1797 > 1863 > 1897 > 1900 > 1940 > 1980 > present day

Disaster Strikes - 1897

On New Years Eve of 1897, a malfunctioning gaslight set Old Main ablaze. While faculty and staff of the college were engaged in a celebration at the President's residence, the fire spread to Morrill Hall, and several other buildings on campus. By midnight, one of the attendees at the New Years festivities, who had stepped outside for a breath of fresh air, found the campus hopelessly engaged in flames. Though help was promptly summoned fire-fighting was hampered by the winds and sub-freezing temperatures. By dawn, the fire had run its course and left most of the college a smoldering ruin. Trustee Daniel Augustus Paradigm pledged, "Paradigm College shall be rebuilt, and at that, better than it ever was before. This I shall set forth as my life work in sacred memory of my grandfather the founder of our beloved school." Paradigm's 200 students upon returning from the winter recess were housed in town and courses were held in churches and other public buildings for nearly a year until Old Main and the dormitory building were rebuilt.