 "Photo: Jared Makowski")
The year is 1766, and the day is Nov. 10. New Jersey's last colonial governor, William Franklin, signs the charter bringing Queen's College into existence.
Today, in 2002, the college only exists in the spirit of the historic buildings that reside on the Old Queens campus. Though much has changed since the day Franklin signed the charter, one thing has remained over the last 236 years: Rutgers.
In 1747, around the creation of Princeton University — then known as the College of New Jersey — there was a group of Dutch ministers who wanted to gain autonomy in ecclesiastical affairs, University archivist Thomas Frusciano writes in his essay, "A Historical Sketch of Rutgers University." Those who wanted to become Dutch ministers had to travel to the Netherlands to be ordained, which at the time was a rather long trip.
In reaction to this restriction, the ministers, who became the Coetus, wanted to create an American classis — a governing body in a reformed church — that would establish a theology professorship, Frusciano writes.
There are always two sides to every story, and although there were those who wanted autonomy in ecclesiastical affairs, there were many who wanted to preserve tradition. This group came to be known as the Conferentie. "The seed of discontent had been sowed, prompting Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen to travel on horseback … in the winter 1755 to rally the Dutch ministers and congregations into action," Frusciano writes.
Frelinghuysen's appeal to Holland's ecclesiastical governing council, the synod, for the formation of the classis failed. As a result of the journey, Frelinghuysen lost his life. "Rebuffed by the Classis of Amsterdam, [Frelinghuysen] set sail for the colonies in 1761; as his vessel approached New York Harbor, he mysteriously perished at sea," Frusciano writes.
The mission of obtaining ecclesiastic autonomy on state affairs was now left up to others. The University's first president, Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh, established himself as a formidable leader of the Coetus and "a staunch supporter of the college movement," Frusciano writes.
Following in Frelinghuysen's footsteps, Hardenbergh traveled to Europe in search of the synod's approval for the classis, Frusciano writes. Like Frelinghuysen before him, Hardenbergh was rejected. However, to the church's annoyance, Hardenbergh collected the money promised to Frelinghuysen for the establishment of a college.
The first charter to establish Queen's College in 1761 had complications and resulted in Franklin's approval of a second charter in 1770. With funds in hand, Franklin granted the creation of Queen's College, named in honor of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of England.
"The original charter presumably included features which were unacceptable to the trustees," Frusciano writes. The second charter created Queen's College in New Jersey Province to educate the youth in language, liberal, the divinity, and useful arts and sciences.
With the college set to operate, the first classes were held in the local Red Lion tavern, which was on the corner of Albany and Neilson Streets in New Brunswick. In 1774, the college held its first commencement exercises, with 19-year-old Matthew Leydt, a city resident, representing the entire graduating class.
After a shaky start during the early years, the Revolutionary War caused a national economic depression, forcing the college to shut down. "The college had run a significant deficit, and the salaries owed to both the president and the tutors had gone unpaid," Frusciano writes.
The college's hard times made the Board of Trustees entertain the possibility of merging with the College of New Jersey in 1793. According to the University archives Web site, the vote failed by only one, and just two years later, the BOT considered moving the college to New York.
However, the vote failed, and the doors of Queen's College were closed to the world for 12 years, during which the BOT planned to re-fund the school.
Ira Condict, the second president of the University, led the task of reopening the institution, Frusciano writes. By 1807, Condict and the BOT managed to raise $12,000, enough to reopen the college.
Just two years after the college reopened, the BOT began building the historic Old Queen's Building. "Considered by experts one of the nation's finest examples of the federal-period architecture, the building would take more than 14 years and more than twice its projected budget to complete," according to the Web site.
With things looking prosperous for the college, the year 1812 brought the college down to its knees again; The BOT spent $20,000 on the building, but had only raised $12,000.
In January 1812, however, the college received state permission to hold a lottery to raise funds. But, as luck would have it, the depressed economy caused by the War of 1812, forced the college to shut its doors.
The Dutch general synod suggested the college be transformed into a theological institution of higher education. The BOT turned down the offer and, instead, suspended construction of Old Queen's Building, Frusciano writes. After the BOT sold the building to the church in 1823, alleviating any of the college's debt, the light shone into Queen's College just two years later — this time, for the last time.
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