Tree and Vine

Allegheny College
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Colleges write their histories first in the achievements of their students and second in their brick and mortar.

Students in 1914 were getting back to Nature.
But colleges also occupy a place, and so land is acquired, occupied, used and manipulated in accordance with opportunity and need. Just as surely as the forces of nature and geography have shaped Allegheny College, so has human activity altered the land. A history of Allegheny College must include a history of our interaction with the environment and our changing attitudes toward the natural world. We may see the campus landscape as a natural setting for the college buildings, rooms for outdoor activities, or views to depress or inspire.

Planted at the founding of the college, this sycamore has been nominated for the Historic Register of Trees.
Over the years, we have thought of this place as a wilderness to tame, a desert to be planted, a garden to be cultivated, a refuge from ignorance and anxiety, and a resource to be conserved and cherished.

Warm rests the sun, so soft on wall and vine;
No air in all the world can equal thine,
Again we flame our torches at thy shrine,
O, Alma Mater, Beatissima.

In this web project, we focus on the environment and natural features of Allegheny College, with a special attention to the trees. And yet, the online tours do not ignore the buildings and the people whose ideas and efforts shaped our landscape. Choose one of several ways of visiting the campus, or look at the site map to visit places special to you.

Credits

The tours are based on essays by Jonathan Helmreich, Professor Emeritus and College Historian, edited for the web by a group of students under the supervision of Amelia Carr in Spring, 2001. Our logo is based on a drawing of Timothy Alden's sycamore by Julie Nagel '04. For more information, see the Credits page.

Updated May 2, 2001.
Contact acarr@allegheny.edu