Welcome to Mansfield University: Our History. This site was launched in 2007 as part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Mansfield University and Mansfield Borough.
As far as we can find, we are the only borough and university to share such an anniversary. The two entities have always been interconnected in many different ways as you'll see on the site.
Note: This site was created by Steve Orner in 2007 and has not been regularly updated. We will update as time allows.
It's difficult to separate the birth of Mansfield Classical Seminary and the chartering of the town of Mansfield. The University was founded by citizens of the village of Mansfield and the surrounding townships. Many of the signatures of the Seminaries Charter are the same as those on the town charter.
In May or June, Joseph S. Hoard discusses with Dr. J.P. Morris, Rev. H.N. Seaver, Alvin Gaylord and others the idea of building a school of a higher education institution in Mansfield. Only Dr. Morris is in agreement. Finally after several meetings among the townspeople it's agreed upon to construct a building at a cost of $12,000. A charter is written on December 12th.
Dr. Joseph P. Morris builds his home, the Wren's Nest, and sells 6 acres of land on the eastern hill overlooking Mansfield to build the new school.
The Mansfield Iron works is under construction.
February 15th, the Classical Seminary is organized at Mansfield under the patronage of the East Genesee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church of New York.
April, Rev. Jabez R. Jaques is hired to be the first Principal. His wife Harriott L. Jaques will be the Preceptress.
On November 28th, 57 citizens petition the court to turn the village of Mansfield into a borough.
On January 7th, Mansfield Classical Seminary opens its doors to 105 students. On February 13th, the Village of Mansfield is incorporated as a borough.
At 10 a.m. on April 22nd, with a foot of snow on the ground, the Mansfield Classical Seminary burns to the ground. There are no injuries. Immediately after the fire the founders vow to persevere and reconstruct an even bigger and better building.
Other 1857 facts.
Mansfield Classical Seminary rebuilt and reopens November 23 to some 30 students. Rev. James Landreth is elected Principal and Miss Julia A. Hosmer is named preceptress.
Millersville is recognized as the first State Normal School.
First oil well drilled in Titusville by Edwin Drake. John Brown leads revolt, attacks arsenal at Harpers Ferry.
Reverend Landreth resigns, and Reverend Holt succeeds him under some protest.
April, Rev. Edwin Wildman succeeds Rev. Holt as principal of the Seminary.
Joseph S. Hoard organizes a company of volunteers to prepare for the Civil War called the Tioga Mountaineers. Mansfield Soldiers Aid Society holds dinner for the Mountaineers in the Seminary dining hall before their departure to Harrisburg in late October.
Simon B. Elliott in the State Legislature in January offers the resolution upon which the State is finally, in April to arm the state militias to protect and defend the Union.
The Civil War begins!
Edinboro is recognized as a State Normal School.
John P. Charlton of Philadelphia invents America's first postcard. Julius Sturgis opens America's first pretzel bakery in Lititz, Pa.
S.B. Elliott makes application for Mansfield Classical Seminary to become a State Normal School. It is accepted in December as the third state normal school in the 5th District of Pennsylvania.
Battle of Antietam occurs with 23,582 American casualties. Both sides lose an equal number of men.
Mansfield borough passes an ordinance prohibiting the piling of waste in the streets, hitching horses to shade trees, shooting fire crackers or guns, horse racing, and driving or leading horses or cattle on the sidewalks.
Reverend Wildman ceases to be principal, and Reverend Taylor assumes the job for a period of one year.
The Battle of Gettysburg takes place with over 50,000 casualties.
The Honorable John Magee loans Mansfield State Normal School $6500 to help with its debt.
July, Professor Fordyce A. Allen becomes principal of the Normal for a period of five years.
The first student organization, The Normal Literary, is organized at the school.
April 22, "In God We Trust" appears on U.S. coins for the first time.
The Civil War Ends on April 2nd. The 13th Amendment is ratified. President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated just six days after Lee's surrender.
Lewis Carol publishes Alice's Adventure in Wonderland.
