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assured them that their efforts were being appreciated. The trustees
were also recipients of numerous gifts. Hon. George F. Hoar donated a
set of books and geological charts of considerable value. Dr. Henry
Clarke presented a human skeleton, which he thought might be useful to
biological students. "You will find it complete and nicely
articulated," he wrote.
Since the opening of the Institute there had been little money
available for the improvement or ornamentation of the grounds. Hence,
it was most gratifying to the trustees to have their old friend
William Knowlton offer, in 1871, to build a wall along the Boynton
Street boundary. This wall, 600 feet in length, was constructed of
square rubble masonry, similar to that used in Boynton Hall, and
capped with a beveled, white-granite coping. With gate and end posts
of granite it had cost approximately $3,700. Its construction had been
supervised by that other untiring friend of the Institute, James
White. Stephen Salisbury added a simple bronze tablet to one of the
posts as a tribute to Mr. Knowlton, and the trustees gave him an
enthusiastic vote of thanks. They also appropriated a small fund for
added improvements of the grounds, and petitioned the city for a
sidewalk on Boynton St.
James White had added a finishing touch to Boynton Hall in June, 1871,
when he provided a granite tablet for the niche above the west
entrance. This tablet, in the form of a gothic arch, bears the
inscription "Boynton Hall, erected by citizens of Worcester Free
Institute of Industrial Science, founded by John Boynton, 1865 . "
The next evidence of Stephen Salisbury's "discernment in comprehending
the wants of the Institute and of his prompt liberality in supplying
them," to use the words of the trustees I resolution of thanks, was
his gift of a $40,000 fund for the department of English and other
modern languages. Early in 1872 the trustees had given serious
consideration to the deficiencies of instruction in languages. These
subjects had been taught by part-time instructors or as a sideline by
other professors; Principal Thompson had devoted three hours a
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