The "The Chronicle Of Franklin & Marshall College: Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Visiting the campus of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA to take photos of some of the historic buildings that line the campus of the college.  It was a Sunday morning about 10:00 am and the campus was deathly still.  Maybe because spring graduation has just passed and summer sessions have not yet begun.  The only people on campus, besides myself, were a few joggers and dog-walkers.  I have the place to myself; therefore I can park just about anywhere I want without being told to move my car.  

Aerial photo of the campus of F&M in Lancaster, PA. Click to enlarge.

For years and years I have admired the campus of this beautiful school which laid their first cornerstone at this location in 1853.  You do realize I wasn't around at the time; right?  The site of the campus was selected because it was the highest point of ground in the city of Lancaster.  Another site between the county jail and the courthouse was originally selected, but Mr. James Buchanan, four years shy of becoming the 15th President of the United States and who was named president of the first Franklin & Marshall board of trustees, rejected this idea and said "I do not think the best location for a literary institution should be between a court house and a jail."  The location that was selected was known as "Gallow's Hill" which was the former site of Lancaster's public executions.  Can you make any sense of this?  

Old Main and its matching side buildings.  Click on photos to enlarge.

At the laying of the cornerstone for "Old Main," Henry Harbaugh, a Marshall College graduate and pastor of the Reformed Church of Lancaster noted that the city's lowest point was the prison and stated, "Thank God!  The College stands higher than the jail.  Education should be lifted up and let crime sink to the lowest depths!"  The college was the result of the joining of Franklin College and Marshall College so they could both stay solvent.  

Early black and white photo of Old Main at the end of the road at center.

"Old Main" was designed in the Gothic Revival style and was dedicated on May 16, 1856.  It first was known as "Recitation Hall", but later became "Old Main".  The area of Old Main was known then, as it still is, as "College Hill".  

The motto of the college.

Franklin and Marshall College took as its motto the Latin phrase "Lux et Lex" which translates from Latin to English as "Light and Law."  Marshall College had the motto "Lex et Lux" and it was said that the engraver made a deliberate mistake so they wouldn't have the same motto.   As of 1975 Old Main, along with smaller buildings on either side of it known as Goethean Hall and Diagnothian Hall, were listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Old Main

As I walked around the campus today I found the architecture of the entire campus to be beautiful, though not all the same.  The grounds are immaculate, and the atmosphere is almost hallowed.  How can I not write amazing things about a place as majestic as this.  As a child I visited their North Museum.  As a young adult I attended many sports activities as well teenage dances on the west side of the campus.  As a young parent I visited the ice rink many times when my youngest son played ice hockey for the local club.  Recently I made a few visits to interview people for stories for my blog.  But, never have I enjoyed this place quite as much as I did today when I had the entire campus to myself and could take my time walking the pathways that lead from one amazing building to the next.  My Nikon DSLR and iPhone were busy today!  Tomorrow I will show you more results of my photo shoot of Franklin & Marshall College.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Diagnothian Hall to the right of Old Main.

Goethean Hall to the left of Old Main.