<< Back

East College from its very construction has been surrounded by monuments that have become dear to the hearts of generations of students. Perhaps least known of them all is the first Boulder, a pink, colored stone placed near the front of the building at its dedication in 1877 by the senior class of that year. Weighing 5,000 pounds and bearing the class motto in Greek, "Andrizometha," or "Let us be manly," it was procured from the property of Dr. A.C. Stevenson, the first president of the board of trustees of Old Asbury. When underclassmen attempted to bury the stone two nights before the commencement exercises, the seniors who were guarding it drove them off with stones, firing revolvers as the attackers fled, according to a contemporary newspaper account. It remains today rather inconspicuous beside East College, its inscription barely legible.

The better known Columbian Boulder was placed near the main entrance to the building in 1892 at the instigation of former Professor John C. Ridpath to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus' first voyage to the New World. This granite rock with prominent ridges of quartz dykes was discovered near Morton about 12 miles northeast of Greencastle. Hiram Thomas moved it to his farm, fenced it in and charged visitors 10 cents apiece to view the "petrified turtle." It was purchased by a few alumni and brought to Greencastle by a 26-horse house-moving wagon and the Monon Railroad. Inscribed and known as the Columbian Boulder, it soon grew to be a favorite meeting place on campus. Many a DePauw couple met for chapel dates "at the Boulder." Honorary societies often held their initiation rituals there, and it was long the scene of annual freshman-sophomore scraps. In recent decades the Boulder seems to have lost its focal position on campus, except for a brief period in the late 1960s and early 1970s when it became the scene of the "Boulder run," which featured freshman pledges of Phi Kappa Psi scrambling around it in the nude and trotting back to the chapter house on the night of the first snow of the season.

On the northern rim of the East College lawn there stands a small stone pedestal which once held a metal sun dial, now long missing. It was presumably placed there around the turn of the century and is today generally overlooked by all and sundry. Much more prominent is the Scarritt Memorial Fountain, erected in 1903 as a gift from alumnus Winthrop E. Scarritt in honor of his brother Alfred, who would have graduated in the class of 1881 had he lived. Sitting atop the fountain, which has lacked water for as long as anyone can remember, is a large bronze owl - the symbol of wisdom. Frequently covered with splotches of paint - as is the Columbian Boulder from time to time - the owl was at one time reputed to hoot when a virgin passed by, but has today lost most of its significance.

The most beautiful monument of all is the ornamental gateway constructed of brick and iron located on Locust Street at the western end of Anderson Street. The gift of the class of 1890 at their 20th reunion in 1910, this gateway has long served as a major entrance to the campus and familiar symbol of the university. Several concrete benches donated by alumni, such as the recent one honoring Fred and Bernice Tucker, lie scattered about the East College lawn but have as yet gathered no special traditions around them. New concrete sidewalks have replaced the originals given by various college classes while the bronze plates with the class numerals remain. The newest monument to grace the front of East College is the modernistic triangular metal shaft placed there in 1967 to memorialize the founding of the journalistic honorary Sigma Delta Chi at DePauw in 1909.

Back to Top

<< Back