by John Barton, Associate Professor of Speech Emeritus and Dean Emeritus, NWOSU
This is the fifth of a series of articles designed to recognize the work of many individuals who were responsible for getting Northwestern Territorial Normal School located in Alva, Oklahoma Territory in 1897 and for providing leadership to ensure quality education for the critical years that followed. Much of the information in this article can be found in the book Northwestern Oklahoma State University, A Centennial History (copyright 1996) written by Wayne Lane.
In order to explain the role of 100 Alva area citizens, I need to review the steps taken to get Northwestern Normal in Alva as well as the construction of Northwestern’s first building.
•1895 – The committee of seven men was formed to get approval from the territorial legislature and the territorial governor to develop a normal school in Alva.
•1895 – The committee requested donations of 40 acres for the school’s location. The Fryers and the McGraths generously provided the land.
•1896 – The first Alva bill was defeated.
•1897 – The bill establishing Northwestern Territorial Normal School at Alva was approved by the territorial legislature and signed by Governor Renfrow.
•Spring of 1897 – The bill required the citizens of Alva to pass a $5000 bond for the school. The bond was approved by an overwhelming majority.
•Summer of 1897 – Sarah Bosworth and Mary DeLisle were hired as the first teachers, and James Ament was named as the first president.
•Fall of 1897 – Classes started and were held in Alva Congregation Church.
Shortly after classes started, President Ament came up with the idea of designing the first building after a French castle. Most everyone liked this idea. He wanted to build a building that would inspire pride in Northwestern students, faculty, and staff as well as the citizens of Alva and the citizens of Oklahoma Territory.
Although there was great support for the idea, they were unable to get the territorial legislature to take action. Eventually, a contract to build the building was signed with John Volk even though funds for the building had not been appropriated. Mr. Volk agreed to build the castle if 100 local citizens would sign a $100,000 bond which stated they would pay for the building if the territorial legislature did not.
Assuming the liability to pay for the building, 100 Alva area citizens signed the bond. To put this in perspective, the $1000 that each citizen was responsible for at that time would buy 80 acres of land; $1000 was a lot of money. In March of 1898, work began on Northwestern’s first building which would become known as The Castle on the Hill.
The castle was built in a short period of time, so it could open for students in the fall of 1899. That fall, Santa Fe Railroad provided a special train to pick up the members of the territorial legislature in Guthrie and bring them to Alva for a tour of the castle. They were wined and dined by the citizens of Alva, and then they returned to the capitol where they voted overwhelmingly to approve the appropriations to pay for the castle’s construction.
The 100 citizens deserve special recognition for their willingness to step forward and assume a big risk. They had faith in the future of Northwestern, Alva, and Oklahoma Territory.
Although a record of the names of the 100 citizens has not been found, they should be recognized for their valuable contribution to Northwestern and Alva. If Texas A&M can get such great mileage from their 12th man tradition, surely we can honor the 100 bond signees. I am hopeful that someone will come up with an idea of how to honor the memory of these deserving citizens.