Facts and Faces of Middlebury
A selection of people, places, and things from Middlebury’s history.
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Founders and Trustees
Julian Willis Abernethy
1853-1923
Class of 1876
Trustee 1901-1923
Bibliophile, educator, and donor of the Abernethy Library
Gertrude Cornish Milliken
1880-1969
Class of 1901
First woman trustee, 1948-1969
Ezra Brainerd
1844-1924
Class of 1864
8th president of Middlebury College (1886-1907)
Trustee 1908-1924
Accomplished botanist specializing in violets
Calvin Hulbert
1827-1917
6th president of Middlebury College 1875-1880
Trustee 1866-1975
Harvey Kitchel
1812-1895
Class of 1835
5th president of Middlebury College (1866-1873)
Joshua Bates
1776-1854
3rd president of Middlebury College (1818-1839)
Old Chapel built under his tenure
Jeremiah Atwater
1773–1858
1st president of Middlebury College (1800-1809)
Trustee 1800-1809
Nathaniel Chipman
1752-1843
Trustee 1800-1843
Professor of Law at Middlebury College 1816-1843
Senator, Chief Justice of Vermont Supreme Court, Vermont State Legislator
Seth Storrs
1756-1837
Trustee 1800-1837
Middlebury town clerk from 1801-1831
Donated the land for the original campus
William Parker
1809-1889
Class of 1830
Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy 1848-1881
Treasurer of the College 1855-1884
Trustee 1855-1889
Brainerd Kellogg
1834-1920
Class of 1858
Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature 1861-1868
Trustee 1885-1920
Lyman Matthews
1801-1866
Class of 1822
Trustee 1847-1866
Pastor and farmer
Gamaliel Painter
1742-1819
Among earliest White settlers of Addison County
Judge, sheriff, Vermont State Legislator
Bequeathed entire estate to Middlebury, including his cane
Thomas Merrill
1780-1855
Tutor at Middlebury 1804-1805
Trustee 1806-1855
Joel Doolittle
1771-1844
First tutor at Middlebury 1800-1801
Trustee 1819-1841
Judge in Vermont Supreme Court 1817-1822, 1824 and Vermont State Legislator
Joseph Warner
1803-1865
Trustee 1850-1865
First Cashier of the National Bank of Middlebury 1831-1865
Warner Science Hall named for him
Daniel Chipman
1765-1850
Trustee 1800-1844
Professor of Law at Middlebury College from 1806-1816
Congressman, Vermont Speaker of the House
Chipman Hill in northeast Middlebury named for him
Samuel Miller
1764-1810
Trustee 1800-1810
2nd Treasurer of Middlebury 1803-1806
Ira Stewart
1779-1855
Trustee 1819-1855
Stewart Hall and Stewart-Swift Research Center at the Sheldon Museum named for him
Presidents
Laurie Patton
17th president of Middlebury College (2015-)
First woman president
Ronald D. Liebowitz
16th president of Middlebury College (2004-2015)
John Malcolm McCardell
15th president of Middlebury College (1992-2004)
Timothy Light
14th president of Middlebury College (1990-1991)
Olin Robison
13th president of Middlebury (1975-1990)
James Isbell Armstrong
12th president of Middlebury (1963-1975)
Initiated first tenure system at Middlebury
Samuel S. Stratton
1898-1969
11th president of Middlebury (1942-1963)
Established Navy V-12 Training Program, saving the College from financial ruin
Paul Dwight Moody
1879-1947
10th president of Middlebury (1921-1942)
John Martin Thomas
1869-1952
9th president of Middlebury (1908-1921)
Served as a US Army chaplain during WWI, while president
Ezra Brainerd
1844-1924
Class of 1864
8th president of Middlebury College (1886-1907)
Trustee 1908-1924
Accomplished botanist specializing in violets
Cyrus Hamlin
1811-1900
7th president of Middlebury (1880-1885)
Calvin Hulbert
1827-1917
6th president of Middlebury College 1875-1880
Trustee 1866-1975
Harvey Kitchel
1812-1895
Class of 1835
5th president of Middlebury College (1866-1873)
Benjamin Labaree
1801-1883
4th president of Middlebury (1840-1866)
Joshua Bates
1776-1854
3rd president of Middlebury College (1818-1839)
Old Chapel built under his tenure
Henry Davis
1771-1852
2nd president of Middlebury (1810-1817)
Jeremiah Atwater
1773–1858
1st president of Middlebury College (1800-1809)
Trustee 1800-1809
Faculty
Viola Chittenden White
1890-1977
First curator of the Abernethy Library of American Literature (1933-1956)
Assistant Professor
Librarian, writer, naturalist, diarist, hiker
Marjorie Lamberti
Second woman to be appointed to full professor at Middlebury
Charles A. Dana Professor of History (1964-2002)
Namesake of Marjorie Lamberti Faculty Appreciation Award
Rhoda Mabel White
Middlebury’s first Dean of Women (1909-1911)
First woman faculty member
Eleanor Sybil Ross
xxxx-1953
Class of 1895
Assistant Professor of English
Dean of Women (1915-1944)
Middlebury’s first alumna administrator
Early member of the Advisory Board of the Women’s College
Ezra Brainerd
1844-1924
Class of 1864
8th president of Middlebury College (1886-1907)
Trustee 1908-1924
Accomplished botanist specializing in violets
Harvey Kitchel
1812-1895
Class of 1835
5th president of Middlebury College (1866-1873)
Nathaniel Chipman
1752-1843
Trustee 1800-1843
Professor of Law at Middlebury College 1816-1843
Senator, Chief Justice of Vermont Supreme Court, Vermont State Legislator
Frederick Hall
1780-1843
Middlebury’s first Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, Frederick Hall (1808-1824)
Tutor at Middlebury College from 1805-1806
Hired at twice the salary of then President Jeremiah Atwater
Insisted that the trustees allow him to spend two years in Europe attending universities and scientific lectures, and acquiring books, scientific apparatus, and mineral specimens that constituted the foundation of the College’s scientific resources throughout the 19th century.
