The roster contains the names of President Benjamin Harrison; Murat Halstead, the great editor; and Bishop John M. Walden, of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

To quote the language of a very old letter used in early materials, "The distinctive feature of Farmers' College is the practical character of its course of instruction *** to qualify our youth for a higher position in any of the industrial pursuits."

[citation needed] The history of Belmont College covers a period of transition, during which the older institution was returning gradually toward its source for the training of boys.

Sisters Alice and Phoebe Cary, the well-known poete, lived nearby, in what is now North College Hill.

Cary's Academy, when opened, received four pupils, but before the year closed the eager young scholar was teaching more than a score of boys.

In the twelve years during which Mr. Cary conducted his school, some 1,200 boys from all parts of the West and the South came under his instruction.