Boulder marks 125 years at center of DePauw campus

A group of DePauw University coeds (above) celebrate by gathering around the Boulder for a Kodak moment. Meanwhile, a recent DePauw graduate (below, right) sits atop the Boulder in the shadow of East College, still wearing his cap and gown after receiving his diploma.

Courtesy photo

A DePauw University campus fixture marked 125 years this week as a conversation piece, meeting place, rallying point and source of controversy.

Presented to “alma mater and posterity” on June 8, 1892, the Columbian Boulder was placed near the main entrance to the East College building (west side) at the instigation of former Professor John C. Ridpath to mark the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ first voyage to the New World.

The unique granite rock with prominent ridges of quartz dykes was discovered near Morton, about 12 miles northwest of Greencastle, according to “DePauw: A Pictorial History,” written by DPU emeritus professors of history Clifton Phillips and John Baughman,

Courtesy photo

Hiram Thomas moved it to his farm, fenced it in and charged visitors 10 cents apiece to view the “petrified turtle” until it was purchased by a few alumni and brought to Greencastle by a 26-horse house-moving wagon and the Monon Railroad.

Inscribed and known as the Columbian Boulder, it soon grew to be a favorite meeting place on campus.

In the early years, many a DePauw couple met for chapel dates “at the Boulder.” Honorary societies often held their initiation rituals there, and it was long the scene of annual freshman-sophomore scraps.

In recent decades the Boulder seems to have lost its focal position on campus, except for a brief period in the late 1960s and early 1970s when it became the scene of the “Boulder run,” which featured fraternity pledges scrambling around it in the nude and trotting back to the chapter house.

Emboldened students today might execute a Boulder Run for a variety of reasons, but it was originally performed by Phi Kappa Psi, the nearest Greek house, the night of the first snowfall on campus. The tradition has even earned a mention in Playboy magazine.