Henry Martyn Seely
1828-1917
Professor of Chemistry, Natural History, and Geology at Middlebury (1861-1895)
His former residence at 3 South Street has served s the official residence of Middlebury College presidents since 1917.
Edwin Higley
1843-1916
Class of 1868
Professor of Greek and German at Middlebury College (1872 -1882)
Served in the First Regiment of the Vermont Cavalry (1861-1865), captured by the Confederates and imprisoned from July 29, 1864-March, 1865. (Higley resumed his studies five months after his release.)
Thomas Boyce
1851-1943
Class of 1876
Professor of Mathematics (1886-1895)
Private Secretary to Joseph Battell (1896-1915), surveying and farming, and representing Battell in his purchase of private lands in the Green Mountain National Forest that eventually would be bequeathed by Battell to the College
William Parker
1809-1889
Class of 1830
Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy 1848-1881
Treasurer of the College 1855-1884
Trustee 1855-1889
William Fowler
1793-1881
Professor of Chemistry and Natural History (1827-1838)
Member of the Massachusetts Assembly and the Connecticut Senate
Edited the university edition of Webster’s Dictionary for his father-in-law Noah Webster
John Hough
1783-1861
Professor of Greek and Latin Languages (1812-1817, 1825-1838)
Professor of Theology (1817-1825)
Appointed the first Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature, 1838. (Hough resented this Trustee decision and refused to lecture on English literature. As a result, he was dismissed in 1839.)
Brainerd Kellogg
1834-1920
Class of 1858
Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature 1861-1868
Trustee 1885-1920
Thomas Merrill
1780-1855
Tutor at Middlebury 1804-1805
Trustee 1806-1855
Joel Doolittle
1771-1844
First tutor at Middlebury 1800-1801
Trustee 1819-1841
Judge in Vermont Supreme Court 1817-1822, 1824 and Vermont State Legislator
Daniel Chipman
1765-1850
Trustee 1800-1844
Professor of Law at Middlebury College from 1806-1816
Congressman, Vermont Speaker of the House
Chipman Hill in northeast Middlebury named for him
Alumni
Julian Willis Abernethy
1853-1923
Class of 1876
Trustee 1901-1923
Bibliophile, educator, and donor of the Abernethy Library
May Belle Chellis
Class of 1886
First woman to graduate Middlebury
Greek Prize winner, awarded Phi Beta Kappa, and delivered her essay “The Growth of Criticism” at Commencement
Eleanor Sybil Ross
xxxx-1953
Class of 1895
Assistant Professor of English
Dean of Women (1915-1944)
Middlebury’s first alumna administrator
Early member of the Advisory Board of the Women’s College
Gertrude Cornish Milliken
1880-1969
Class of 1901
First woman trustee, 1948-1969
Charlotte May Johnson
Class of 1901
Principal and educator at the Bridgman Memorial School and Missionary in Shanghai, China
Mary Anderson
Class of 1899
First woman of color to graduate from Middlebury College
First woman of color to be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa honor society
As Valedictorian, she delivered a Commencement address entitled “The Crown of Culture.”