Kutztown is recognized as a State Normal School.
Lizzie Ames is the first graduate of Mansfield State Normal School, along with 14 other students. Sarah Woodruff is the first graduate to pass away -- one month after graduation.
Mansfield Normal's first gymnasium is built.
Mary Walker becomes the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor for her work as a Civil War surgeon.
Mansfield's Soldiers Orphan School is organized by Fordyce A. Allen.
The St. James Episcopal Church is chartered.
The Normal School baseball team plays its first game ever against a Wellsboro team.
U.S. purchases Alaska from Russia for $7 million.
Gustav A. Dentzel builds the nation's first carousel in Philadelphia.
Prof. Allen builds large home directly across from the Normal school on Academy street.
The Normal School Alumni Association is organized and holds its first reunion at the home of Prof. Allen and his wife in the fall.
Professor Allen steps down as principle in the spring. Prof. J.T. Streit assumes position, but would pass away in November. Prof. Charles Verrill assumes the post.
Mart King started his Furniture Factory.
The Suez Canal Opened on November 17th.
Transcontinental Rail Service begun in the United States.
The Athenian Literary Society is organized at the Normal.
The Waffle Iron is patented by Cornelius Swarthout.
The St. James Church was built on a large lot donated by Dr. J.P Morris.
The Bank building is built on the south east corner of Main Street and what will become Rt. 6
West Chester is recognized as a State Normal School.
The Mansfield State Normal School Alumni Association charter is signed.
Sarah P. Lewis, a graduate of the Normal, becomes the first female county school superintendent in the state of Pennsylvania.
The new Methodist church opens on the corner of Rt.6 and North Academy Street. S.B. Elliott designed the building. The first normal school graduation held off campus is held in the church.
The first Arbor Day took place on April 10, 1872 in Nebraska. It is the brain child of Julius Sterling Morton.
The Normal Literary Society hires Susan B. Anthony to lecture at Mansfield.
The newspaper Mansfield Advertiser begins publishing in January.
The Pitts Bros. store is built on the south west corner of Main Street and Rt. 6
The new Orphan School Building is built on the Northwest corner of Main Street and Route 6.
Shippensburg is recognized as a State Normal School.
Prof. J.N. Fradenburg is elected Principal of the Normal.
The Ladies Dormitory is built at the Normal at a cost of $15,000. It will soon be named North Hall.
A typhoid epidemic, caused by a contaminated well, hits the Normal School, resulting in the death of several students.
California is recognized as a State Normal School.
Charlie Ross of Germantown, age 4, was the first picture of a missing child to be used in America.
The Presbyterian Church is built at a cost of $1350.00.
Indiana is recognized as a State Normal School.
Prof. Charles Verrill is elected Principal of the Normal for a second time.
The Battle of the Little Big Horn is fought in Montana. It will become known as "Custer's Last Stand."
Tioga County celebrates the United States Centennial in the town of Tioga.
Reconstruction ends.
President Hayes removes federal troops from the South.
Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone.
Root Beer is introduced by a Philadelphia druggist, Charles E. Hires.
The first street lamps are erected in Mansfield.
A track for racing horses is built on Island Park, which is today's Smythe Park.
The Smythe Park Association is organized.
Lock Haven is recognized as a State Normal School.
Thomas Edison invents the phonograph.
Prof. Fordyce A. Allen is again called to take over control of the Normal School.
The Allen block is constructed on the corner of North Main and East Wellsboro Streets.
Thomas Edison invents the electric light.
The first of many of the Great Mansfield Fairs occurs in Smythe Park.
The Eiffel Tower is completed in Paris.
Construction begins on the new North and Central wings of the old North Hall.
Yellowstone becomes the first National Park.
Spring football is introduced at Mansfield Normal School with a game between a Wellsboro town team and the Mansfield Normal Boys.
Whitcomb L. Judson of Meadville invents the modern "zipper" on October 5th.
Ellis Island opens in New York to help control the flood of immigrants into the country.
