Sunday, September 29 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm EDT
This month at the Peter Parley Schoolhouse, we turn to another famous alumnus, Cyrus B. Northrop, a Ridgefield farmer’s son who went on to achieve great success in academia. The Schoolhouse will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 29. Admission is free.
Refreshments will be served in honor of Cyrus Northrop’s birthday (Sept. 30).
Born in 1834, he was the first member of his family to be educated beyond eighth grade: He graduated from the prestigious Williston Seminary, Yale College in 1857, and Yale Law School in 1861. After stints as clerk of the Connecticut House of Representatives, and the State Senate, he became editor of a New Haven newspaper, then returned to Yale to teach English literature and rhetoric.
In 1884 his wide-ranging talents and reputation prompted the then-little University of Minnesota to offer him the job of president. He became perhaps the university’s best known and accomplished leader. During his 27 years as president, the university went from 300 students to more than 5,000 and from four buildings to 46. Northrop remained as the president until 1911. He died in 1922, aged 87.
For more information about the Peter Parley Schoolhouse, which is maintained as a small museum by the Ridgefield Historical Society, please visit https://ridgefieldhistoricalsociety.org/. Volunteers Jack and Sally Sanders will be at the schoolhouse on Sept. 29 to greet guests and answer questions.
