Ellen White had a very special gift. She described it clearly:
Some have stumbled over the fact that I said I did not claim to be a prophet; and they have asked, Why is this?
I have had no claims to make, only that I am instructed that I am the Lord's messenger; that He called me in my youth to be His messenger, to receive His word, and to give a clear and decided message in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Early in my youth I was asked several times, Are you a prophet? I have ever responded, I am the Lord's messenger. I know that many have called me a prophet, but I have made no claim to this title. My Saviour declared me to be His messenger."Your work," He instructed me, "is to bear My word." ...
Why have I not claimed to be a prophet? Because in these days many who boldly claim that they are prophets are a reproach to the cause of Christ; and because my work includes much more than the word "prophet" signifies....
God has made plain to me the various ways in which He would use me to carry forward a special work. Visions have been given me, with the promise, "If you deliver the messages faithfully and endure to the end, you shall eat of the fruit of the tree of life, and drink of the water of the river of life" (Selected Messages 1:31-33).
After describing the breadth of the work she was commissioned to do, she declared:
To claim to be a prophetess is something that I have never done. If others call me by that name, I have no controversy with them. But my work has covered so many lines that I cannot call myself other than a messenger sent to bear a message from the Lord to His people, and to take up work in any line that He points out (Ibid., 1:34).
Because on one occasion she mentioned to a large audience in the Battle Creek Tabernacle that she did not consider herself a prophet or a leader of people, on the following Monday the newspapers at Battle Creek heralded the news: The woman the Adventists had believed in all these years as a prophet had now come straight out and said she was not a prophet after all! This naturally raised questions with some Adventists. Mrs. White and church leaders found that an explanation must be made. She took opportunity on several occasions to explain carefully the thoughts she intended to convey by her statement. W. C. White throws considerable light on the matter in the following statement:
When she spoke these words she had in mind the ideas of the people regarding a prophet as one whose chief office was to predict events, and she wanted them to understand that that was not her place in the world.
More Than A Prophet
Ellen White was more than a prophet. She was a counselor, a comforter, guide, author, writer, public speaker.
All her life she had encountered opposition, antagonism, and criticism in all shapes and forms from the trivial to the serious. She was quoted and misquoted, interpreted and misinterpreted. But the value of her words was evidenced in schools, sanitariums, and churches all over the world.
Rarely did she defend herself. But now in the sunset of life she was forced into replying to her critics. It was a painful experience to her to know that there were members of God's family who were well acquainted with her and her work but who, on the basis of hearsay and flimsy evidence, had lost confidence in her prophetic mission. That they could so easily forget the many faith-confirming evidences of her call and work, burdened her heart.
What were some of these faith-confirming evidences?
The hundreds of letters crossing thousands of miles of land or sea to arrive at a critical time.
The many people who received letters of counsel on personal matters known only to themselves and God.
The numbers of times she had met individuals for the first time whom she recognized, having seen them in vision.
The credible eyewitness descriptions of the phenomena that accompanied her in vision in the early days of her work.
The lives of leaders such as Daniells, Bates, Loughborough, Haskell, whose doubts had been dispelled.
I am now instructed that I am not to be hindered in my work by those who engage in suppositions regarding its nature, whose minds are struggling with so many intricate problems connected with the supposed work of a prophet. My commission embraces the work of a prophet, but it does not end there. It embraces much more than the minds of those who have been sowing the seeds of unbelief can comprehend (Letter 244, 1906 [see also Selected Messages 1:31-35]).
Battle Creek, where Dr. Kellogg and his cohorts, including Ballenger and A. T. Jones, were sowing seeds of unbelief, had been the center of the denominational work.
The Seeds Of Unbelief
After a vision in which she saw physicians of her acquaintance in a meeting setting forth what they considered valid reasons for their waning confidence, Ellen White told W. C. White that everything must be "ready for action." She felt she could, and must, meet many things she heard rehearsed in that meeting (Letter 14, 1906).
Repeatedly in the early months of 1906 she mentioned her intention of getting a clear statement of facts from those who were troubled about the testimonies."If statements have been made that there are contradictions in the testimonies," she wrote to E. W. Farnsworth, temporary pastor of the Battle Creek church, "Should I not be acquainted with the charges and accusations? Should I not know the reason of their sowing tares of unbelief?" (Letter 84, 1906).
