by an act approved March 5, 1891, accepted the munificent gift, and at once proceeded, by appropriate enactments, to provide for the removal of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts from Hanover to Durham, and for the construction of buildings and accommodations which should amply provide for the needs of the college in its new home, and be commensurate with the great endowment which will place it in the foremost rank of institutions of its kind. The trustees, in obedience to the instructions and requirements of the act, approved April 10, 1891, took immediate steps to effect the removal of the college provided for in this act. All of the real estate in Hanover, owned by said college, has been sold at private sale for the sum of twenty-eight thousand dollars, ready cash, and arrangements have been made with the trustees of Dartmouth College for the re-payment to the State of the fifteen thousand dollars appropriated by it towards the erection of Culver Hall. In entering upon the work of removal and rebuilding the college in its new location, the trustees found themselves confronting a problem far greater and more difficult of solution than was generally supposed. Mistakes made in the beginning would for many years, if not in all time to come, work inconvenience and injury to the institution. Hence the utmost care and investigation was demanded of those who had the work in charge. The aid of the best talent available was invoked to lay out the grounds, to locate the buildings, and to develop the natural beauty of the new location. The track of the Boston & Maine railroad at present runs through the college grounds, and the depots are located on the same, but the road has in contemplation the removal of the track far enough to the west to leave all of the buildings on the easterly side of it, thus removing the very objectionable effects of the present location of the track. As soon as the spring opened in 1892, work was begun for the erection of an experiment station building, a barn, a science hall, workshops, and boiler house, and the main building to contain an office, recitation rooms, library, museum, hall, etc. These buildings are all of brick, with the exception of the barn, and all are expected to be completed on the outside before winter sets in. They are thoroughly constructed upon the latest and most approved plans. A steam heating plant is now in process of construction, which is designed to warm all the buildings from a central station, so as to secure to the occupants the most comfort, and avoid the danger of fire. A dam has been constructed across a small stream about half a mile from the buildings, which, the engineer assures the committee, will furnish a sufficient supply of water for all purposes of the college. The trustees in making their estimates for their work, and in its prosecution, have used great care to avoid any indebtedness not covered by the state appropriation and the proceeds of the sale of the college property in Hanover. These funds will not, however, meet all the requirements to enable the college in Durham to open its doors to students at the beginning of the college year in September, 1893. The careful and thorough examination of all the work by the Legislature, is cordially invited, and when that is done, no doubt is entertained that funds sufficient to complete the necessary work will be readily provided. The future prosperity of the college will depend upon its equipment and the manner in which it starts on its new career. Evidences are not now wanting to show that with proper accommodations, the number of students will be large; and the future appears bright with promise of vastly enlarged usefulness for this institution. Since the last report, the college in Hanover has done good work, and the number of students has been about the same as in previous years. The removal has inevitably interfered with the ordinary work of the professors, and their duties have been more arduous than at other times, but on the whole it gives the trustees great pleasure to report prosperity in the present, and encouragement for a more prosperous work in the future. LYMAN D. STEVENS, President, In behalf of the Trustees. |