From Our Research Collection: William Fairfield Warren, BU, and the Great Boston Fire of 1872

One of the many crown jewels in the School of Theology Archives Collections is the Autograph Letters Collection. Archivists and historians use the word autograph here because all of these letters are signed. If you are a fan of Methodist history, the early history of Boston University, or even just New England history, there is something for you in this collection.

After 27 years of existence, the seminary that would be the founding school of Boston University found an innovative leader.  William Fairfield Warren served the Boston Theological Seminary as President from 1866-1873.  In 1869, he would help to charter Boston University with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  The charter read, “Boston University shall be…available to all comers, without respect to creed or race or sex.”  Boston University would allow women to be both students and members of faculty.  He served as the first President of Boston University from 1873-1903, while also teaching as part of the School of Theology faculty.  In 1903 he would step down as President and become Dean of the School of Theology for eight more years.

The handwritten letter below was written shortly after the Great Boston Fire of 1872.  The seminary at that time was situated on Pickney Street in downtown Boston.  Due to the fire, the property loss to both university property and the estate of Issac Rich, a major donor to the university, totaled just over a million dollars.  Warren, in this letter, asks for much needed help from alumni, the Methodist Church and public to move forward after a difficult moment in Boston history.