Class of 1876

Over the entrance to the Steinheim building is a stone that many never notice, even though it’s in plain sight. Engraved with an enigmatic “76” it sits above the window just over the door. The July 1876 “Alfred Student” provides the answer to the stone’s history: “The Class of ’76 have left a monument on the campus which is likely to be lasting. It consists of a huge irregular block of stone mounted on an ancient millstone for a pedestal. With its rude figures, ’76’ chiseled on its face, it is liable to be regarded by future generations as proof of the existence of Druids in America.” When Jonathan Allen, the University’s second president, constructed the Steinheim, he incorporated the engraved stone into the structure, certainly making it “lasting” and unique. If you look even closer, you can see a smaller ’23’ on the slim round stone over the ’76’ — signifying 1823, the year Allen was born.