After nearly a year of writing the historical column for The Cavalier Daily, I've decided to set aside the quill pen and inkwell and move on to greener pastures. Being able to share delightful tidbits about the University's exciting past has been one of the highlights of these past semesters, and it is my hope that you, loyal reader, have enjoyed the learning and the laughter along the way.
In honor of this, likely my last column in this venerable newspaper, I have decided to commemorate the top five best "lasts" in University history. Drum roll, please ...
Number 5: The Anatomic Theater -- the last building constructed on Grounds designed by Thomas Jefferson.
Jefferson did not just design the Lawn and the Rotunda -- he also completed sketches for an "Anatomic Theater," a two-story building which contained a central amphitheater with a dissection table in the center. Built shortly after Jefferson's death in 1826, the Theater stood where Alderman Library now sits. Medical students would sit on the steep amphitheater benches and observe professors performing dissections on human cadavers. The Theater was demolished in 1938 so Alderman Library could be constructed, given that the University library had long outgrown its original home in the Dome Room of the Rotunda.
Number 4: The last football game in Lambeth Field (1931).
The University football team originally practiced and competed in the open area where Brooks Hall now stands, just north of the Rotunda. Student complaints that the area was cramped and rocky led to the construction of Lambeth Field in 1901, which hosted athletic events of all kinds into the 1970s. The last football game was played there in 1931, when the football team moved to the newly constructed Scott Stadium.
Number 3: 1969, the University's last year as an all-male institution.
Prior to 1969, women had attended University professional schools during summer sessions and a very select few had been admitted to undergraduate schools, but the University was still considered an all-male institution. In September 1969, a federal judge granted an injunction which allowed 11 women to attend the College as full students. By the following fall, the Board of Visitors had taken steps to ensure the full coeducation of the University. That autumn, 350 women entered the College. By 1972, when all restrictions on female admissions had been eliminated, 45 percent of the first-year class was female.
Number 2: The last Easters celebration (1982).
As far back as the late 19th century, University students had used the proximity of the Easter holiday with Thomas Jefferson's birthday (Apr. 13) as a reason to celebrate. In the 1890s, Easters consisted primarily of a series of student balls hosted by different social societies on Grounds.
By the 1970s, Easters had become one of the largest parties on the entire East Coast. Thousands would flock into Charlottesville for a week-long party-fest which spilled from Rugby Road into Mad Bowl in what turned into a logistical nightmare. When several students were injured and emergency vehicles were unable to reach them due to the crowds, University officials decided to take matters into their own hands. In 1979, Easters was exiled from Mad Bowl and moved to a farm several miles from Grounds. By 1983, in a controversial move, officials had banned all University funds, property or personnel from taking part in the celebration. Easters, once the biggest party this side of the Mississippi, soon became a distant memory.
Number 1: Thomas Jefferson's last visit to the University.
Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826 -- 50 years to the day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and just over a year after the University opened in March of 1825. William Wertenbaker served as the student librarian from 1826 until 1881 and recorded an account of Thomas Jefferson's last visit to Grounds before his death. According to Wertenbaker, Jefferson walked into the Dome Room of the Rotunda and stood at the center window, facing outward onto the Lawn. Workers were raising the capitals on the Rotunda columns that day and Jefferson, always taciturn, simply watched them complete their work for about 20 minutes. He never said a word, but simply stood at the window and watched construction on this University for which he had worked so hard at the end of his life. He then nodded politely to Wertenbaker and left, never again to return to Grounds.
It's been said of the University that if you stay here long enough, you feel like you might look over your shoulder and see Thomas Jefferson walking behind you. As much as we joke about our obsession with TJ, that's my favorite way to remember him: quietly, serenely looking out over the Grounds he had envisioned and the University he'd made a reality. That's the way I like to remember Jefferson.
And it's the image with which I will leave you, loyal reader. It is my hope that you've enjoyed this column the past year.
Adieu.
Daniel's column ran bi-weekly on Wednesdays. He can be reached at danyoung@cavalierdaily.com.
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