When in March the A. T. Jones attack came, she helped to meet it. On April 9 she sent out the letter she had written on March 30, addressed "To Those Who Are Perplexed Regarding the Testimonies Relating to the Medical Missionary Work":
Recently in the visions of the night I stood in a large company of people. There were present Dr. Kellogg, Elders Jones, Tenney, and Taylor, Dr. Paulson, Elder Sadler, Judge Arthur, and many of their associates.
I was directed by the Lord to request them and any others who have perplexities and grievous things in their minds regarding the testimonies that I have borne, to specify what their objections and criticisms are. The Lord will help me to answer these objections, and to make plain that which seems to be intricate (Letter 120, 1906).
She pointed out that if the thought was being entertained that "Sister White's work can no longer be trusted," she wanted to know why that decision had been reached."It may be," she conjectured, "that some matters that seem to you to be very objectionable can be explained." Making her position clear, she stated, "I am now charged to request those who are in difficulty in regard to Sister White's work to let their questions appear now."
This letter was sent not only to those named but to about a dozen others. Then three days later she and part of her staff were off to southern California for the dedication of the sanitariums at Loma Linda and Paradise Valley. Returning to Elmshaven on May 7, she found that question-laden responses were beginning to come in.
Questions Calling For Careful Answers
The questions about Ellen White's work that came in from Battle Creek called for earnest attention, not only by her but by her staff. Some of the questions were serious; others were of a quibbling nature dealing with "supposed inconsistencies in the testimonies" (Letter 142, 1906).
Many of the questions had their foundation in faulty concepts of inspiration. The prophet was thought of as a mechanical agent, speaking or writing each word dictated by the Holy Spirit. This "verbal inspiration" concept at times led to the expectation of more from Ellen White than was justified--more than was demanded of the prophets and apostles of old.
Her defense of the testimonies and of herself actually dated back to January."I have been very busy of late," she wrote on January 19."The Lord has sustained me in preparing matter to meet the unbelief and infidelity expressed regarding the testimonies He has given me to bear to His people. He has given me words to write" (Letter 34, 1906).
Ellen White ignored some of the questions; many she answered, writing kind, tolerant letters that dealt in a straightforward way with the problems presented. At times the Elmshaven staff prepared answers. Sometimes the answer was readily available; sometimes the question itself was more a statement than a question (30 WCW, p. 333).
A letter from one prominent physician contained the most complete list of questions yet brought forward by the Battle Creek medical workers. A few illustrated the kind of trivia that the questions sometimes dealt with. Among the points presented in one of these letters were:
1. Is everything from Ellen White's pen a "testimony," or are some just "letters"?
2. Is one to assume that the conditions described in the Testimonies actually exist, or are they just designed to forestall such conditions?
3. What about the statement "I am not a prophet"?
4. Does W. C. White influence the Testimonies?
5. Do you approve of sending personal testimonies, which the Lord has given to certain men, to other people also?
6. Are the Testimonies a test of fellowship?
7. What about the recall of the volume 7 galley proofs for revision?
8. Is it right for any Seventh-day Adventist to work in the Battle Creek Sanitarium?
Who Manipulated Her Writings?
The questions raised concerning the manipulation of her writings, and the influence of W. C. White on the testimonies, distressed Ellen White, particularly such charges as were traced to careless statements made by James Edson White.
The two sons of James and Ellen White were much unlike in personality and character. The younger, William C., was steady, calm, loyal to the Testimonies, dependable, and endued with leadership qualifications. The older son, James Edson, while talented, creative, and a good author, was unsteady, a poor manager of finances, and, because his brother and church leaders could not and did not endorse all his ventures, very critical. The testimonies of his mother addressed to him from early years carried at times little weight; yet when fully consecrated to God he did a remarkable work, particularly among the neglected Blacks in the South.
Because he was the son of James and Ellen White, James Edson was able to borrow money, mainly from Adventists, to support his various enterprises, many of which failed. Again and again his mother and his brother came to his personal financial aid as various enterprises he had been warned against collapsed.
