The Colorado University Schools campus was the multi-collegiate campus in
Golden, Colorado
Golden is a home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the 2020 United States census. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Moun ...
, spearheaded by the visionary missionary Bishop
George Maxwell Randall of the
Episcopal Church.
History
Having a ministerial passion for education and seeing great need for it in frontier
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado.
The territory was organized ...
, Randall first established the
Wolfe Hall collegiate school for girls in 1868, then in 1869 received a gift from Charles Clark Welch to begin this collegiate
campus
A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls.
By extension, a corp ...
for boys. This land was on a small plateau overlooking
Golden to the north, that is now annexed within the city limits.
Colleges
Three colleges were opened by Randall and the Episcopal Church here:
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Jarvis Hall in 1870
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Matthews Hall in 1872
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Territorial School of Mines in 1873, the present day
Colorado School of Mines
The Colorado School of Mines (Mines) is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1874, the school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on ener ...
.
Jarvis Hall was a liberal arts, grammar and military school. Matthews Hall was a divinity school to train future Episcopal clergy for the region. Randall strongly felt a School of Mines would be vital to the future of Colorado because of its mining economy.
Goldenlandmarks.com: Colorado School of Mines
Demise
After Randall died in 1873 the campus began to be dismantled, from efforts within the church striving to remove its colleges to Denver. In 1874 the School of Mines was sold to the Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado.
The territory was organized ...
government, after years of controversy over government support of a church-owned college. On 4 April 1878, Jarvis Hall burned, knocking a hole in the center of the campus. Several days later on 8 April Matthews Hall was burned by arsonists. This effectively destroyed the campus. The two schools and the Territorial School of Mines quickly moved to the Loveland Block in downtown Golden. After a short return by the School of Mines back to its original building in 1879, it then moved to its new permanent campus in the city.
The campus' plateau site was fully acquired by the new state government in 1880. The remaining original School of Mines Building became the center of the Colorado State Industrial School for Boys. This original Mines building was destroyed by fire in 1893.
See also
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References
Buildings and structures in Golden, Colorado
Colorado School of Mines
Demolished school buildings and structures in the United States
Education in Jefferson County, Colorado
Schools in Jefferson County, Colorado
1868 establishments in Colorado Territory
1870s in Colorado Territory
1878 disestablishments in Colorado
Defunct private universities and colleges in Colorado
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