Millersville University, Millersville, Lancaster County

I ended up skipping last week's post mainly on account of the weather. My longtime readers may remember that as someone with multiple chronic medical conditions, I tend to be at the mercy of the weather, and the subzero temperatures which have plagued Pennsylvania in recent weeks have really done a number on me. Fortunately, this week things are much more normal for the time of the year, so I can be more myself again.

Speaking of being myself, Zenkaikon is looming next month as it always does. I'll be making three history-themed presentations, and I'm really looking forward to sharing all of them. I think the one about samurai warriors visiting the White House during James Buchanan's presidency will be the most interesting (one of the warriors had a crush on Buchanan's niece!) but hopefully they will all be good, and if they're made available on YouTube I'll be sure to provide links for anyone interested.

In the spirit of the annual trip to Lancaster, we're heading for that county in this week's quest, thanks to some guest photography from one of my fellow congoers. I think this might actually be my first Lancaster County post set outside of the city of the same name. If you've ever heard of a "normal school" and wondered what it was, we're going to answer that question.

The marker stands on the university campus, on 
North George Street, not far from Old Main.
Image courtesy of Claud K.

The term doesn't exist in common parlance nowadays (you might even say it's not normal anymore), so if you aren't familiar with its meaning I'm sure you're not alone. The only reason I had heard of it is because I used to attend Kutztown University, which also started its life as a normal school. The concept and name of a normal school originated in Reims, France, where the first École normale was established in 1685. Normal schools were literally dedicated to teaching teachers how to teach. The term derives from the fact that prospective teachers were educated in the norms, or fundamentals, of establishing a curriculum. In addition to the usual subjects taught at the time - mathematics, Latin, history, and so on - these norms included things like societal expectations, etiquette, and proper behavior.

The Lancaster County Normal School is remembered as being the first of its kind in Pennsylvania. It's been called Millersville University for as long as I can remember, but it only acquired that designation in 1983. By that point it was over a century old, having originally been chartered in 1855 and having gone through a few name changes since its time as a normal school. 

In fact, Lancaster County Normal School wasn't its original name, technically speaking. It was first called Millersville Academy, and it was dreamed up in 1854 in response to the 1834 Free School Act of Pennsylvania. Free public education wasn't exactly taking the commonwealth by storm just yet; the act had very nearly been repealed just a year after it was passed, and only survived thanks to the efforts of my favorite statesman Thaddeus Stevens. Even twenty years later, when this story begins, a lot of people were still against the idea for whatever reason. Fortunately, many of the people of Millersville were in favor of bringing about the means of educating the educators needed to help the movement grow. Lewis Hobbs, the schoolmaster of the village, was the one who suggested creating the academy, and was supported by a handful of other men who each contributed to the cause. Barton Martin, the richest of the group, gave money to the venture, while the others - Daniel Bare, Jonas Martin, Jacob Barr, and John Brady - helped to dig the foundations, solicited further donations from the neighbors, and worked at the academy for little or no pay. The building seen here, in a painting which I found courtesy of WikiCommons, was constructed in 1854 and later became known as Old Main when other buildings joined it. 

The school project was so well received that within a year, Millersville Academy became the host of a Normal Institute, a three-month venture into educating teachers who could then go out and continue promoting free education. This teachers' institute opened on April 17, 1855, with an enrollment of 135 students. In addition to subjects related to teaching itself, the faculty members taught things like elocution, mathematics, and chemistry. The whole thing was so successful that the trustees decided they needed to make it bigger and more permanent, turning it into a much bigger undertaking than the founders had originally dreamed. Normal schools had already begun appearing in other parts of the country, including Michigan and Vermont, and now Millersville would be the home of the first one in Pennsylvania. The Lancaster County Normal School opened on November 3, 1855, and added courses in things like Latin, Greek, music, and drawing. It again succeeded beyond expectation, requiring the enlargement of the building in order to accommodate the growing enrollment in 1857. That same year, Dr. Thomas Burrowes (one of the trustees) prepared the Normal School law for the state, and by 1859 the school expanded even farther in order to meet the requirements of the law. It also had its name changed to the Millersville State Normal School.

The school continued operating and growing under that name until 1929. By that time, the phrase "normal school" was falling out of favor, and most such schools were changing their names accordingly. Millersville followed suit, becoming instead Millersville State Teachers College. That was also when they expanded the requirements for their students; previously, students attended Millersville for two years in order to earn their teaching qualifications, but now they were enrolled in four-year baccalaureate programs. As the 20th century progressed, however, the educational needs of the population continued to evolve, especially after the World Wars and Great Depression were over. In particular, Millersville's enrollment exploded somewhat following World War II thanks to the G.I. Bill making education more accessible to the returning soldiers. So in 1959, they decided to drop the word "Teachers" from the school name, instead being known as a liberal arts college. Within the next few years, the original academy building was torn down to make way for a new library, though its former position on the campus is commemorated with a plaque.

In the early 1980s, Pennsylvania signed Act 188 into law and created the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Through this, all of the state colleges in the commonwealth, which had begun their lives as normal schools/teachers' colleges, were awarded university status. So since 1983, what began as the Lancaster County Normal School has been called Millersville University, which is frequently shortened to the affectionate nicknames of MU or "The Ville." This is the school logo.

As of this writing, MU enrolls around 6,500 undergraduate students and another 1,000 postgraduates. The school colors are black and gold, their athletic teams are called the Millersville Marauders, and the school motto is "Seize the opportunity." Among its notable alumni are Gertrude Johnson and Mary Wales, who were the co-founders of Johnson and Wales University; award-winning poet James Hoch; several elected members of the Pennsylvania houses of legislature; retired Buffalo Bills football player Robb Riddick; and the author and grammarian Eliphalet Oman Lyte, who also taught at Millersville, and is best remembered as the composer of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

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Sources and Further Reading:

Official website of Millersville University

Fritz, Mark. "The State Normal Schools." Pennsylvania Heritage magazine, Fall 1985.

Ellis, Franklin, and Samuel Evans. "History of Millersville and the State Normal School (Now Millersville University)." Excerpted from History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of the Pioneers and Prominent Men. Everts & Peck, Philadelphia, 1883. Reproduced online by the Conestoga Area Historical Society.

Millersville University at the Historical Marker Database 

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Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.