As Ellen White found she could not endlessly support him in these ventures, his brother attempted to counsel him. He in turn took the position that W. C. was influencing his mother. Among his personal friends in and around Battle Creek were a number who were voicing Dr. Kellogg's insinuations that Ellen White was being influenced by her son William and others. It was easy for James Edson to join in. He said some unfortunate things that were quickly picked up and, coming from Mrs. White's own son, capitalized on.
Finally, painful as it was, Ellen White had to step in and set the record straight. She wrote a six-page letter to Edson, ending with this firm statement:
Your position is a grievous thing to your mother and wears upon the life of your brother.... I shall have to speak. I cannot and will not suffer reproach to come upon the cause of God, and my work that God has given me to do, by your saying he manipulates my writings. It is falsehood--but what a charge is this! Not one soul manipulates my writings (Letter 391, 1906).
In another letter to Edson, written May 21, 1906, she stated:
The position you have taken, the words you have said, are not a secret. Everywhere they are handled by those who would uproot confidence
in the Testimonies, and they have influence because you are WCW's brother and the son of Ellen G. White.... W. C. White is true as steel to the cause of God, and no lie which is in circulation is of the truth (Letter 143, 1906).
Earlier in the year she had written:
There are those who say, "Someone manipulates her writings." I acknowledge the charge. It is One who is mighty in counsel, One who presents before me the condition of things in Battle Creek (Letter 52, 1906).
Through June and the early part of July, Ellen White devoted much of her time to answering questions from the field. She wrote scores of letters totaling hundreds of pages. Many of these carried warnings concerning the perils of cherishing doubts in the face of the strong evidences God had given of the integrity of the Spirit of Prophecy.
When it became clear that "the most frivolous questions" were being asked (Letter 180, 1906), instruction began to come to her that she need not pick up and answer "all the sayings and doubts that are being put into many minds" (Manuscript 61, 1906). She and her staff, after providing answers to the principal questions, considered their work in this area quite well finished.
The San Francisco Earthquake
Ellen White spent much of the year 1906 at her Elmshaven home busily engaged in writing. She was deeply concerned about problems in Battle Creek involving Dr. Kellogg, A. T. Jones, and others. With the coming of April it was time for the dedication of two sanitariums in southern California. On Thursday, April 12, she left for the south. With her were her niece, May Walling, who had arrived at Elmshaven a week or two earlier (Letter 124, 1906); Sara McEnterfer; and Clarence Crisler (Manuscript 123, 1906).
After the dedication service at Loma Linda Sunday afternoon, April 15, Ellen White and her associate workers stayed on at the sanitarium through Monday. She was to return to Los Angeles on Tuesday and would speak at the Southern California Conference session held in the Carr Street church in Los Angeles on Wednesday. She would be en route to San Diego and the dedication of Paradise Valley Sanitarium the next week.
Monday night, April 16, while she was still at Loma Linda, a solemnizing vision was given to her."A most wonderful representation," she said, "passed before me." Describing it in an article that now appears in Testimonies for the Church, volume 9, she wrote:
During a vision of the night, I stood on an eminence, from which I could see houses shaken like a reed in the wind. Buildings, great and small, were falling to the ground. Pleasure resorts, theaters, hotels, and the homes of the wealthy were shaken and shattered. Many lives were blotted out of existence, and the air was filled with the shrieks of the injured and the terrified.... The awfulness of the scenes that passed before me I cannot find words to describe. It seemed that the forbearance of God was exhausted and that the judgment day had come....
Terrible as was the representation that passed before me, that which impressed itself most vividly upon my mind was the instruction given in connection with it. The angel that stood by my side declared that God's supreme rulership and the sacredness of His law must be revealed to those who persistently refused to render obedience to the King of kings. Those who choose to remain disloyal must be visited in mercy with judgments, in order that, if possible, they may be aroused to a realization of the sinfulness of their course (pp. 92, 93; italics supplied).
She woke up and switched on the lamp by her bed. It was 1:00 Tuesday morning. She was relieved to discover that she was safe in her room at the Loma Linda Sanitarium.
During the hours of Tuesday morning she seemed dazed (Letter 137, 1906). In the afternoon she and her helpers took the train for Los Angeles and went on to Glendale.