The new dining hall seating 500 opens in the new North wing of North Hall for Thanksgiving dinner.
At the Great Mansfield Fair electric lights are installed and a game of football is played between Mansfield Normal and Wyoming Seminary, ending in a draw. It is later recorded as the first night football game played in the United States.
Prof. Samuel H. Albro becomes principal of the Normal.
East Stroudsburg is recognized as a State Normal School.
Thomas Edison uses the world's first three wire electrical transmission system to light the City Hotel in Sunbury.
The first fraternity is organized at the Normal. It is formed from the Ladies Literary Society. It will later become the Epsilon Chapter of the Agonian Fraternity organized at Geneseo, NY. It is believed to be the first fraternity in the State Normal School System.
The new north and central wings of North Hall are completed. The south wing is put on hold.
The first school publication The Normal School Quarterly is published. Electric lights are installed in North Hall.
The Spanish American War breaks out. Former Mansfield Normal athlete George Walbridge enlists in the Military while at Cornell University and serves in Puerto Rico during the war.
Mansfield Normal football team plays a game against the University of Pennsylvania Football Squad. Penn is coached by former Normal Graduate George Woodruff, class of 1883.
Prof. Albro resigns position as Principal of the Normal. Dr. Andrew Thomas Smith is elected the new Principal.
The Agonian Women's Fraternity dedicates their rock on Normal Hill in what would be called Agonian Grove for the planting of trees on Arbor Day.
The famed Tuskegee educator Booker T. Washington speaks at Mansfield Normal.
Mansfield organizes it's first basketball team whose members played the first season wearing football pants.
August 22nd, Teddy Roosevelt becomes the first President to use an automobile.
Mansfield Normal moves to a three-year program from the two-year normal course, pushing the school closer to Collegiate Status.
August 30th, the first Nickelodeon movie is "The Great Train Robbery", produced and directed by Edward Stanton Porter of Connellsville.
The Pennsylvania State Police is formed, America's first such organization.
A fierce wind storm hits Mansfield and does tremendous damage in the area. The landmark Old Wind Mill at the top of Normal Hill is destroyed.
December Dr. Smith resigns his post as Principal of the Normal and Amos P. Reese, Math Professor, is appointed acting Principal.
The Mansfield Business Men's Association is organized.
Dr. William R. Straughn is elected the new Principal of the Normal.
The New Model School building is opened on Wilson Avenue.
Principal Straughn abolishes the four original Fraternities at the Normal in existence since 1894.
Mansfield Normal Football team takes Pennsylvania Normal title and the New York Normal title for a winning season.
Professor Joseph C. Doane passes away on April 15th. He was appointed acting Principal of the Normal School after the death of Professor Fordyce A. Allen in 1880.
Professor Doane was a graduate of the Class of 1868 and a long time professor at the school.
The Delphic Fraternity leaves a beautiful Marble Bench to the school in memory of the organization.
The first Student Government Association at the Normal is organized by the women of North Hall.
Armistice Day is the anniversary of the official end of World War I, November 11, 1918. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning — the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month."
The men organize for self-government in South Hall at the Normal.
June 4, Mansfield State Normal School is granted the right to give four-year Collegiate degrees.
About 10 students receive their degrees at the June Commencement.
May 13, the name Mansfield Normal is officially changed to Mansfield State Teachers College.
The State condemns the Auditorium in Alumni Hall because it is on the third floor and presents a fire hazard. Graduations will be held in the 1886 Gymnasium until 1931.
An intercepted letter leads Lindbergh baby search to the Cross Trail Restaurant in Mansfield.
Dr. Straughn passes away while in office at the age of 54. He has held the office of principal and president 22 years, longer than anyone else.
Dr. Arthur Belknap is appointed acting President of Mansfield State Teachers College.
Dr. Joseph F. Noonan is elected President of MSTC. MSTC wrestling team has undefeated season.
After a 12-game winning steak MSTC takes the State Championship in football.
Dr. Lester K. Ade is elected president of MSTC. The Lions Club in Mansfield was Chartered.
