monastery
St. Bonaventure College, 1888
(from left to right of building) monastery, church, seminary
Campus, 1874
The new college was to be built in
Allegany, which was established April 18, 1831, as the Town of Burton. The number of students in
the first
graduating class as well as the number of faculty members is unknown. There may
have been 3 priests, one of whom taught the students.
Nicholas Devereux had given land to the friars on the north side of the Allegany River to build the University but there seemed to be disagreement between Bishop Timon and the friars as to where the building should be erected. Here is an excerpt from Bishop Timon's diary...
June 5,
1856
Mass (in Buffalo) Start for Allegany.
Mrs. Devereux, her sons and sister, Superior of
Franciscans. I object to location already made, mark one on village side of railroad.
Bishop Timon felt that the new building should be built on higher ground on the other side of the railroad tracks. He proved to be prophetic years later when the Allegany River flooded. This flood put some of the campus underwater and caused a significant amount of damage. Nevertheless, the cornerstone was laid on Wednesday, August 20, 1856. More than two thousand people attended despite the rain that fell throughout the event.
Two years had passed after the laying of the cornerstone before it was ready for students to occupy. Stones had to be cut for the foundation. The bricks were made in a kiln on the property and all of the trees had to be cleared and carried to the mill and made into lumber for the interior of the future building
Part of the first advertisement for
Bona's
States that tuition was $130
In 2005, $130.00 from 1856 was worth:
|
|
$3,088.69 |
using the Consumer Price Index |
|
|
$2,344.99 |
using the GDP deflator |
|
|
$21,694.27 |
using the unskilled wage |
|
|
$38,582.56 |
using the nominal GDP per capita |
|
|
$404,813.50 |
using the relative share of GDP |
Bibliography
Angelo, Mark V, O.F.M., Ph. D. The History of St. Bonaventure University.
Saint
Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute, 1961.
Hammon, Walter,
O.F.M.
The First Bonaventure
Men. St. Bonaventure: St. Anthony
Guild Press, 1958.
Herscher, Irenaeus, O.F.M. The History of St. Bonaventure University. St. Bonaventure: The Franciscan Institute, 1951.
Pictures: Saint Bonaventure University Archives
This site was created by
Cathy Lapp for History 419, Fall 2006.
For more information please contact the
St.
Bonaventure University Archives
Last
edited: 03/26/2007 08:40:32 AM