Professor at Straight University in New Orleans, Louisiana and Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Ezra Brainerd
1844-1924
Class of 1864
8th president of Middlebury College (1886-1907)
Trustee 1908-1924
Accomplished botanist specializing in violets
Harvey Kitchel
1812-1895
Class of 1835
5th president of Middlebury College (1866-1873)
Martin Henry Freeman
1826-1889
Class of 1849
First African-American Professor and College President in the U.S. at Allegheny Institute (later Avery College), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1851-1862)
President (1868-) and Professor of Mathematics (1863-1868), Liberia College in Monrovia, Liberia
Asa Hemenway
1810-1892
Class of 1835
Missionary, American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions at Bangkok, Siam (1839-1850)
Pastor in Vermont and New York (1850-1872)
Jesse Caswell
1809-1848
Class of 1832
Agent of American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions from 1838-1839, missionary in Siam
Tutor to the Crown Prince of Siam, later King Mongkut
Nathaniel Preston
1804-1866
Class of 1831
Alexander Twilight
1795-1857
Class of 1832
First person of color to graduate from an American college
First person of color to serve as representative to the State Legislature in 1836
Principal and educator at Orleans County Grammar School in Brownington, Vermont (1829-1847, 1852-1855)
Jehudi Ashmun
1794-1828
Studied at Middlebury 1812-1814, University of Vermont class of 1816
appointed official representative of the United States government to the Liberian mission, American Colonization Society
Governor of the Liberian colony (1822-1827)
Levi Parsons
1792-1822
Class of 1814
Appointed to the first Palestine Mission by he American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (1819-1822)
Pliny Fisk
1792-1825
Class of 1814
Appointed to the first Palestine Mission by he American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Smyrna and Egypt (1819-1823)
Missionary in Jerusalem (1823-1825)
Edwin Higley
1843-1916
Class of 1868
Professor of Greek and German at Middlebury College (1872 -1882)
Served in the First Regiment of the Vermont Cavalry (1861-1865), captured by the Confederates and imprisoned from July 29, 1864-March, 1865. (Higley resumed his studies five months after his release.)
Aldace Walker
1842-1901
Class of 1862
Valedictorian, delivered commencement address in Civil War uniform
Brainerd Kellogg
1834-1920
Class of 1858
Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature 1861-1868
Trustee 1885-1920
Cephas Rockwood
1786-1844
Class of 1808
William Parker
1809-1889
Class of 1830
Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy 1848-1881
Treasurer of the College 1855-1884
Trustee 1855-1889
Lyman Matthews
1801-1866
Class of 1822
Trustee 1847-1866
Pastor and farmer
Architecture and Landscapes
Academy Building
Built 1798 after Chipman, Storrs, Painter, and Miller formed the Addison County Grammar School Corporation
Housed both College and Grammar School from 1800-1805
Burned 1904 and rebuilt serving the town as the College Street Graded School
Acquired by Middlebury in 1984, renamed Twilight Hall in honor of Alexander Lucius Twilight, Middlebury Class of 1823
Athletic Fields
Core of the Middlebury College campus
Originally used as athletic fields adjacent to the McCullough Gymnasium
Academy Park
Land donated by Seth Storrs
Painter Hall
Built 1814-1816
Oldest extant college building in Vermont
First building built on Old Stone Row
Warner Hall
Built 1901
Gift of Ezra J. Warner, class 1861
Middlebury Chapel
Built 1916
Gift of ex-governor John A. Mead, class of 1864
Starr Hall
Built 1860 with funds donated by Charles and Egbert Starr
Burned 1864 and rebuilt within the old shell with further donations by the Starr brothers
Hepburn Hall
Built 1914-1916
Gift of A. Barton Hepburn Class of 1871
Middlebury’s first fireproof dormitory
Built with yellow brick, painted gray after Hepburn’s death
Voter Hall
Built 1912-1913 as Chemistry building
Lower floors were renovated to house the College’s network and computer center, 1988
McCullough Gym
Built 1912
Funded largely by ex-governor John G. McCullough
The gymnasium served first men, then (after 1949) women
Arthur M. Brown Swimming Pool added 1963
Pearsons Hall
Built 1911
First Middlebury structure built for women
Named for D.K. Pearsons of Chicago, who encouraged and helped fund the project
Starr Library
Built 1900
Now the Axinn Center, named for donor Donald Everett Axinn ’51
Kitchel House
Built by College President Kitchell in 1867
Used as first housing for women in 1891
Old Chapel
Built 1836
Second building on Old Stone Row
Bread Loaf Campus
Land bequeathed to Middlebury in 1915 by Joseph Battell
Home of the summer School of English and the Writers’ Conference
College Publications
Middlebury Campus
1905-present
First a monthly, then a weekly publication
The Undergraduate
1830-1831 and 1876-1902
Middlebury News Letter
1926-1983
Since the early 1980’s, The Middlebury College News Letter‘s tradition has been continued by Middlebury Magazine
The essays under the category Architecture & landscapes are taken from Glenn Andres’ Walking History of Middleburyand are used with his permission. The essays for several of the twentieth and twenty-first century College presidents are adapted from David Haward Bain’s The College on the Hill and are used with his permission.