, exhorting the Cornell squad to fight for victory in their alma mater’s name.
Ben Van Etten’s Letter Sweater:
Athletics is about fitness and competition, yes, but it’s also about pride in yourself, your team, and your school. For decades that pride was expressed by the wearing of a letter sweater. This sweater belonged to Ben Van Etten ’26, who was married to longtime English professor Winifred Mayne Van Etten ’25.
Dance Card:
Until 1926 dancing was strictly forbidden. But that year, students voted to hold a dance in defiance of the rules. It angered the board of trustees, but they eventually acquiesced. Until 1931, however, students had to have a signed permission form to attend dances
Student-drawn Map of Campus:
Cornell’s physical campus has changed slowly over the past 160 years, but those changes add up to a dramatic difference. From just a handful of buildings at the turn of the 20th century, Cornell now has 129 acres and dozens of buildings. Though it has expanded, those historic buildings remain in use, which is one of the reasons it was the first campus to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Map by Eva McCalley Heefner ’33.)
Freshman Beanie:
For 55 years Cornell freshmen had to display a symbol of their newness to the college—the beanie. Introduced in 1916, the beanies were worn the entire year, unless the freshmen males beat the sophomores in tug of war, or later, climbing a greased pole to capture a flag.
Winifred Van Etten’s Copy of “I am the Fox”:
In 1935 Winifred Mayne Van Etten ’26 was fired from her teaching position at Cornell—she was newly married and administrators thought it was unethical to keep a married woman on staff when so many single women needed jobs. She used her time off to write a book that would go on to be a bestseller and hailed as an icon of modernist literature. The book, “I am the Fox,” was submitted by another longtime Cornell English professor, Clyde “Toppy” Tull, and won the Atlantic Monthly’s $10,000 prize for 1936. After the publication of her only novel, she was rehired and taught at Cornell until 1968.
NCAA Wrestling Trophy:
Cornell has been the first to do a lot of things, but one of the most prominent firsts is the wrestling team that was the first outside of Oklahoma—and to this day from the smallest college—to win the NCAA wrestling tournament. The story is chronicled in Arno Neiman’s book “The Dream Team of 1947.”
Naval Flight Preparatory School Dance Program:
From 1943 through 1946 Cornell was host to more than just students. Naval recruits were on campus, about 600 at a time, and nearly 4,000 in all, to take part in the Naval Flight Preparatory School. The recruits lived in Bowman, Merner, Rood, and Guild halls and ate in Bowman Hall. They used 24 classrooms in Law and College halls and shared the gym with Cornell students. Cadet Dennis Weaver’s name appears in this program. He later became famous as Chester in “Gunsmoke.”
Blue-line Manuscript of “Song of Affirmation”:
Cornell’s centennial year of 1953 was marked with a number of celebrations and pageants, and one of the largest was the premiere of a piece by Norman Dello Joio, one of the foremost composers of his time. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the college’s Oratorio society performed the work at the May Music Festival that year.
Association of Women Students Handbook: For decades the college’s Association of Women Students was in charge of minor disciplinary matters and regulating the life of women on campus. The handbook covered matters such as dress code, visiting hours for men, obtaining permission for staying out later than 7:40 p.m., and signing in and out. By the late 1960s the regulations were being relaxed, and by the 1970s such restrictions were a thing of the past.
Alpha Chi Epsilon (AXE) pin:
Greek life at Cornell grew out of the literary and secret societies of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Now there are 14 local fraternities and sororities on campus, and about a third of students belong to Greek organizations. In the 1960s Alpha Chi Epsilon (AXE) serenaded women who were “pinned” by a member. This is the AXE pin Doug Kirkpatrick ’65 gave to Joanie Landquist Kirkpatrick ’66 in 1964 to signify that they were “going steady.” They have been married for 46 years.
“Dumpf” button:
Cornell has a long history of student dissent, from men in the 1880s refusing to live in South Hall under the supervision of the faculty, to the 1968 takeover of Old Sem by 30 students who demanded better representation and more courses on African-American history and culture. The latter event undermined the Samuel Stumpf presidency, and student protests continued into the ’70s with buttons like this, which urged the college to “Dumpf” Stumpf.
Kaypro Computer:
The first computer arrived on campus in 1967, an IBM 1130 that was shared between the business office and academic departments. By 1971 the college was offering courses in computer science, and it was offered as a major starting in 1983. During that time computers moved from unwieldy beasts to smaller models like the college’s first personal computers, the Kaypro.
