Olivia DrakeOn Nov. 2, members of the Wesleyan community gathered at the Eclectic House to celebrate the building being named to the National Register of Historic Places and State of Connecticut Historic Registries. The Eclectic House, located at 200 High Street, was built in 1906 and formally dedicated in 1907. It was designed by Henry Bacon, who also designed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., as well as Olin Library and several other prominent buildings and spaces at Wesleyan. The National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by…
Ron Schatz, professor of history, tutor in the College of Social Studies, wrote an article on Middletown that was recently published in Past & Present, a prestigious English historical journal. The article, "The Barons of Middletown and the Decline of the North-Eastern Anglo-Protestant Elite," appeared in the March 2013 issue. Schatz uses the story of the transformation of the leadership of the city since the early 20th century as a microcosm of the United States during the past century. Wesleyan is mentioned several times in the 36-page article, including when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited Middletown in 1936. "Although quite…
During a 100 kilometer pilgrimage across Spain in June 2010, Kristin McQueeney purchased a silver scallop shell slide to wear on her necklace. Little did she know that shell carried a coincidental Wesleyan connection. The scallop, which represents the pilgrimage across Europe to Santiago de Compostela, also appears on the Wesleyan crest. According to Valerie Gillispie, assistant university archivist, the Wesleyan crest is based on the Methodist founder John Wesley's family coat-of-arms. Wesley was a descendent of the Wellysleye/Wellesley family, whose crest bears a cross decorated with five scallop shells. "Those who made pilgrimages across Europe, or from the port to the…