That night she was given another vision:
I was again instructed regarding the holiness and binding claims of the Ten Commandments, and the supremacy of God above all earthly rulers. It seemed as if I were before many people, and presenting scripture after scripture in support of the precepts spoken by the Lord from Sinai's height (The Review and Herald, July 5, 1906).
News Of The San Francisco Earthquake
On Wednesday she attended a portion of the annual session of the Southern California Conference. As she neared the Carr Street church to fill her speaking appointment, she heard the newsboys crying: "San Francisco destroyed by an earthquake!"
A paper was purchased, and she and those with her in the carriage quickly scanned the "first hastily printed news" (Testimonies for the Church, 9:94).
As to the visions on Monday and Tuesday nights, she later commented, "It has taken me many days to write out a portion of that which was revealed those two nights at Loma Linda and Glendale. I have not finished yet" (The Review and Herald, July 5, 1906). She expected to write several articles on the binding claims of God's law and the blessings promised to the obedient.
After speaking at the dedication of the Paradise Valley Sanitarium in San Diego on April 24, Ellen White started back toward northern California via Loma Linda. Feelings of dread swept over her as she contemplated the trip home. She knew she would view with her own eyes destruction similar to what she had seen in vision."I did not want to see the ruins of San Francisco," she declared, "and dreaded to stop at Mountain View" (Ibid., July 19, 1906), where the beloved Pacific Press had suffered severe damage. As the train neared San Jose, just south of Mountain View, that Thursday morning, May 3, she could see everywhere the effects of the earthquake.
Changing cars at San Jose, they traveled the 10 miles (16 kilometers) to Mountain View. Here they were met at the railroad station by C. H. Jones, manager of the Pacific Press, and W. T. Knox, president of the California-Nevada Conference, headquartered in Mountain View. The drive to the press took them through town, where they saw the new post office leveled to the ground and the largest stores totally destroyed. But "when we saw the fallen walls of the Pacific Press," she reported, "we were sad at heart." Yet there was one reason for rejoicing--"No lives were lost" (Manuscript 45, 1906).
The Tour Of Ravaged San Francisco
Monday the group set out for San Francisco. At Palo Alto they saw the wreckage of Stanford University. When they arrived at San Francisco they hired a horse-drawn cab to spend an hour and a half touring the ruined city. With Ellen White was her son, W. C., and two women, May Walling and Minnie Crisler, wife of Clarence Crisler, her chief secretary (31 WCW, p. 293).
As they rode together, they recounted a good many things. Exactly what was said we do not know, but various and sundry reports give us a composite picture of what took place:
The quake came at 5:31 Wednesday morning, April 18. The first casualty was the Point Arena Lighthouse, 90 miles (144 kilometers) to the north. The huge lenses and lantern exploded in a shower of glass. Earth waves two and three feet (one meter) high were seen plunging south at an incredible rate. Giant redwoods were mowed down. Beaches were raised and lowered. Trains were derailed. At one ranch the earth opened directly beneath an unsuspecting cow. With a bellow of terror the animal plunged into the gaping hole, its cry cut short as the crevice clamped shut, leaving only a twitching tail visible (G. Thomas and M. Witts, The San Francisco Earthquake, pp. 66, 67).
The city was largely asleep as the wave of earth upheavals struck San Francisco in a 28-second tremor just at dawn. * First there was a terrifying roar, and then stone and bricks began to fall like rain from taller buildings; chimneys toppled from almost every home. The streets heaved, and in places dropped as much as 30 feet (nine meters).
Consuming Fire That Followed The Earthquake
A flicker of flame was seen in early dawn and then a dozen such tongues of fire here and there. The flames were started by broken power lines and fractured gas lines. Civilians and firefighters were soon at work, but to their dismay there was only a little water with which to quench the flames. And then no water. Some of the city's main water lines had been broken.
Some people looted breweries and liquor stores, and in certain areas drinking orgies added to the confusion. Drunken parents, unmindful of the perils about them, forgot babies and children, and in many cases were separated from them. One group of uncared-for, terrified children, thinking Telegraph Hill to be a safe place, flocked there, only to be consumed as the racing flames veered and took the hill (The Signs of the Times, May 30, 1906).
