Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Spring 2013 | Page 9

Missing James Burr Obelisk Unearthed in McCully Field
Interred on Wheaton’s campus in
College historian and professor emeritus
1859, the body of abolitionist James E.
Dr. David Maas ’62 speak on Burr’s
Burr rests in a grave north of the Student legacy and the mystery of the lost
Services Building and northeast of
obelisk. “When I saw it, I right away
Williston Hall. Its location, marked by
thought, ‘James Burr,’” he said.
a bronze plaque, was once the site of an
Dresser, who is a direct descendant
eight-foot marble monument. The top
of abolitionist Amos Dresser and has
half of the grave marker—an obelisk—
ties to Wheaton’s abolitionist president,
went missing after the monument was
Jonathan Blanchard, told the workers to
dismantled in 1929.
send for David Malone M.A. ’92, head
Last August, while trenching for an
of Archives and Special Collections.
electrical line, a Facilities Management
Malone confirmed the find.
crew uncovered this long-lost piece. The
The obelisk’s front piece features an
top of the five-foot obelisk was partially
oak branch with nuts. The back features
protruding from the ground, about
a scene of a broken Greek column. The
50 yards east of McCully Stadium on
latter came as a surprise to Malone.
the path to the soccer field.
Previously there had been no record of
The crew did not realize what they had what was on the back of the obelisk.
found until Bob Dresser, an instructional
All the known pieces of the
media technician at Wheaton, came
monument are currently in the Special
across them hosing it down at the
Collections Reading Room on the third
Physical Plant. Dresser recalled hearing
floor of the Billy Graham Center.

Evangelism Initiative Spreads to Other Campuses
Key leaders from 17 Christian colleges met at Dallas Baptist
University last October for the Evangelism Initiative 2012, hosted
by Wheaton College and EvanTell, an international evangelism training
ministry. The Evangelism Initiative, a partnership between Wheaton
College and the Billy Graham Center, focuses on cultivating an
ethos of evangelism throughout the campus community, est ablishing
student mentoring groups, and promoting faculty-student interaction
on topics related to the integration of faith and learning.
According to Dr. Peter Walters, assistant director of the Evangelism
Initiative, the vision for the Dallas gathering was to create momentum
for equipping 1 million college students to share the gospel. “How
is that possible?” he asks. “Each year, distinctively Christian liberal

Until this discover y,
the etching on the
back of the obelisk
was not known.

Summer workers (l to r) Gabriela Quiggle and Jef f
Sommars ’12 helped College electrician Cesar Gomez
unear th what they later learned was par t of abolitionist
James E. Burr’s gravestone.

arts institutions like Wheaton graduate 50,000 students—50,000
students over 20 years is 1 million college students. We believe that
1 million college students passionate about sharing their faith can
change a culture.”
The Dallas event brought together 53 presidents, provosts, deans,
faculty members, student development personnel, and campus chaplains.
Dr. Jerry Root, director of the Evangelism Initiative at Wheaton, was
among the speakers who sought to inspire these leaders to be catalysts for
the Evangelism Initiative on their campuses.
“Jerry talked about the hard lessons we’ve learned at Wheaton and the
places where we have found some good traction as it relates to equipping
students to be evangelists,” said Dr. Walters. “Much of the discussion
revolved around obstacles to evangelism, methods and strategies for
creating an ethos of evangelism on campuses, and discussion of what is
needed going forward.”
Of the 17 colleges represented at the gathering, 12 indicated a desire to
begin an evangelism committee on their campuses.

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