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Peucinian Society: records

 Record Group
Identifier: A04.36

  • Staff Only
  • Please use the Collection Organization section below to place requests.

Scope and Content

This collection contains records of both the original Peucinian Society of Bowdoin College which dissolved in the 1880s and the Peucinian Society reconstituted in 2007. Files contain minutes of meetings, financial records, correspondence, lectures, addresses, articles, and the Society's constitution.

Dates

  • Creation: 1805-1877, 2007-
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1805 - 1877

Creator

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Biographical/Historical Note

On November 22, 1805, eight students met and formed the Philomathian Society. A few months later the name was changed to the Peucinian Society and took its motto: Pinos loquentes semper habemus (We always have the whispering pines). The Society formed a large library with books purchased from dues paid by inducted members. The Peucinian Society had an intense rivalry with the Athenaean Society. The rise of the Greek letter fraternities at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century spelled the end for the literary societies. After a period of relative dormancy, the surviving libraries of the Peucinian and Athenaean societies were merged in 1880. Following this, the Peucinian Society was considered officially defunct. The Peucinian Society had an annex scientific society, the Caluvian Society. In 2007, members of the class of 2010 re-established the Peucinian Society to debate and discuss political and philosophical issues.

Extent

3.25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Related Materials

"The Connection between Religion and the Arts," an oration delivered at the 40th anniversary of the Peucinian Society by William Whitney Rice (Class of 1846), March 1846 can be found in William Whitney Rice Orations (M299).

Title
Guide to the Peucinian Society Records
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine 04011 Repository

Contact:
3000 College Station
Brunswick Maine 04011 USA
(207) 725-3288