SLIPPERY ROCK — With Slippery Rock University’s 125th anniversary on its way, one administrator wants to begin offering walking tours for visitors and dignitaries.

Bob Watson, interim vice president for student affairs, said the goal is to get students to show people the story of SRU.

“Who better to tell the story of Slippery Rock University?” said Watson, who is working on selecting and training student tour guides.

Part of the tour would cover the early history of SRU.

In the late 1880s, Slippery Rock, then called Centerville, had a small schoolhouse that educated students up to the eighth grade.

Parents in the community began talking about the possibility of a higher learning institution in the borough.

“There was nothing in the way of an academy or a college,” Watson said.

At a town meeting in 1888, residents began discussing the possibility of having an academy, like Grove City had at the time. However, residents discovered that it would be prohibitively expensive.

Some folks had heard about a place in Clarion called a “normal school,” which was created with the help of public money.

Three men, including Watson’s great-grandfather, traveled to Clarion to investigate. They returned with good news.

“Yes, this is a possibility,” Watson said.

But, they found out that the buildings and property had to be up and ready for the governor to inspect and approve before any public funds would come through.

Townspeople began selling stock at $100 per share.

The town hired an architect, and decided that the school would need a men’s dormitory, called South Hall; a women’s dormitory, called North Hall; and a chapel for classes and religious services.

Residents also realized that the school would need a road. So, men collected large boulders and crushed them into pebbles to build the road, named Morrow Way. This foundation is still underneath the current paving.

“It is still there today,” Watson said.

Two sidewalks, one for men and one for women, sat on the side of the road.

With the men from town building the road, the women in town decided to sew linens and carpeting to fill the buildings.

Additionally, the children in town collected eggs, milk and cream on a weekly basis to hold ice cream socials. These events raised money for the Bible and the altarments in the chapel.

“This was a huge community effort,” Watson said.

In February 1889, the governor was to come to the campus to inspect the buildings. However, a large snowstorm stranded him. Some of his representatives came on his behalf to inspect. After some communication, the governor approved the school, noting that the community effort was a part of his decision.

Classes first were held March 26, 1889, called Founder’s Day. The school had 168 students and a faculty of 10.

All three original buildings were made of wood, heated by coal and lit by kerosene.

“That’s not a good thing,” Watson said.

The chapel and South Hall burned in the early 1890s.

A stone chapel was built to replace the wooden one.

Watson said that, with its 200 stained glass windows, it was one of the most beautiful buildings in Butler County. It was demolished in 1971.

South Hall was rebuilt as a brick building and contained a bell tower. The bell would ring to signal victory for the school’s athletic teams.

Concerned that North Hall would burn, the school encased the building in brick. It lasted until 1937, when it burned on Homecoming weekend.

It was rebuilt in 1938 and 1939 and remains standing today.

Old Main, which was the fourth building on campus and the oldest remaining, today contains administrative offices. When it was built, however, the first floor contained classrooms, the second floor was a library and the third floor was a gymnasium.

But the raucous activity in the gym caused pieces of plaster on the ceiling of the library to fall on students who were studying.

The gymnasium was moved to West Gym, which also contained a music hall.

“Very interesting combination,” Watson said.

The early campus basically ended around where Weisenfluh Hall is today.

“This was all fields and woods and so on,” Watson said, pointing east.

In 1956, the school bought 225 acres, extending the campus east to Harmony Road. It has bought or received several other pieces of property over the years. Today, the campus has 650 acres, making it the largest physical campus in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.