Commons Union Board (CUB) Stamp:
Since it opened in January 1966 the building now known as the Thomas Commons was the center of student life. It gave students one place to eat, check their mail, socialize, and meet with their organizations. It also provided a location for meetings and entertainments, and, of course, was—and is—home to the Orange Carpet, a kind of living room for students. The Commons Union Board was a student organization that helped book and facilitate events in the building.
Cornell Gala Invite:
Money matters—it keeps the college’s doors open, and makes it possible to offer a great education and great facilities. This invitation is for a 1990 gala at which it was announced that Richard Small ’50 and his wife, honorary alumna Norma Thomas Small, gave the largest gift in Cornell’s history, $20 million. And in 2010 Cornell announced that it had raised more money than any other private liberal arts college in Iowa during its Extraordinary Opportunities Campaign.
George Bowman Portrait:
George Bowman was persistent, devoutly Methodist, and a master fundraiser. Before his founding of Cornell, he raised money to start several churches, including one near Mount Vernon. After founding the college he spent more than a decade as president of its board of trustees, and supported it even afterward, donating half the cost of building the women’s residence hall that bears his name. His portrait, nearly life-sized, looks out into the auditorium lobby of King Chapel.
New Student Orientation Service Shirt:
Each year, Cornell welcomes new students, and for nearly 20 years part of that welcome has included a day of service. The service day is part of the college’s longtime commitment to civic engagement, and the goal is a student body committed to serving its community.
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Tree:
In the 1980s, Cornell planted a pine tree near King Chapel to honor Martin Luther King Jr., who spoke at Cornell in 1962. Its history has been a difficult one; the tree has been vandalized and even cut down. But each time it has been replanted, and Ken Morris, Cornell’s director of intercultural life, thinks that makes it a good symbol of the civil rights movement, as each time the college came together and replanted the tree as a commitment to King and the cause of equality.
Student Symposium Sponsor Nametag:
Student research, independently undertaken and supervised by the college faculty, is a major part of the experiential education Cornell provides. Every year since 1997 students who performed original research or took part in internships and fellowships have had a forum in the Student Symposium. Past presentations—some of which include performances and dramatic readings—have included reconstructing ancient changes in climate, examining the role of racism in health care, and explaining the evolution of the Lindy Hop dance craze.
Laptop Computer:
Computing grew fast in colleges—from mainframes to personal computers, from basic data connections to always-on, high-speed WiFi. Now, virtually every student on campus brings a computer, and many have laptops or tablets, which are a nearly universal presence as students take notes in class.
Ram from Rams All Around:
Inspired by public art projects in cities around the country, Cornell launched Rams All Around, a Homecoming display of 74 wooden rams decorated by Cornell and Mount Vernon sponsors to raise awareness of the college’s sesquicentennial. After Homecoming the Rams returned to their creators and now live all around the Mount Vernon area. This ram still resides at the Bijou movie theatre.
Ram Mascot:
Ever since 1948 the mascot of Cornell has been the Ram, and it’s gone through many incarnations, from a real, live member of the genus ovis, to a drawing of a tough-looking sheep sporting a baseball cap, to a student or staff member dressed in a costume. The latest version of the Ram, known as Ulysses, arrived in 2010 after a fire damaged the previous costume.
Cell Phone:
It took nearly 100 years—from 1899, when the Mount Vernon Telephone Company was founded, until 1983—for students at Cornell to get telephones in their rooms. In the intervening years they had to share phones in common areas. In the early 20th century, for example, there was one phone in Bowman Hall for all 99 residents. The use of land lines in student rooms was short lived, however, as almost every student now has a cell phone, and many have smart phones, meaning they’re in touch everywhere they go.
Costume from Romeo and Juliet:
Like several items on this list, theater was once forbidden, and students were banned from performing on campus or attending shows off campus. But in 1899 students put on a translation of “Sophocles” with the permission of the faculty. Since then the theatre program has gathered national accolades, including a listing in the Princeton Review as one of the top 15 programs in the nation. Throughout the years Shakespeare has been a theater mainstay. (Gown designed by Jenny Nutting Kelchen.)
Block Clock:
Cornell’s One Course At A Time curriculum is one of its defining characteristics, and has been since 1978. Art professor Tony Plaut ’78 built this clock using bicycle parts and a motor to tell the day and week of the block. OCAAT alumni often say they miss the block schedule rhythm, especially those four-day block breaks.
Student ID:
It’s more than just a picture—it’s an electronic passport to the things students need around campus. The IDs open doors, keep track of students’ dining plans, provide copy and printing privileges, and allow access to library books and events.
