The Holloway Archives has installed a new exhibit for Fall 2018. “We Must Rebuild”: Milligan College’s Fire of 1918 focuses on the Milligan of one hundred years ago and the devastating fire that changed the college. “When I realized that it was exactly one hundred years since this pivotal event in Milligan’s history, I thought it would make a interesting exhibit,” says archivist Katie Banks. “While researching for the exhibit, I found some really fascinating items.”

The exhibit displays what Milligan College was like a hundred years ago. Henry J. Derthick had been president for about a year, and the campus was almost unrecognizable from what it is today. The Great War had also affected the school, including the introduction of the Student Army Training Corps, a program to train men to be officers while living on campus and attending the host institution. Just days after the war ended, the Administration Building–the main college building–burned, leaving students homeless and the college without its records, teaching materials, library, and classrooms. But through the perseverance and hard work of President Derthick, the college recovered and flourished with new buildings and improvements, including a new Administration Building–renamed years later as Derthick Hall.

The old Administration Building after the fire, circa 1918

This story is told through items such as photos, letters, and student publications. One item is a letter from Herbert Hoover, dated October 21, 1918, at the time representing the United States Food Administration, asking the college to help in a food conservation program. Another interesting item is a brick recovered during more recent Derthick Hall renovations believed to be from the old Administration Building that burned. The most sentimental item in the exhibit is a letter from President Derthick to Josephus Hopwood expressing his thoughts about the fire. “Milligan has been the object of your love for so long a time that I know you are deeply moved over the loss. We must rebuild and in a very large way. Your child must accomplish even greater things in the future than she has in the past.” [Derthick to Hopwood, 1918 November 19, Hopwood Correspondence, The Holloway Archives at Milligan College, Milligan College, TN] These lines reveal Derthick’s ambition to keep the college going and even strengthen it, which he ultimately would do.

Detail of the exhibit showing a brick believed to be from the old Administration Building.

Be sure to come check out this exhibit on the first floor of the Welshimer Library! Library hours are Monday-Thursday 7:45 AM-Midnight, Friday 7:45 AM-5:00 PM, Saturday 11:00 AM-5:00 PM, and Sunday 2:00 PM-Midnight. You can also view other portions of the exhibit in MCStor, Milligan College’s institutional repository.

If you would like to know more about Milligan’s history, set up an appointment with archivist Katie Banks to visit The Holloway Archives!

Kristen Williams, Class of ’18, completed the Holloway Archives Internship at Milligan College this past Spring semester. One of the highlights of Kristen’s internship was curating and installing the “Legacy of Christian Unity: The Stone-Campbell Movement” archive exhibit at P. H. Welshimer Memorial Library. Starting in January, Kristen began researching primary resources of prominent Stone-Campbell figures in the Holloway Archives collections. With the Stone-Campbell Journal Conference being hosted at Milligan in April 2018, Kristen prepared to curate an exhibit to showcase Milligan’s connection with the Stone-Campbell Movement.

When asked about her research, Kristen replied, “I didn’t have any real knowledge about the Stone-Campbell Movement. Learning about the Stone-Campbell Movement and seeing it reflected by prominent people at Milligan was really interesting. Taking the time to research and learn about the movement has helped me better understand what it’s all about and see the impact it has had on Milligan College.”

How does one select from so many historical items for an exhibit? “When I was deciding on which items to place in the exhibit, I looked for books, pictures, and scholarly papers. I found interesting papers that dealt with the theme of Christian unity, which made it really easy to make the connections between the different items.”

“I displayed the exhibit in chronological order. I started with an excerpt from Beside the Waters of the Buffalo: A History of Milligan College to 1941 by Cynthia Ann Cornwell. The excerpt showcased how the division of one church led to the creation of a new church that would later become Hopwood Memorial Church and later a part of Milligan College. I then focused on major figures related to Milligan College: Robert Milligan, Frederick D. Kershner, P.H. Welshimer, B.D. Phillips, Mildred Welshimer Phillips, and Henry Webb.”

When asked to reflect on her internship experience, Kristen shared, “The archives internship has been so fun and interesting! I have enjoyed researching and being in the Archives. I loved finding pieces like Mildred Welshimer Phillips’ badge from the 1950 International Convention of Disciples of Christ. This little badge was tucked away in her folder. It was also really neat to have the exhibit be a part of the Stone-Campbell Journal Conference that was hosted here at Milligan.”

Kristen Williams graduates from Milligan in May with a Bachelor of Arts in English, with a minors in Multimedia Journalism and Women’s and Gender Study. Kristen received the Get Real Ministries “Love God. Love People” Scholarship and was the recipient of Milligan Women’s Soccer Scholarship. Kristen actively served as Assistant Editor for The Stampede, Milligan’s student newspaper. Kristen will attend graduate school in East Tennessee State University’s library science program starting this fall.

Milligan’s Archive Internship opportunity
Each fall semester, students are invited to apply for one volunteer Archive Internship opportunity at The Holloway Archives at Milligan College. The internship begins the following spring semester. All majors are welcome to apply. Please stay tuned for announcements coming this fall.

