Washburn began as private college in 1865, named for Abraham Lincoln

On Feb. 6, 1865, Alfred I. Winans, probate judge of Shawnee County, signed and affixed his official seal to an act of incorporation establishing Lincoln College.

While this act was celebrated as a significant accomplishment for Topeka, the work was far from completed. For many years to come, the school would be affected by financial difficulties and political events. At times, the future of the college would be questioned when funding became depleted.

But diligence and dedication won, and in February, Washburn University will celebrate its 140th anniversary.

Lincoln College wasn't alone in its struggle for survival. During this time, several Kansas towns chartered colleges. By 1858, Highland University, today Highland Community College, had opened in Doniphan County, and Bluemont Central College in Manhattan, which became Kansas State University, opened.

The conflict between the free-state vs. proslavery forces that were battling for Kansas' future, followed by the Civil War, added financial strife for those who sought to establish institutions of higher learning,

Funds had to be secured and land had to be pledged. Often, the plans fell through.

Lincoln College was named for President Abraham Lincoln. Washburn President Peter McVicar, in a speech delivered in 1886, said the name was chosen to "commemorate the triumph of liberty over slavery ... and serve as a memorial of those fallen in defense of their country."

The college's founders had decreed that the school would "afford all classes, without distinction of color, the advantages of a liberal education, thus fitting them for positions of usefulness."

According to an article in The Washburn Reader, edited by Robert Stein, great pride was taken in the fact that Lincoln had been elected by 78 percent of the voters of Kansas, who at the time were exclusively white males.

Most eloquent was the declaration that, "The name of president Lincoln was in the minds of the founders of the college, indissolubly connected with the perpetuity of the American Union and the triumph of free institutions, and as such appropriate for a college whose establishment was sought by those who would perpetuate civil and religious liberty."

Noble intentions failed to pay the bills, and by 1868, the college faced severe financial difficulties. In October 1868, Massachusetts manufacturer Ichabod Washburn donated $25,000 toward an endowment to Lincoln College. The next month, Horatio Q. Butterfield (a professor who would serve a brief term as president) introduced a proposition to the trustees that the name of the school be changed to honor the new benefactor. Votes were cast, and the name Lincoln College became a footnote in Topeka history.

John Ritchie, who is credited with having financed the donation of land on which the campus is located, was the most vocal opponent of the name change. He believed removing the name of Lincoln would compromise the school's role in pioneering the admittance of black students.

Even though McVicar shared Ritchie's sentiments at the time, he noted years later in "An Historical Sketch of Washburn College" that those in favor of changing the name to Washburn College noted the existence several other literary institutions in the country bearing the name of Lincoln "thus creating confusion and embarrassing us in our movements."

According to university legend, Ichabod Washburn had only paid $10,000 of the $25,000 pledge when the college was rechristened with his name on Nov. 19. On Dec. 30, Washburn died, and the rest of the pledge was not paid. About the same time, McVicar also pledged $25,000, eventually making good on his promise.

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