At 145 years old, UMass was almost 'at Northampton'

By Kristin Palpini
Staff Writer

Published on May 02, 2008

During the mid-1800s, Amherst held eight Town Meetings on whether to bring the University of Massachusetts to Amherst. Only five of the meetings were legal.

Obviously rising above its shaky beginnings, UMass celebrated the founding of the flagship campus, the state's first institution of public higher education, with music, dance and a visit Tuesday from Gov. Deval L. Patrick in Amherst.

But had Northampton been quicker to raise funds 145 years ago, this party might have been held on the other side of the river.

Back in 1863, there was statewide competition to host the proposed Massachusetts Agricultural College, the institution that would later become UMass.

After Boston, Springfield and Lexington were ruled out as potential sites (for reasons that included Lexington's exceptional soil being deemed unable to provide students with a farming challenge), Northampton and Amherst became the competition's front-runners, according to the "History of the University of Massachusetts," by Harold W. Cary, formerly of the UMass history department.

Massachusetts politicians decided that whichever town was to host the agricultural school would have to raise $75,000 for construction costs. Federal funds would purchase the land and provide an annual income.

From the start, it appeared Northampton would be able to raise the money before Amherst, with the city pledging $50,000 and wealthy resident Oliver Smith offering additional monies in his will.

But Amherst had political clout that included two area residents on the Board of Agriculture and in the House of Representatives. They argued that Northampton residents were "lukewarm" to the college and that legal encumbrances surrounding Oliver's will would delay construction funding. Meanwhile, Northampton representatives blocked state action on Amherst's bid for over a year.

Political wrangling on Beacon Hill gave way to small-town politics in Amherst, where residents bitterly debated how they would raise $50,000. Amherst College had pledged $25,000 to the creation of the state college.

After gathering for the Town Meetings, three of , Amherst voted to raise the rest of the money through taxation. By the spring of 1867, UMass trustees decided to build in Amherst.

According to the UMass history volume, trustees chose Amherst because it was a place "where our students will find sympathy and see that honest men can thrive by honest labor on the land, instead of seeing agriculture as in some parts of the state, despised by the poor, and the expensive pastime of the rich."

"It's a pretty interesting little story," said Wesley A. Blixt, a communications expert for UMass Outreach. "It almost wasn't UMass-Amherst."

Paying tribute

On Tuesday, the UMass community celebrated the university's 145th anniversary and paid tribute to its historic roots.

With events forced inside the Fine Arts Center by the rain, a crowd of people packed tightly into the center's muggy lobby to watch performances by the UMass African dance class, singers from Burncoat High School in Worcester, the Springfield High School of Science and Technology Band, the Jazz Workshop of Amherst Regional High School and the UMass jazz and gospel choir ensembles.

"If I knew it was going to be this cool, I would have come earlier," said UMass student Allison J. Marshall, while waiting for Patrick to address the audience.

Before hundreds of people in the center's auditorium, Patrick, UMass President Jack M. Wilson, interim Chancellor Thomas W. Cole Jr. and several other university dignitaries took the stage to raucous applause and music by the Minuteman Marching Band.

"Education, particularly higher education, is the calling card for the commonwealth all over the world," said Patrick. "But we can't rest on our laurels. We have to reach and make sure the opportunity you students are enjoying is as rich and fulfilling for the next generation."

Marking another UMass tradition Tuesday was a throng of protesters angling for better compensation for faculty and staff.

Wearing stickers that said "No More Pay Cuts, UMass Unions United," people handed out fliers and a banner asking Patrick and Wilson to raise their salaries to a level that compensates for increases in the cost of living.

Max Page, president of the UMass professors union, said last year's contract offered faculty an increase below the rate of inflation and raised the cost of health insurance, thus resulting in a pay cut.

"I think the governor recognized us. He certainly came over and spoke with me afterwards," said Page.

"We just want a fair contract. We heard it in (Patrick's) speech. He said we need to hire more faculty and compensate them better. Our goal was not to disrupt, but to make clear that he and the president know we've been negotiating for a while and they haven't yet provided that," Page said.

According to UMass historians, the first campus protest or strike might have occurred in 1871, four years after students arrived on campus.

Students went on strike twice, once by refusing to march to the Amherst College chapel in 100-degree heat and once more against the requirement of manual labor.

"This is a statewide celebration of an institution with global stature," said Wilson. "Amherst is an historic place. It's a system that supports the culture and economy of the commonwealth.

"I look forward to the 150th (celebration) and beyond," he said.

Kristin Palpini can be reached at kpalpini@gazettenet.com.