Three other attempts to found colleges demand a passing notice.
_Mount Hope College_ stood at the corner of Eutaw Place and North
Avenue, and was charted as a college in 1833.[44] The building was
constructed by the Baltimore branch of the United States Bank in 1800,
during an epidemic of yellow fever in the city. People feared to come
into town to transact business and so a suburban banking house was
built. This building was bought by the Rev. Frederick Hall in 1828 and
in it a school was begun, which was later expanded into the College. The
institution lasted some ten years and is worthy of note from the fact
that among the teachers were two young Yale graduates, who afterwards
obtained considerable renown: Professor Elias Loomis and Rev. S.W.S.
Dutton.
_The College of St. James_ was situated in Washington County and
was originally intended by its founder, Bishop Whittingham, as a
preparatory school. It was opened in October, 1842, with Rev. J.B.
Kerfoot,[45] afterwards Bishop of Pittsburg, as Principal, and had such
speedy and encouraging success, that it was chartered as a college in
1843, under the control of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
The College prospered greatly under Bishop Kerfoot's able management,
and was kept up during the War of the Rebellion in spite of the loss of
Southern students, a large portion of the entire number. In 1864,
however, General Early, of the Confederate Army, invaded Maryland and
took Dr. Kerfoot and Professor Coit prisoners, and the College thus
forcibly discontinued, was never again reorganized.
_Newton University_ was chartered by the Legislature[46] on March
8, 1845 and was situated on Lexington Street, between North and Calvert.
It was originally intended to combine the Baltimore preparatory schools
and to furnish boys, graduating from them, the means of completing their
education without leaving the city. There was an enormous list of
Trustees and the unwieldy character of the board, coupled with the
irregular habits of the President, made the failure of the enterprise
inevitable. Still it offered in its catalogues a good course of study
and gave exhibitions, at which polyglot orations were delivered. The
late Prof. Perley R. Lovejoy was the life of the institution and, after
several classes had graduated, the University finally ceased to be, when
Mr. Lovejoy accepted a position as Professor in the Baltimore City
College.