Martial Law
The city was put under martial law, and military personnel were called in to assist. Soon every able-bodied man was engaged in the work of fighting the flames and removing the injured and dead from the rubble. Early curious visitors from down the peninsula were pressed into service.
Looting continued, especially in liquor and food stores. Police officers and soldiers were ordered to shoot on sight anyone involved in looting or in stripping jewelry from the dead. Throughout Wednesday terror and confusion reigned. Telephones were dead, telegraph wires were down, rail lines were inoperative. Thousands sought refuge in the less-stricken cities and towns across the bay to the east; crowded ferries did a heroic work in moving people. From these towns news of the magnitude of the catastrophe began to reach the outside world.
Throughout the night the sky was bright with firelight, and those in the parks without bedding were comfortably warm from the heat of the inferno. Food was scarce and, when available, in most cases was very expensive. As the changing winds spread the fire in all directions, food stores commandeered by police and military were thrown open and were soon cleaned out; this eased somewhat the food emergency.
Destruction In The Central City
At the center of the city the earthquake took a heavy toll. Municipal and office buildings, as well as stores and hotels, were destroyed. Few buildings stood. Hundreds of people lost their lives in the collapse of several hotels.
Uncontrolled fires created more overall damage than the earthquake. Block after block succumbed to the flames in the three days following the quake. Since no cooking fires were allowed in buildings not inspected for safety, most cooking in areas where homes stood was done with improvised stoves on the sidewalks or in the parks. Water was treasured as gold. The military pitched tents in the parks to help care for the homeless. Bread lines measured a mile (two kilometers) long. In many cases families were separated; carriages carried signs and people wore placards stating, "I am looking for so and so."
It was only two weeks later that Ellen White viewed the 15 square miles (39 square kilometers) of rubble and devastation and listened to tales of the bizarre happenings. How similar it was to the scenes of the night at Loma Linda!
Adventists And Adventist Properties
But what of Seventh-day Adventists and Adventist Church properties in San Francisco? While there were a few injuries, no lives were lost. The treatment rooms, sometimes referred to as the branch sanitarium, superintended by Dr. Lamb at 1436 Market Street, were housing some patients when the earthquake struck. The brick walls fell away from the building, but the patients, uninjured, were soon placed in the custody of relatives. The vegetarian cafeteria at 755 Market Street and the health food store at 1482 Market withstood the quake but in a few hours were swept away by flames. A number of Adventists lost their homes.
But the large church on Laguna Street, with its accompanying clinic, which James and Ellen White helped to build in the 1870s, was saved. Being a frame building, it suffered only minor earthquake damage, and in God's providence the ravaging fire was held in check two blocks from the church. Members were able to continue to use it and were glad to allow the Presbyterians to use it on Sundays.
The Earthquake Special Of The SIGNS
What a unique opportunity this unprecedented catastrophe gave for telling the world the significance of such tragedies. The buildings of the Pacific Press were badly damaged (the loss was estimated at between $15,000 and $20,000), but managers, factory foremen, and editors quickly huddled to plan an "Earthquake Special" of the Signs of the Times, to be rushed through their undamaged presses. The journalism was good, illustrations outstanding, and the printing up to Pacific Press standards. Within a few days the first run of more than 150,000 copies was ready. From the initial planning, conferences across North America were appraised of the venture and orders in the multiple thousands poured in.
As banks in northern California were temporarily closed, the cash flow from the sale of the "Earthquake Special" into the Pacific Press was welcomed. Between press runs the illustrations were supplemented and in some cases upgraded. Of this project Ellen White declared:
We shall do all we possibly can to get the truth before the people now. The special number of the Signs of the Times is a medium through which much good will be accomplished.
The Trip Home To Elmshaven
After touring the scene of tragedy, Ellen White and those traveling with her made their way home to St. Helena and Elmshaven. In that area damage was very light, consisting mainly of cracked and twisted brick chimneys.
Mrs. White reported in the Review and Herald concerning her visit to San Francisco shortly after the earthquake, reminding readers that by both pen and voice she had predicted disaster in San Francisco. She had warned people to seek homes away from the crime-filled cities known for their wickedness and defiance of God.
