In these churches the movement began which led to the founding of Michigan Central College, afterwards Hillsdale College.

As early as 1835 Elders Samuel Whitcomb, Elijah Cook, and Henry S. Limbocker, the founders of the denomination within the Territory, took a stand in favor of an educated ministry, and began to agitate the need of an educational institution. Their efforts were ably seconded by Hon. Daniel Dunakin, Eli T. Chase, of Eckford; Thomas Dunton and Herman Cowles, of Battle Creek; Joseph Blaisdell, of Assyria; Rosevelt Davis, of Blackman; Jonathan Videto, Joseph Bailey, and William Smith, of Spring Arbor.

At the Michigan yearly meeting mentioned above a resolution, substantially as follows, was passed:

Resolved, That a denominational school be established within the Territorial limits of the yearly meeting; that a committee of three be appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws; and that a convention be called at the village of Jackson to consider and adopt such constitution and by-laws and to take such other measures as shall be necessary to establish the school.

Lewis J. Thompson, of Oakland County; Henry S. Limbocker and Rosevelt Davis, of Jackson County, constituted the committee. The convention, provided for in the resolution convened at the village of Jackson in July or August, 1844. The constitution and by-laws reported by the committee were adopted. Cyrus Coltrin, of Oberlin, Ohio, was authorized to solicit subscriptions and to collect means to establish the school. The convention determined to locate the institution at the place where the most liberal inducements were offered, having due regard for the healthfulness of the locality. Spring Arbor, having raised the largest subscription, secured the location. The churches throughout the State were vigorously canvassed and subscriptions were taken during the summer and fall of 1844. These subscriptions were of small amounts; the largest being that of Elder Chauncey Reynolds, who agreed to convey 80 acres of land to the institution as soon as it could be sold for $600.

The board of trustees met at Spring Arbor in October, 1844. The name of the institution was changed from Spring Arbor Seminary to Michigan Central College, and a committee was appointed to secure a charter from the legislature. Daniel M. Graham was elected president, and the 4th day of December following was appointed on which to open the institution. Accordingly, on the day designated Daniel M. Graham, president and sole member of the faculty, opened college in a small wooden story-and-a-half building, which had formerly been occupied as a store. Five students were enrolled. Other students came in during the term.

Two college buildings were commenced in 1845. These buildings were of wood, two stories in height, and plain in architecture. The plan was to connect them as wings to a main building to be erected

subsequently. They were alike, each being about 35 feet wide by 60 feet long. The first floors were used as recitation rooms; the second for dormitories. These buildings were occupied in the fall of 1845.

The trustees were unable to secure a charter for the granting of degrees from the legislature of 1845. It had been the settled policy of the State Government to give the State University the exclusive power of conferring collegiate degrees, and no college charter had as yet been granted. An act was passed, however, which was approved on the 19th of March, 1845, enacting

That Elijah Cook, Drusus Hodges, Jonathan L. Videto, Justus H. Cole, Joseph C. Bailey, Henry S. Limbocker, Lemuel W. Douglass, Lewis J. Thompson, and Enos W. Packard, and their successors in office, shall be, and they are hereby, constituted and deemed a body corporate, by the name and title of The Michigan Central College at Spring Arbor, and shall be trustees of said college, with the power to hold property to the amount of $30,000, to sue and be sued, to have a seal, with power to appoint and remove teachers, and to admit and dismiss students.

An act of the legislature was approved March 20, 1850, amending the above act, by granting the power "to confer such degrees and grant such diplomas as are usually conferred and granted by other colleges, providing the course of study pursued in said college shall be in all respects as comprehensive as that required, or shall be hereafter required, in the University of Michigan." This act also granted authority to hold property to the amount of $100,000. In accordance with the privilege granted by the act, the college conferred its first degree in 1851 upon Elizabeth D. Camp, who was graduated from the scientific course. Classes were graduated also in the years 1852 and 1853. Livonia E. Benedict, afterward wife of Rev. Wm. H. Perrine, D. D., of Albion, received the degree of A. B. in 1852, and was the first lady classical graduate from a Michigan college.

In the mean time the institution had been growing. An able faculty of active, progressive men had been secured whose presence and efforts brought increased numbers of students. Greater and better facilities were needed. To meet these demands the trustees appealed to the local community for a building fund, and to the denomination at large for an endowment fund. To this appeal the community made no response, and it soon became evident that to continue the operation of the institution at Spring Arbor would effectually check its progress. At the meeting of the trustees in January, 1853, the expediency of a removal was discussed, resulting in the appointment of a committee to confer with the citizens of different towns and ascertain what inducements would be offered the college by way of buildings and grounds. Of the places visited by this committee, Hillsdale offered the largest inducements and secured the site of what is now Hillsdale College.

Michigan Central College opened December 4, 1844, and closed July 6, 1853. During this time it graduated 13 students, 9 from the scientific and 4 from the classical course. It received under its instruction about

700 students. Its buildings consisted of the two already mentioned, and a smaller one subsequently constructed as a dormitory. It possessed about $500 worth of apparatus, and a library of about 2,000 volumes, which had been collected by individual contributions. About one-half of the latter were given by Amos Lawrence, of Boston, and Edward Everett, of Harvard College. At the time of its removal the faculty consisted of Rev. Edmund B. Fairfield, who had been elected to succeed President Graham in 1848, Profs. Ransom Dunn, Henry E. Whipple, and Charles H. Churchill, and Miss Mary E. Williams. Much of the teaching in the lower branches was done by advanced students.

By the conditions under which the college was located at Hillsdale, the citizens agreed to raise $15,000 within the township, and the college $15,000 more in the remaining part of the county, the entire sum to be devoted to building purposes. Within 3 months, $37,500 were subscribed within the county. The trustees also determined to raise an endowment fund of $100,000, and $10,000 more for manual labor purposes. During the next year,, while the college buildings were being erected, the faculty canvassed the denomination and succeeded in securing pledges to the above-named amount. In the mean time, negotiations were on foot which resulted in the sale of Geauga Seminary, located at Chester Cross Roads, Ohio, and the transfer of its effects to Hillsdale College.

The above steps were taken before the closing of Michigan Central College. When the time for removal came many difficulties arose. The corporation under its charter had no authority to receive the subscription to build a college at Hillsdale and no authority to remove to Hillsdale. By the State constitution of 1850 the granting of special charters to educational institutions was prohibited, and no general statute existed whereby a college could be incorporated. Moreover, it had been contrary to the fixed policy of the State to grant college charters, that of Michigan Central College being the only one in the State. It was decided to use all honorable means to procure the passage of a general college law. Dr. Alonzo Cressy was elected to the senate from Hillsdale and Daniel Dunakin, of Calhoun County, to the house of representatives, in that interest. This was in 1854, the year in which the Republicans came into power in the State. The friends of the institution and the denomination had claims upon the new party which they strongly urged. A general college law was agitated throughout the State. Other denominational schools supported the measure, and as a result our present college law, under which the numerous denominational colleges of the State have been incorporated, was approved on the 19th day of February, 1855. This law was introduced and passed to meet the peculiar wants of Hillsdale College. Its history is a chapter in the history of the college. The citizens of Spring Arbor bitterly opposed the removal to Hillsdale. Suits were brought against