Saint Anselm College - History

History

The first bishop of Manchester, Denis Mary Bradley, invited the Benedictine monks of St. Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, to form a college and preparatory school in his diocese. The monks that came to Manchester from Saint Mary's were primarily of German descent. This is due to the fact that Manchester was heavily populated with French Canadian and Irish immigrant mill workers, and Bradley was unable to find a suitable religious community that would not stir up ethnic tensions. The German monks accepted, and founded the third Catholic college in New England. A six-year curriculum in philosophy and theology was developed. In 1892, as Alumni Hall neared completion, a fire destroyed the college on a cold winter night in February. The fire was most likely caused from an ember from the heating stove's gate as it was not closed properly. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt because of the fire. The monks were forced to rebuild the college, spending considerably less money on the construction, as they had received only $55,000 from the Insurance Commissioner of the State of New Hampshire. To save money, many bricks were salvaged from the previous structure and pieces of granite were cut from large granite rocks still visible on the current quad. In 1893, the current building that remains the center of campus was completed; the fire delayed the first academic semester by one year. The monks rebuilt the college, and on October 11, 1893 the college was officially rededicated. To avoid the possibility of another fire, a power house, which today serves as the college print shop, was constructed separately from the building. Two years later, in 1895, the New Hampshire legislature granted Saint Anselm College the right to bestow standard academic degrees upon its graduates. In 1912, the bell tower and ivy were added to the building; in 1923, the college's second chapel (the first being located on the second floor at the present-day business office) was constructed as a connecting wing. The second chapel serves today as the Alva deMars Megan Chapel Arts Center.

The Abbey Shield was designed by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose of Harvard University. It incorporates the personal coat of Saint Anselm of Canterbury and the first seal of the state of New Hampshire. In 1927, by a monastic vote, the shield design was incorporated as the official shield of Saint Anselm Abbey and the college. The drops in each quadrant represent the three drops of blood on Anselm's coat of arms, and the sheaf of five arrows is taken from the first shield of the State of New Hampshire, representing the five original counties of the state. Hence, the Abbey Shield has been interpreted as Saint Anselm of New Hampshire.

One goal of the early college was to be a self-sufficient institution. The college had a farm that was over 100 acres (0.40 km2) in size, complete with chickens, pigs and cows. The farm also included a full vegetable garden which extended from the lawn of Alumni Hall to the current parking lot located between Joan of Arc Hall and Davison Hall. Due to the hard work of the monks and several lay members from the local community, the college was agriculturally independent of the local community. Fr. Bonaventure Ostendarp, O. S. B. founded the Studio of Christian Art in 1893 in order to sell paintings to local Catholic churches throughout the region. The current Raphael House of the Courts dorms was the original art studio for the monks, built in 1895.

The Benedictines who established Saint Anselm founded a preparatory school, as well. The preparatory school was a prestigious boarding school for elite men from around New England. In 1935, the monks decided to close the preparatory school to save money for the college's expansion. A notable alum of Saint Anselm Preparatory was Connecticut Senator Thomas J. Dodd.

In 1942, Saint Anselm became one of the institutions selected by the War Department for training of Army Aviation cadets. Thousands of young men were sent to the college to receive training and education before entering World War II. Cadets trained on large open fields which were located directly behind the present-day Coffee Shop. The U.S. government paid the college for training the cadets, and after the war, the college acquired two prefabricated government buildings which have been transformed into the modern-day coffee shop and bookstore. During World War II, several members of the monastic community served as Army chaplains; their names are inscribed on a monument in front of Alumni Hall dedicated to all graduates who have served in the armed forces. Also inscribed on the monument is the Latin and English versions of the Benedictine community's song. For more information see Saint Anselm Abbey Community Song.

Saint Anselm came out of the tumultuous decade of the 1960s with no major disturbances or riots on campus despite various bomb threats called into campus, often from parties outside the college. Fr. Placidus Riley, O.S.B. successfully lead the college through these challenging times. Despite the backlash against the U.S. military on college campuses nationwide, the presence of a National Guard armory did not result in any major problems. However, in May 1970, final exams for that year were made optional as students showed support for the students of Kent State after the massacre of several unarmed college students protesting the Vietnam War. Students, faculty and members of the monastic community held prayer services and rallies throughout campus after the shootings.

The Institute of Saint Anselm Studies was founded in 2000, and the New Hampshire Institute of Politics was founded in 2001. In 2009, the college lost a notable trustee, Dominic DiMaggio, an All-Star center fielder for Boston Red Sox who served on the college's Board of Trustees from 1978 to 2009.