Did Ellen White predict the San Francisco earthquake? No, she warned that San Francisco and Oakland would suffer God's judgments. Was the vision at Loma Linda on the night of April 16 a portrayal of what would happen to San Francisco? No city was named. But the scene and particularly the instruction given by the angel in connection with it prepared Ellen White to write forcefully as to the real significance of such disasters. Certainly it did fit the great earthquake of 1906.
Finding A Site For Pacific Union College
By 1908 the college at Healdsburg found itself needing room to breathe and grow. The attendance was dropping, and financial losses were heavy. The school building was now closely surrounded by the town, and the "boardinghouse" three blocks up the street was being choked by nearby residential housing. When built, the boardinghouse, on a five-acre (two-hectare) tract of land, was in the country, and it had been planned that as funds were available more land surrounding it would be purchased. But money was scarce, so part of the original acreage was sold. Houses soon sprang up.
Ellen White, who with W. C. White had led out in founding the college in 1882, was deeply interested in its welfare. At the California Conference session held in February a comprehensive resolution was passed calling for the disposal of the school properties in Healdsburg and establishing "an industrial college" in the country that would provide work for students and "furnish at least the agricultural and dairy products necessary for the college home" (Pacific Union Recorder, February 27, 1908). The Educational Society, which carried legal control, took official action to this effect three weeks later on March 19.
It was hoped that a property could be located rather quickly so that the school could open in the fall on the new site. Conference officials and Ellen White and her staff were on the constant lookout for a suitable place, perhaps with a building on it that could be put to immediate use.
At the well-attended Oakland camp meeting in early June, a special session of the California Conference was called. Here on June 9, after considerable discussion and a divided vote, plans to close Healdsburg College were approved and a committee of seven appointed to search for a new site. W. C. White, as well as conference officers, was on this committee. From time to time various sites were examined.
In August a property near Sonoma came to the attention of conference officers. This property, two or three miles (three or five kilometers) north of the town of Sonoma, consisted of 2,900 acres (1,174 hectares) of land, hills, mountains, valleys, and flatlands. On it was a spacious three-story, 38-room mansion called "The Castle" (36 WCW, p. 725; S. N. Haskell to EGW, August 13, 1908). Since the property was less than a mile (two kilometers) from a tiny Western Pacific Railway station called Buena Vista, that was the name used in designating it for inspections and negotiations.
The Buena Vista Property
On Wednesday morning, September 2, the day after she had gone north following her five-week stay in southern California, Ellen White, with some members of the committee on school location, visited the Buena Vista property.
Remembering the Loma Linda experience, during which she recognized the buildings when she came onto the grounds, everyone quite naturally was eager to hear whether the Lord had given direct light that this was the site to be purchased.
On leaving the grounds, she felt impressed "that this was just such a location for our school as we had been looking for" (Letter 322, 1908). As to the suitability of the property, she noted that the tract of land was large, "away from the cities, where we could have an abundance of water and wood, and a healthful climate" (Ibid.). The well-furnished house with "every convenience" was also an important factor (Letter 324, 1908). But she did not identify the building as one shown to her.
Back in Oakland that night Ellen White was given instruction. Of this she wrote:
That night in my dreams I seemed to be making plans in regard to this property. One spoke to me and said, "How were you impressed with this location?" I replied, "Favorably; but I do not see how we can purchase: we have not the means. We might lessen the price by selling the stone winery."
"You cannot do that," our adviser said."If you should do so, parties who do not regard the seventh day would be at work on the land on the Sabbath. Your only plan will be to purchase the entire property, and keep every part of it under your control. Not one foot of the land should be allowed to come under the control of those who would work it on the Sabbath day" (Letter 322, 1908).
The committee members could easily see that Ellen White favored the property, but she did not have a "Thus saith the Lord" that this particular property should be secured. Further, she perceived that responsible committees made up of qualified men of experience must make the decision based on principles involved.
On Sunday morning, September 13, after a wakeful night, she wrote to Elder Haskell, who was now attending a camp meeting in Fresno, that she was afraid she might be taking too great responsibility in the matter. She declared:
I do not feel that I want the decision of this question to rest with me. I had only a hasty view of the place at Buena Vista, and while it corresponds to a place that had been shown me, I do not want you to feel that you must secure it on that account (Letter 256, 1908; italics supplied).
