Paper by Julie Ott
Conway Hall and Its Connection to the Carlisle Indian School
Dickinson College employed a preparatory school almost as long as it’s existence till 1917. It was a boarding school for boys and a few girls who were interested in attending a college after high school. Fortunately, there were a few Carlisle Indian School students who were allowed to attend so that they could gain an entrance into an reputable college. The main focus will be on one Indian Conway Hall student, Franklin J Mt. Pleasant, and the life of a Conway Hall student.
The Dickinson College has had a Grammar School since almost the beginning of the school’s existence. The students lived in East College along with the college students. Administration also disciplined the pupils with and as college students. Unfortunately, the college began to be lax in its discipline which was a detriment to the prep school as the students began to be impatient with the Prep school. Some of the courses at the Prep school were not necessary for entrance into college. Also, the college began to give out too much money in scholarships, which they did not expect, and the prep school was losing the college money. This is the reason why the school closed in 1869. The Prep school re-opened in 1877 with the idea that the school would not necessarily offer preparatory courses for college but rather courses that resembled college courses. This way they could attract a higher grade of students. The new school would now be in Emory Chapel, formerly a Methodist church building. This was the new building until 1886 . Conway Hall was built in 1905 because the school needed a new building to house and teach the Dickinson Preparatory school students. Unfortunately, Dickinson College did not the funds to build a new school. President Reed decided to write a letter to Andrew Carnegie who was a trustee from 1892-1894, telling him about the school’s financial situation. Andrew Carnegie gave the school $63,480 to build Conway Hall as long as the school was named after Moncure D. Conway. Conway graduated from Dickinson College in 1849. He was a well-known author and abolitionist. The new hall was four stories in height and could house more than a hundred students and teachers. “In addition to spacious dormitories it has an administration office, recitation rooms, halls for literary societies, a large dining room, and a chapel with seating capacity for 300 persons; throughout it is heated by steam and lighted by electricity, and the sanitary conditions are excellent”. The school was closed in 1917 due to decreased enrollment because of the World War I .
According to the Microcosm, students at Conway Hall had a rich high school life. There were two literary societies, Gamma Upsilon Literary Society and the Reed Literary Society. These two literary societies competed each year for a prize given by the school. A fraternity, Upsilon Gamma Sigma, was also part of the extracurricular activities of the school. Reading the excerpts from the Microcosms suggest that students had many close relationships. Surprisingly, though, many of the Indian students that graduated from Conway Hall do not have their senior portraits in the Microcosms. In earlier days, students had a steward that attended to their personal items. A matron was hired by the school to be the equivalent of a house mother. Students had the choice of living in singles, suites, or just doubles. Suites and singles did cost extra. Some of the students stayed in town especially if they were from the Carlisle area. The Indian students stayed at the Indian school while they were attending Conway Hall. Many students were also active in the sports teams that the school offered. A few girls also attended the school although there were not many . The reason why some Indian students attended Conway Hall is because they wanted to have a college preparatory education that Indian school did not offer. The Indian school did not teach higher mathematics, literature, Greek or Latin, all of which were required for an acceptance into a reputable college. The Indian school mainly taught vocational skills such as laundry, sewing, printing, etc to its students.
Richard Pratt started the Carlisle Industrial Indian School in order to give “underprivileged” Indian children a chance to better themselves. All Indian children from reservation had to attend a government run boarding or day school in order to assimilate the American Indian with “white” culture. Most of these children came from Indian reservations in the western part of America. The children were completely anglicized and were forced to relinquish their Indian heritage. These children learned how to read, write, and do simple math. They were also taught how to be good Christians and vocational training such as sewing, laundering, farming, etc. Most were forbidden to speak their native languages and to engage in their traditional customs. They were forced to attend Christian services, mostly Protestant, and to give up their native costumes. All of this was done to “save” the American Indian from their own culture and to help them become more powerful members in “white” society. Unfortunately, the basis of their educational was focused on vocational training and not a college preparatory education. The purpose of Conway Hall was to prepare the Indian students who wanted to attend Conway Hall. Only a select few were chosen to attend Conway Hall.
Franklin Mt. Pleasant was a Seneca Indian from the Tuscacora Indian Reservation in the Niagra Falls, New York area. The Seneca tribe was part of the Iroquois tribe which created the 6 Nations of the East. He was born in 1884. In 1904, at the age of 20, he enrolled at the Carlisle Indian School. His widowed father sent Mt. Pleasant and his sister, Mamie Mt.Pleasant Printup to the school . At the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, he learned how to play football, basketball, baseball and he ran track. Franklin learned how to be an accomplished person by learning how to play the piano while being the quarterback and left halfback for the Indian school football team . Glenn S. “Pop” Warner was the coach for the Redmen, the Indian school football team .
In order to attend Dickinson College, Mt. Pleasant attended Conway Hall in order to attain a college preparatory education. He entered Dickinson College as a sophomore at the class of 1910. As some schools did not approve of Mt. Pleasant playing football at Dickinson College, they refused to play against the Dickinson College football team. His longest punt was 80 yards against Gettysburg College in 1909. He was the leading scorer in 1908 and 1909 and the team elected him as team captain in 1909 . He is spoken highly of in the college. “We are fortunate in the possession of such genial “good fellow” as he proved to be on all occasions. The crowd is always jolly when Frank’s around. A good student, a true friend, “Mount” is one of the most popular fellows in college” . Franklin Mt. Pleasant is the first Native American to graduate from Dickinson College . Mt. Pleasant competed in the 1908 Olympics in London, England. Despite sustaining a ligament injury, he placed sixth in the broad and triple jumps. Later, he defeated Francis Irons, the U.S. gold medalist, by setting a new French record at the Paris games. Till the early 21st century, Mt. Pleasant was the long jump record holder at 23’3.5” . After Dickinson College, Mt. Pleasant coached football at Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa., Indiana University of Pennsylvania, West Virginia Wesleyan University, and the State University of New York. He was decorated for his bravery in World War I as a lieutenant in the United States Army. After his service in the Army, not much is known about Mt. Pleasant. It is believed that he moved back to New York State. He died in 1937 as a postal clerk of injuries from a hit-and-run car accident. Mt. Pleasant was 53 years old .
Franklin Mt. Pleasant is not the only Indian School student to attend Conway Hall. Others are William L. Baine, Frank Cayou, Howard Gansworth, James F. Johnson, Antonio J. Lubo, Thomas Marshall, Hastings M. Robertson, Eva Foster, and Alice Denomic. Even though these students attended Conway Hall, it does not seem as if they were as accepted as Franklin Mt. Pleasant was at Dickinson College. At the Conway Hall section in the microcosm, there are very few pictures of the Indian students even though they did graduate from Conway Hall. Perhaps this is indicative of the discrimination that Indian students at this time had to face.
The Carlisle Indian Industrial School has had a long history with Dickinson College and its institutions. Professor J.A. Lippincott and Richard Pratt were longstanding friends that collaborated with each other often. Therefore, it is not surprising that a few Indian school students attended Conway Hall and Dickinson College. Even though many Indian students faced discrimination from the dominant white society, they still were able to take advantage of the education offered by that dominant white society. Many of them attended Dickinson College, even though most did not graduate. Even though it is not always known why some of them did not graduate, the important is that they were given an opportunity to become academically educated and not just vocational training.
