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It began with 29 students and expanded to 30,000.
The establishment of Brigham Young Academy in 1875 was given to two brothers, Warren Newton Dusenberry and William Howard Dusenberry.
Warren was the first principal from 1875-1876. At the beginning of BYA, the supply of school books was inadequate, so, from his personal funds, he purchased $50 worth of books. He also constructed some of the first desks.
One of the early buildings exists today as the Brigham Young Academy Building, located on University Avenue between 5th and 6th North streets; however, this was not the original building. Students first met in the Lewis Building. Not long after the Lewis Building was built, it caught fire. Through $2,000 worth of donations, the new building foundation was laid on May 21, 1884. Though the foundation was finished, the rest of the construction was suspended for six years due to lack of funds.
Once finished, the building was considered one of the largest in the Rocky Mountain region. It had two floors, an attic and basement, and the building was designed to accommodate 1,000 students.
The building lacked some of our common conveniences. For 10 years outside toilets were used. Only part of the building was provided with warm air force over steam radiators. The remainder of the building was heated with coal stoves.
At the beginning of BYA, the students did not have a gym. The first track where all the activities took place was built just before the 1900’s on the site of the Smith Building. Both men and women played on the facility. In fact, only the women played basketball originally. The women won the district championship in 1900. Men weren’t even on the court until 1902.
The funds at the Academy were low. Faculty in the 1890’s were paid partly in produce from the Bishop’s Storehouse in Provo. The school year tuition was $40.
Benjamin Cluff Jr. was one of the educational pioneers of this time. He was the third principal of BYA. He developed the institution from a school with a small college department into a university. He introduced several courses and departments to the Academy.
During this time (1891), white and blue were selected as the school colors. Classes were changed from half-hour to hour periods. A student loan association was also organized.
The first school newspaper was also organized, called The BYA Student: An Academy-Wide. In 1897, The White and Blue began and ended in 1920 with Ernest L. Wilkinson as the last editor. In 1921 Y News began and the Universe replaced it in 1948.
On July 18,1896, new articles of incorporation were adopted, making BYA a Church school. With this came rules: “keep the word of wisdom, especially tobacco and liquor; attend no public dances …” wrote John Canute Swenson, a former student, in his journal.
The curfew on weekdays was 8 p.m. The punishment for violating that curfew was house arrest, but was rare.
“Because of this tendency toward regulation, parents sent their unruly offspring to the Academy,” Swenson wrote.
On October 3, 1903 the school was renamed Brigham Young University.
“It has grown so big that it isn’t the same thing at all. It just isn’t the same thing at all,” said Ruth Louise Partridge, a former student at BYU. She said there has been a major change in the university since the time she attended.
“It is just the size, and the students don’t have the interest in their fellow humans that they used to have,” Partridge said.
