Editing Colby College (section)

=== 19th century ===
On February 27, 1813, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, led by [[Baptists]], adopted a petition to establish the Maine Literary and Theological Institution.<ref name="ReferenceB">Mayflower Hill, A History of Colby College, Earl Smith, University Press of New England, 2006</ref> It was moved to [[Waterville, Maine]], and used 179 acres of land donated by citizens. In 1818, trustees assigned the institution to [[Jeremiah Chaplin]] and classes began in a vacant Waterville home.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> After Maine separated from Massachusetts in 1820, the first [[Maine legislature]] affirmed the Massachusetts charter for the institution, but made significant changes. Students could no longer be denied admission based on religion, the institution was prohibited from applying a religious test when selecting board members, and the trustees now had the authority to grant degrees. The Maine Literary and Theological Institution was renamed Waterville College on February 5, 1821, and four years later, the theological department was discontinued.<ref name="MAGDE">{{cite book |last= Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums |editor=Doris A. Isaacson |title=Maine: A Guide 'Down East' |year=1970 |publisher=Courier-Gazette, Inc. |location=Rockland, Me | pages = 226–227 }}</ref> In 1828 the trustees decided to turn the somewhat informal preparatory department of the college into a separate school named Waterville Academy (most recently called the [[Coburn Classical Institute]]).<ref>"Little Talks #749" Colby College Special Collections. December 31, 1967. Accessed at {{cite web |url=http://web.colby.edu/specialcollections/2011/01/17/lt749-readonly/ |title=Read-Only |access-date=2016-04-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061442/http://web.colby.edu/specialcollections/2011/01/17/lt749-readonly/ |archive-date=2016-03-04 }}</ref>

[[File:Colbiana- North College buildings, Original Campus.jpg|thumb|left|A lithograph depicting the Waterville College campus in 1834]]
In 1833, [[Rufus Babcock]] became Colby's second president. That same year, students formed the nation's first college-based anti-slavery society.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.colby.edu/education/activism/stories/antislavery.html|title=A People's History of Colby College: Activism and Social Justice Since 1813 » Home|access-date=7 December 2016}}</ref> In 1845, the college's first Greek Society was formed, a chapter of [[Delta Kappa Epsilon]], which was followed by chapters of [[Zeta Psi]] in 1850 and [[Delta Upsilon]] in 1852.<ref>Colby College 1820-1925: An Account of Its Beginnings, Progress and Service, Edwin Carey Whittemore</ref>

During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], many young men were called away from school to join the fight; from Waterville College, [[Richard C. Shannon]], [[Henry C. Merriam]], and [[Benjamin Butler (politician)|Benjamin Butler]]. Twenty-seven Waterville College students perished in the war, and more than 100 men from the town. In the years following the war, as was the case at many American colleges, Waterville College was left with few students remaining to pay the bills and a depleted endowment. The college was on the verge of closing.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

On August 9, 1865, prominent Baptist philanthropist [[Gardner Colby]] attended Waterville College's commencement dinner, and unbeknownst to anyone in attendance except college president [[James Tift Champlin]], announced a matching $50,000 donation to the college; two years later the college was named after him.<ref name="auto">{{cite journal|url=http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/colbiana_books/4/#b.mon.tag|title=Colby College 1820-1925: An Account of Its Beginnings, Progress and Service|first=Whittemore, Edwin|last=Carey|date=12 November 2018|journal=Digital Commons @ Colby}}</ref> Trustees of the college voted to construct a library and chapel to honor the Colby men who died in the war, called the Memorial Hall; it was dedicated at the commencement of 1869.<ref name="ReferenceB" /> The college remained isolated from neighboring [[Bates College]], and [[Bowdoin College]] due to its location in Waterville, coupled with socio-economic and political differences.<ref name=":042">{{Cite book|title = Traditionally Unconventional|last = Woz|first = Markus|publisher = Bates College|year = 2002|location = Ladd Library, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine|pages = 6|quote = "...Colby remained distant from the two colleges for sometime before opening up athletically in the early 40s.."}}</ref> At the 1871 commencement, a [[Martin Milmore]] sculpture based on the ''[[Lion Monument|Lion of Lucerne]]'' was added as the centerpiece of the building.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://libguides.colby.edu/content.php?pid=240829|title=LibGuides: Lion of Lucerne: Home|first=Pat|last=Burdick|website=libguides.colby.edu}}</ref>

[[File:Mary Caffrey Low 1875.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Mary Caffrey Low]], the first female graduate of the college and valedictorian of the class of 1875]]
In the fall of 1871, Colby University was the first all-male college in New England to accept female students.<ref name="MAGDE" /> The national [[Sigma Kappa]] sorority was founded at Colby in 1874 by the college's first five female students.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sigmakappa.org/about/default.asp?page=history |title=Sigma Kappa Sorority |access-date=2008-08-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070707102527/http://www.sigmakappa.org/about/default.asp?page=history |archive-date=2007-07-07 }}</ref> However the college resegregated them in 1890.<ref name="Wright2">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/newcenturybookf00unkngoog|quote=university of illinois coeducational 1870.|title=The New Century Book of Facts|last=Davidson Wright|first=Carol|publisher=The King-Richardson Company|year=1909|page=[https://archive.org/details/newcenturybookf00unkngoog/page/n1046 986]}}</ref> One of the buildings is named after the first woman to attend, [[Mary Caffrey Low]], who was the valedictorian of the class of 1875.<ref name="colby.edu">{{cite web|url=http://www.colby.edu/about_cs/history.cfm|title=Colby's History – About|access-date=7 December 2016}}</ref> In 1874, based on the success of its partnership with the [[Coburn Classical Institute]], Colby created relationships with [[Hebron Academy]] and Houlton Academy (most recently known as [[Ricker College]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ricker.net/rickerh.htm|title=Ricker – Ricker College – Ricker Classical Institute|date=2 December 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981202084957/http://www.ricker.net/rickerh.htm |accessdate=24 July 2023|archive-date=1998-12-02 }}</ref> In 1893, the Higgins Classical Institute was also deeded to Colby – the last preparatory school that the university would acquire.<ref>History of the Baptists in Maine, by Henry Sweetser Burrage. p 437, Marks Printing House, 1904</ref> Students published the first issue of ''[[The Colby Echo]]'' in 1877. On January 25, 1899, Colby president [[Nathaniel Butler Jr.]] '73, renamed the "university" Colby College.<ref name="auto"/>