Western Reserve University
Hudson OH and Cleveland OH
1826-1969
E-Travel
Yearbooks for Western Reserve University are part of the digital collection of Case Western Reserve. Some are also part of the collection at Ancestry.com.
The 1914 editorial staff of the Reserve had representatives from all the colleges of the Univeristy. <http://digital.case.edu/downloads/83370759w> accessed 2-1-2017
History
The original impulse for a college in the Western Reserve of Connecticut was “the education of young men for the ministry.” The college with an accompanying preparatory school was founded at Hudson, OH, felt at the time to be a more promising location than Cleveland. The theology department was dropped in 1852. In 1880 Amasa Stone, a Cleveland industrialist, offered the college a half million dollars if it would relocate to Cleveland and take the name Adelbert College of Western Reserve University. After this, Western Reserve quickly grew. In 1881 the Cleveland Medical College and the Charity Hospital Medical College merged to form the Reserve Medical College. In the same year, the school of pharmacy was opened as part of the university. In 1888 the college for women opened. In 1892 the law school and the dental school were added. The school of library science came in 1904 and the nursing school came in 1923, making Western Reserve a comprehensive university.
Then in 1969 Western Reserve merged with Euclid Avenue neighbor Case Institute of Technology to become Case Western Reserve University, a school of around 10,000 students.
Among Adelbert College, the college for women and the professional schools, Western Reserve had a student body of more than 2200 according to the 1926 Nihon. Many of these students participated in student government, publications, debate, drama, music and religious work. The college for women had separate opportunities in most of these. Seventeen social fraternities and nine social sororities had chapters on the campus. In addition, the campus had chapters of most academic and professional fraternities
Bricks and Mortar
Adelbert Hall, the first Western Reserve building on Euclid Avenue, was constructed in 1882 at a cost of 136,000, financed by Amasa Stone. Until 1894 it housed all academic departments of Adelbert College in addition to the library and administrative offices. It continued to be home to many departments through the years, and is still an anchor building on Adelbert Square. Clark Hall, the original building of College for Women, was added in 1892. It housed academic departments, the library and chapel. Both Adelbert and Clark are still a part of the expanded 155 acre Case Western Reserve University campus.
Adelbert Hall. Image by Daderot <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelbert_Hall#/media/File:Adelbert_Hall_-_Case_Western_Reserve_University.jpg> accessed 2-01-2017
Sports
Team name: Originally the Pioneers, Western Reserve took the name Red Cats in 1931.
Colors: Red and White
The 1926 Nihon shows Western Reserve fielding teams in five traditional sports—football, basketball, baseball and track in addition to wrestling and boxing. Western Reserve was a charter member of the Ohio Athletic Conference in 1902, leaving that conference in 1934.
In 1954 W.R.U. became a charter member of the President’s Athletic Conference.
Western fielded football teams from 1890 until the merger in 1869. Through the years the Reserve had three undefeated teams—1894, 1936, and 1938. The 1907 and 1908 teams each finished 9-1 with O.A.C. championships. Cleveland newspapers noted that Western flirted with the “big time” after leaving the O.A.C., adding Cornell, West Virginia, Boston College and Syracuse to the schedule. After a 7-1 season, the 1940 team was selected to play in the Sun Bowl, where they defeated Arizona State 26-13. The 1955 (5-1-1) and 1960 (6-1) teams won P.A.C. championships. Western Reserve dominated the rivalry with neighbor Case Institute, winning 49 of 67 games.
The College for Women operated a very strong intramural program in basketball, hockey, baseball, track and hi-low.
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