With a judgment enriched by the many visions God gave to her, she was influential in the making of important decisions, but never were the visions to take the place of study, initiative, faith, or hard work on the part of all concerned. The visions were not given to take the place of careful investigation and decision-making. Nor were her opinions, in the absence of special light, to be taken as authoritative.
So it was with the Buena Vista property. The principles that should guide in the selection of a site for a college were made clear, and any one of several places might have fitted these guidelines. In the absence of special light, Ellen White had to judge the same as her brethren as to the suitability of the property being investigated.
Here the matter rested for several months.
At the camp meeting in Fresno in late September, a special session of the constituency was held to consider, among other things, the matter of the college. The advantages and disadvantages of various sites were reviewed, and it was decided to accept whatever site might be chosen as long as the committee followed its best judgment and would be counseled by the Spirit of Prophecy.
Almost immediately definite steps were taken to purchase the Buena Vista property. The agreement was that 2,900 acres (1,174 hectares) would be purchased for $35,000 and the Healdsburg College properties. Only one thing remained--the owners must produce a proper abstract and clear title (36 WCW, p. 725).
But delay followed delay. When the transcript for the property finally was available, it was found that there were 22 defects in the title, some serious. The owner, in spite of his earlier promises, refused to do anything about it. Ellen White, when her counsel was sought, declared: "Tell them to put us in possession of the place, or to hand us back our money" (Manuscript 65, 1909).
While she was in the midst of the General Conference session in Washington in May 1909, the deposit on the Buena Vista property was returned. Mrs. White said: "In the dreams of the night the assurance was given that we must not become discouraged; if we could not obtain the Buena Vista place, there would be a more advantageous place for our school" (Letter 187, 1909).
The Angwin Property A Better Place
Elder Haskell, president of the California Conference, recalled:
When word came to us at Washington, D.C., that the trade could not be completed because of errors in the title and other reasons, the servant of the Lord said, "If this cannot be obtained, it is because the Lord has a better place for us" (Pacific Union Recorder, September 2, 1909).
With the time for the opening of school nearing, and now with considerable funds in hand for the purchase of a school property, the locating committee began a new search. In July H. W. Cottrell, president of the Pacific Union Conference and a member of the committee on school location, found what he considered the ideal place. S. N. Haskell wrote of it to Ellen White, who was on her protracted return journey from Washington, D.C., to California. It was Angwin's resort hotel atop Howell Mountain, about four miles (seven kilometers) beyond St. Helena Sanitarium. The property seemed most promising. So sure were the brethren that this place met fully the qualifications for a college site held before them by Ellen White that negotiations to purchase for $60,000 were commenced at once. It was with restless difficulty that they awaited Mrs. White's return home in early September to gain her full support in the steps taken.
After an absence of five months and four days Ellen White reached her Elmshaven home on Thursday afternoon, September 9, ill and exhausted. All were eager for her to visit the Angwin school site without delay. She was too. So, although ill-prepared to do so, on Friday morning she insisted on driving the five miles (eight kilometers) past the sanitarium and up the narrow, rocky road to the top of Howell Mountain to see the property everyone was excited about.
Ellen White Describes The New School Property
In letters to Edson and her granddaughter Mabel, Ellen White described what she found at Angwin. Selections from both letters tell the story:
We left home early on the morning of September 10, driving in my easiest carriage. It was a five-mile [eight-kilometer] climb to the top of the hill; then when about one mile [two kilometers] from the property the country became more level.
Elder [C. W.] Irwin met us at the place and showed us something of the grounds and buildings. As we drove along I marked the advantages over the Buena Vista property. True, there was not here the fine costly building that we found on the Sonoma property, but there were a number of buildings in good repair, and such as could be easily adapted to the needs of the school. The largest of the dwellings was a house of thirty-two rooms [the resort hotel], and in addition to this there were four cottages. All the rooms were well planned, and substantially but not extravagantly furnished. Everything about houses and grounds looked clean and wholesome (Letter 110, 1909).