Dr. Willis E. Pratt is elected president of MSTC.
December 7th, the United States enters into World War II as a result of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese .
In this year the two student government organizations on the MSTC campus merge to form one Student Council.
Several hundred male students enter military service. Nurse training is initiated at MSTC.
Dr. Pratt enlists for military service overseas. Mr. James G. Morgan, faculty member, is appointed president.
Most of the sports are suspended at the college for the duration of the war.
World War II ends.
Post war sports begins at MSTC leading to two consecutive State Championships in football for 1946 and 1947 seasons.
The Second Seminary Building, later known as South Hall is razed to make way for a new and modern men's dormitory.
During the 1951-52 school year the Y.M.C.A and the Y.W.C.A. is merged to form the Student Christian Association.
Mansfield Ambulance Association is started. A 1953 Cadillac is purchased from the Wellsboro Ambulance Association for $4200.
Alumni Hall, the second of the old buildings, is being torn down to make way for a new and modern building.
The Public Mind Survey was created by now retired professors Dr. Gale Largey and Dr. Richard Fiel. Now called the Mansfield University State Survey, the annual study is conducted by students in the telephone survey class. The study is a highly respected study in the state government and media.
MU baseball team places second in the NCAA Division II World Series, the highest finish for a Northern team to date. The team also advanced to the series in 1993 and 1994.
Mansfield University and Mansfield Borough celebrated the first Fabulous 1890s celebration. The first night football game was the subject of an advertising campaign by GE that year.
The tradition of the Mountie Movers began this year with eight volunteers. Now dozens of volunteers help new and returning students move into the dorms the weekend before the beginning of class.
The newly renovated North Hall reopened for the fall semester. It holds the main, educational and music libraries as well as administrative office. The building received international attention for combining a state-of-the-art electronic library with a rich and stately Victorian environment. The university also received permission to keep the historic six-story atrium open.
The MU men’s basketball team was ranked 10th in the NCAA Division II Poll. They advanced to the semifinals of the Eastern Regional Tournament.
In July, MU hosted its first graduation ceremony for adults who earned their GEDs through the university.
Inaugural Joel Stephens Invitational Tournament
The university withdrew recognition of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity after allegations of hazing in April.
Jack Wilcox, retired music professor, received the Mansfield Chamber of Commerce’s Max Colegrove Citizen of the Year Award.
The MU men’s and women’s basketball team celebrated the 100th anniversary of the sport at Mansfield.
MU sophomore Cheryl Costas of Canton, a non-traditional student, spoke at the White House March 16 to urge the federal government to raise the minimum wage. She was also pictured in the New York Times with President Bill Clinton. To date, the federal minimum wage has not increased, but the state minimum was recently increased.
Former President Gerald R. Ford spoke to about 2,500 people March 22 at Decker Gym. His visit represented the only time the institution had hosted a U.S. president.
Mansfield and the community lost Dr. James Y. Glimm to cancer in August. MU hosts an annual bluegrass concert in his honor.
The fall semester saw the reopening of Alumni Hall as a student center. The space had housed the university library until renovations in North Hall were completed in 1996.
MU launched the on-line master of library science degree in the fall semester.
The new child care center opened in September.
The 20th and final Northern Appalachian Storytelling Festival was held at Mansfield Sept. 21-24. Thirteen storytellers entertained audiences that weekend.
Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, who served during the latter part of the Clinton Administration, spoke at Mansfield in April. His visit coincided with the downing of a U.S. surveillance plane by the Chinese military.
MU awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters to Helen Dieffenbach Lutes during spring commencement. It was the first time the institution awarded such a degree.
Judy Hample is named chancellor of the State System of Higher Education. She replaced James McCormick, who had served since SSHE was founded in 1982.
Mansfield State Teacher’s College classes of 1950 and 1951 donated the clock that now stands in South Hall Mall. It was installed in August.
Mansfield University announced the addition of the women’s soccer program. Competition will start next year.
