Book provides photographic journey through University's history

A new book titled "Princeton University" presents a photographic journey through the school's 259-year history.

The book, published this spring by Arcadia, is written by Richard D. Smith, a program administrator in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

The book, part of an Arcadia series on campus life, traces the University's history from its founding in 1746, when less than a dozen students attended classes in Elizabeth, N.J., in the home of the school's first president, Rev. Jonathan Dickinson. Princeton's relocation in 1756 to what was known as Prince-town and its evolution into a major research university are chronicled through numerous black-and-white photographs, engravings and paintings. The book traces the development of the arts, athletics and religion at Princeton, as well as the many traditions unique to the University.

Some of the lesser-known parts of Princeton's history included in the book are:

• In 1887 a women's college was founded near the Princeton campus. Evelyn College, which enrolled mostly relatives of Princeton professors and students, closed in 1897 after the death of the founder, Joshua Hall McIlvaine.

• Blair Hall was originally designed to serve as the entrance to campus, since many people approached the University from the train station, then located just behind Blair. FitzRandolph Gate on Nassau Street was deemed the main entrance after 1918, when the train station was relocated to make room for new campus buildings.

• The first no-hitter in either an amateur or a professional baseball game was pitched by Princeton undergraduate Joseph McElroy Mann on May 29, 1875. The defeated team was from Yale.