Have a Milligan history question? Contact library@milligan.edu.
Find out more about Milligan’s archives here.
Find us on Twitter at #MilliganArchives

This past week was quite busy for the library staff! On April 6th and 7th, the Stone-Campbell Journal Conference was held at Milligan College for the first time in its 17 year history. The occasion provided an excellent venue for the re-opening of the Helsabeck Archives of the Stone-Campbell Movement (SCM). In preparation for the event, former Theological Librarian John Mark Wade, Archives Intern Katherine Banks, College Archivist Lindsay Kenderes, and myself (Theological Librarian David Kiger) organized the third floor of the Seminary Library to house a display honoring the legacy of preaching in the Stone-Campbell Movement. We displayed the saddlebag of Dennis Helsabeck Sr.’s father, several books that focus on preaching in the SCM, a video of Marshall Leggett acting as Barton Stone, as well as many photos from our collection.

The Helsabeck Archives were moved to the third floor of Seminary Library in early 2017, but were not set up in a way that made them accessible for researchers. Through the generous donation (of time and shelving units) from John Mark Wade, we were able to store and organize many of the unprocessed boxes in a secure part of the archives. This move created space to set up a display of pictures, books, and more. Perhaps more importantly, we were able to use the available space to create room for scholars to use the archives as a research location.

The Thursday before the conference, Dr. Loretta Hunnicutt of Pepperdine University came to the Helsabeck Archives to research for her book project on the history of women’s leadership in the Stone-Campbell Movement. By accessing our online catalog she was able to locate several books and journals that were relevant to her research. She sent a bibliography of works that she would like to use prior to her visit and we had these sources ready for her upon her arrival. While the books were important, what truly impressed Dr. Hunnicutt was our collection of vertical files. The Helsabeck Archives houses 40 vertical files with a wide assortment of papers, unpublished manuscripts, correspondences and missionary newsletters. It was from this collection that Dr. Hunnicutt discovered a 1,500 page autobiography from Maude Whitmore Madden, a missionary to Japan for 43 years. This rich resource was a delight to Professor Hunnicutt and directly related to her research. At the end of her time she said that the Helsabeck Archives is the best collection of Christian Church/Churches of Christ materials she had come across.

The fun did not stop with Dr. Hunnicutt’s visit. On the first evening of the conference there was a tour of the Helsabeck Archives. Around 30 people were present for the tour, and all left with the knowledge that there is a lot of primary source research to be done here. Many people were impressed with the quality of the archives and the potential for innovative research it presents.

Our goals for the archives going forward are to create finding aids and contents lists for our vertical files, to process more of our Dean E. Walker collection, and to work toward building a more robust online presence with digitization. We would also love to see classes on Stone-Campbell history come and use our archives for class sessions, research, and more.

Milligan College Archivist, Lindsay Kenderes hopes you will come by the main floor of the P.H. Welshimer Memorial Library to see two exhibits on display for Homecoming 2017.

A Vision For Milligan

This exhibit reveals an early history of Milligan College, with Rev. Wilson G. Barker arriving at Buffalo Creek Christian Church and establishing the Buffalo Male and Female Institute in 1866. Lawson White Hampton was a student at the Buffalo Institute around 1870-1871 and the Holloway Archives has his original class notebook featuring writings from his Composition Writing and Reading class. “To have an example of a student’s work from the early years of the Buffalo Institute is a rare find in the Archives,” said Kenderes.

Another exciting item on display is Dr. Josephus Hopwood’s telescope, which was given to him by Wilkie Snyder Bishop. Earlier this semester, on the day of the solar eclipse (August 21, 2017), Anne E. Bishop, with her nephew James Allen Bishop and family, donated this telescope to Milligan College. In 1915, Dr. Hopwood returned to Milligan to serve a second term as president. While on a walk on Emmanuel Hill he became acquainted with a little boy playing in the woods. This boy was 9-year-old Wilkie Snyder Bishop. Dr. Hopwood was intrigued by the telescope Wilkie was playing with. Wilkie shared his telescope and Hopwood used it to gaze across the valley toward Milligan College. After returning home, Wilkie’s father encouraged his son to give his telescope to Dr. Hopwood. The telescope was returned to the Bishop family after Hopwood’s death in 1935.

“I think this telescope signifies Dr. Hopwood’s vision for what Milligan College has become today. Milligan has united with Emmanuel Christian Seminary, on the spot where Wilkie Snyder Bishop shared his telescope with Dr. Hopwood. I think this was a foreshadowing moment of what Milligan now represents,” said Kenderes.

Class of 1967: Reminiscing Milligan Life 50 Years Ago

Each year at Homecoming, alumni return to unite with classmates from their graduating year. This year, the Archives celebrates the Class of 1967’s 50th Reunion by showcasing an array of student life photos and documents they would have experienced during their time at Milligan. “I think students would be surprised by some of these photos, including one showing a student with a typewriter on Pardee lawn, and a classroom photo with some students wearing ties.”