Note: Bluffton sixth graders in the 1953-54 school year (graduating class of 1960) created a booklet titled "The Bluffton Story." The following article is part of that booklet, which is now in the history collection at the Bluffton Public Library. This series continues each week on the Icon.
By John Ebersole and Richard Reichenbach
Monday, November 5, 1900 was the date of birth of Central Mennonite College. Tuesday, November 6, 1900 saw the first classes of the new school with a total enrollment of twenty students. After much deliberation and work, the college came into being with Dr. N. C. Hirshey at the helm as the first president.
Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary, the successor to the older Central Mennonite College, were founded in 1914. In 1915 the first Bachelor's degrees were conferred on its graduating class, as in the time previous the college had been only a prep school for larger universities. The Seminary remained part of the college until it became the independent Witmarsum Theological Seminary in 1921.
The first Bachelor of School of Music Degree was granted in 1930.
Dr. S. K. Mosiman succeeded Dr. Hirshey as the president of the college and guided its growth over a quarter of a century. He was followed by Rev. A. S. Rosenburger and, since 1938, Dr. L. L. Ramseyer has been the president.
From a humble start the college has grown steadily and today it can boast of Founders Hall, one of the finest gymnasium in the Northwestern part of Ohio with a seating capacity of 2,000.
The Musselman Library is one of the finest for a college of its size in the country. The library contains 22,500 volumes and 200 current periodicals.
Lincoln Hall, the girls' dormitory, can accommodate 100 students. Ropp Hall, the boys' dormitory, has room for fifty-five students, and the dining hall in the basement will seat 200.
Science Hall houses laboratories for chemistry, physics, biology and home economics.
The Administration Building houses eight class rooms.
In addition to the other buildings, there is a heating plant, music hall, and several residences owned by the college which are used as dorm facilities.
The college has one of the outstanding campuses in Ohio. It is located on forty acres of gentle rolling wooded land.
To read previous part of this series, click here.
