Ayer Cottage was the place of first meeting of

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

on September 12, 1888, in

Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

.californiahistoricallandmarks.com 289, First home of Pomona College
/ref> It was designated a

California Historic Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

(No. 289) on June 27, 1938. It was built in 1887, and in 1888 rented to the college so that classes could be held there. The cottage had five rooms, each used as classrooms. The cottage has been moved to 1492 S Hamilton Blvd Pomona CA stand at about 500 S White St., although a commemorative marker on the site is present.claremont.edu, Ayer Cottage
/ref>

Role in Pomona College history

Pomona College was incorporated on October 14, 1887, by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. Tuition was initially set at $60 per year for the Collegiate Department. After holding classes at Ayer College for two years, it planned to relocate to Piedmont Mesa north of Pomona, but was instead offered the site of an unfinished hotel in

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of Los Angeles. It lies in the Pomona Valley at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had ...

, a few miles away. The trustees chose to accept the offer, and the college relocated there in 1889 but kept its name. The hotel building would eventually become Sumner Hall, the current location of the college's admissions office. The college's first graduating class, in 1894, had ten members. Pomona College founders’ values led to the college's belief in educational equity. Like other Congregationalist-founded colleges such as

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

, Dartmouth, Middlebury, and Bowdoin, Pomona received its own governing board, ensuring its independence. The

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

was originally composed of graduates of Williams, Dartmouth,

Bates Bates may refer to: Places * Bates, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bates, Illinois. an unincorporated community in Sangamon County * Bates, Michigan, a community in Grand Traverse County * Bates, New York, a hamlet in the town of Elli ...

and

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, among others. Pomona College went on to become the founding member of the

Claremont Colleges The Claremont Colleges (known colloquially as the 7Cs) are a consortium of seven private university, private institutions of higher education located in Claremont, California, United States. They comprise five undergraduate colleges (the 5Cs)� ...

consortium in the 1920s. Today, it is fully

nonsectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Many North American universities identify themselves as being nonsectarian, such as B ...

, and is widely considered the premier

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

on the West Coast.

Marker

The marker on the site reads: :''On this site, September 12, 1888, was held the first session of Pomona College.'' 1937 by Historical Society of Pomona Valley. (Marker Number 289.) California Historical Landmarks reports: :''NO. 289 FIRST HOME OF POMONA COLLEGE - Pomona College, incorporated October 14, 1887, held its first class in this small frame cottage on September 12, 1888. Those in attendance consisted of a mere handful of eager students, five faculty members, and the president, Professor Edwin C. Norton. Five months later, in January 1889, the college moved to an unfinished boom hotel on a plot of land in the town of Claremont.''

References

{{Pomona College California Historical Landmarks 1888 establishments in California Pomona, California Pomona College University and college buildings completed in 1887

Role in Pomona College history

Marker

See also

References