The terrorist attacks of September 11 shook the world. Memorial services were held on campus and in the community.
The new campus child care center was named in honor Sandra Linck Oct. 11. She passed away June 11 following a battle with cancer.
Hamilton Jordan, White House chief of staff during the Carter administration, spoke at fall commencement.
The Technology Outreach Center, housed in the newly renovated Memorial Hall officially opened in January.
The Flashlight hosted the inaugural Pennsylvania student media conference April 4-7.
Veteran political reporter Helen Thomas, who has been a member of the White House Press Corps since the Kennedy Administration, spoke at MU in April.
Members of the family of William R. Straughn visited campus in May. Professor Straughn was the longest serving head of the institution. Straughn Hall is named in his honor.
The women’s soccer team played their first ever game in school history Aug. 30.Megan Colby of Lancaster holds the distinction of scoring the first goal in the program’s history in a 3-1 loss to Juniata College. Their first win was a 3-2 home decision over Daemen College Oct. 12.
MU criminal justice professor Dr. Scott Thornsley appeared on Meet the Press Oct. 27. He discussed the sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C. area.
A documentary titled People of Honor, directed by MU sociology professor Dr. Gale Largey, premiered on WVIA PBS in Scranton Nov. 9. The documentary honors Tioga County residents who served in World War II.
The MU marching band, “The Pride of Pennsylvania” marched in the parade celebrating the inauguration of Gov. Ed Rendell.
State Representative Matthew Baker (R-Wellsboro) was named to the Board of Governors in January.
Kenneth Sarch, MU professor of music, was named a Fulbright Scholar to Bolivia. He spent the summer and fall teaching and conducting in South America.
American and allied forces invade Iraq on March 20.
Veteran CBS sports reporter Greg Gumbel spoke at Mansfield in April.
Summer renovations this year include work on Grant Science Center, Manser Dining Hall, and residence halls.
Multi-platinum Grammy nominees Three Doors Down performed at Mansfield Oct. 24.
Helen Lutes passed away Oct. 25 at the age of 94.
The Mansfield University football team posted their best record in decades, going 8-3 overall and 3-3 in the conference. During the course of the season, the team also found themselves ranked among the best Division II programs in the country.
CNN correspondent Gary Tuchman spoke at fall commencement.
Former UN ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick spoke at Mansfield in April.
Mildred Packard Wright, class of 1923, turned 100 years old Sept. 8. North Hall’s music library is named in her honor.
Beginning with the fall semester, MU began offering an on-line masters of science degree in nursing.
Julian Bond, head of the NAACP and a leader of the Civil Rights Movement, spoke at Mansfield in September.
The MU football team was featured in an issue of NCAA News. The story focused on eight-year-old cancer survivor Isaiah Compton, whose wish was to be a waterboy for the team.
MU public relations director Dennis Miller published his first book, The Perfect Song under the nom de plume Damon. The novel was in the works for 25 years. A portion of the proceeds are going toward scholarships.
The university information technology department activated the first wireless Internet hotspots in March. The technology allows students, faculty and staff to work on-line from their laptops in various buildings on campus.
John Halstead resigned as president of Mansfield University to take a position at SUNY Brockport. David J. Werner was named interim president in August.
Staff Sgt. Ryan Ostrom, a Mansfield University chemistry major from Liberty, was killed in Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom. Sgt. Ostrom, who was a member of the National Guard’s 1st battalion, 109th Infantry based in Williamsport. He died Aug. 9, 2005 from enemy small arms fire. He was 25 years old and had previously served in Bosnia. Ostrom was posthumously awarded his bachelors degree.
Retired MU president Rodney Kelchner received only the second honorary doctorate from Mansfield. He received the honorary degree during fall commencement activities.
The campus had an anthrax scare in February when a member of an African dance troupe that performed here was diagnosed with the disease. There was no public health threat here, but the New York Times picked up the story.
Internationally known rockers OAR played a show at Mansfield University on March 24.
Dr. Maravene Loeschke, provost at Wilkes University, was named Mansfield University president.