Many advantages came to us in the house furnishings. The beds were all supplied with two good mattresses, one hair mattress and one of cotton wool, feather pillows and woolen blankets, some of which are very good indeed. All the floors are covered, some of the rooms with carpets, but most with a straw matting. The bed linen was all in good order.
There are sixteen hundred acres [648 hectares] of land in the property, 105 [43 hectares] of which is good arable land. There are twenty acres [eight hectares] of orchards, bearing apples, pears, plums, prunes, peaches, figs, grapes, and English and black walnuts. There are thirty acres [12 hectares] of alfalfa. We were much pleased with the fruit that we saw. At the time of our first visit there were many workers on the ground taking care of the prunes, some gathering the fruits and others preparing it for drying. Forty-five tons [40,860 kilograms] of prunes have been gathered from the orchard this year (Letter 114, 1909).
The large corn barn was filled to the roof with the best of lucerne [alfalfa] hay harvested from the land. In the carriage house we saw eight buggies and wagons. There were twenty milk cows, thirteen horses, and six colts included in this trade....
We are thankful for the abundant supply of pure water flowing from numerous springs, and thrown into large tanks by three hydraulic rams; also for the good buildings, for the good farmland, and for the hundreds
of acres of woodland, on which there are many thousands of feet of saw timber. We are thankful also for the machinery which is all in such good order, for the furniture, which though it is not fine, is good and substantial; for the fruit that is canned and dried, and which will be much appreciated by teachers and students this first year of school....
We need have no fear of drinking impure water, for here it is supplied freely to us from the Lord's treasure house [300,000 gallons (1,135,500 liters) a day]. I do not know how to be grateful enough for these many advantages, but feel like putting my whole trust in the Lord, and as long as my life is spared to glorify my Redeemer (Letter 110, 1909).
On the following Sunday, September 12, a phone call came from Oakland, where the camp meeting was being held. The discussion of the new college was slated to come up the next day. Could Ellen White come?
Indeed she could. She went down Monday morning and that afternoon spoke for 20 minutes on the advantages of the Angwin site. There was no legal action needed, since the purchasing committee--Elders Knox, Cottrell, and Haskell--had, at the Fresno camp meeting a year before, been given power to act. Ellen White's address went far to confirm the faith of the people in the new project and ensure that their pledges would be paid (Pacific Union Recorder, September 23, 1909; Manuscript 59, 1909).
The Angwin resort property was not on the market when the search for a new school site was entered upon. The repeated delays held everything in abeyance until the ideal property became available. Then, with money in hand, the fully equipped and stocked Angwin property was purchased with confidence, and within a few weeks the school was ready for opening in late September. It was capable of caring for 150 students. Everything was on hand, just ready to put into use. All considered it providential. Of the experience Mrs. White wrote, "Now this lesson given us at this time of our great necessity was one of the most remarkable adventures in our experience" (Letter 187, 1909). For nearly a year principles had been reviewed, sites inspected, and money raised. Guidance came through the Spirit of Prophecy, but responsible men were not relieved of diligent study, tireless seeking, and the making of decisions.
Faculty And Staff
The faculty and staff for the new school were quickly assembled. Ellen White, at the General Conference session in Washington, had urged that C. W. Irwin, for eight years principal of the Avondale school in Australia, be released from his work there and kept on in the States to head the new college. Church leaders concurred in this and Professor Irwin stayed by, ready to head the new school when a site was found and school could begin.
The editor of the Signs of the Times, Oscar Tait, a man of broad experience, was prevailed upon to become Bible teacher. Others, seasoned and capable men and women, were drawn in. When school opened on Wednesday, September 29, fifty students were ready to begin classes. The dedication of the new college on that day, with services held in the dance hall, which could seat 200, was an impressive and joyous occasion. Ellen White was there and was one of the speakers. In her 20-minute address she said:
We are very grateful to the Lord of hosts for this possession, for we have here just what we hoped to have in the Buena Vista estate.... God wanted us here, and He has placed us here. I was sure of this as I came upon these grounds.... The Lord designed this place for us, and ... it has been the work of His providence that has brought it into our possession (Manuscript 65, 1909).
And indeed, all recognized that the Lord had done just that.