Chester Cole

Chester C. ColeJune 4, 1824-October 4, 1913

Originally submitted by Kristen Bramhall on November 29, 2011, Drake University

Early Years

Chester C. Cole, truly one of the greatest men to leave his handprint upon Drake University, was born on June 4, 1824 in Oxford, New York.[1] Cole studied at the Oxford Academy [2]. Prolonged illness derailed his plans to enter into the junior class at Union College at the age of eighteen [3]. He later entered the law school at Harvard University. [4]

Career

After leaving Harvard, Cole moved to Frankfort, Kentucky, where he headed the legislative department of "The Commonwealth," one of Frankfort’s daily newspapers.[5] After returning to New York to marry Amanda M. Bennett, the couple relocated to Marion, Kentucky. [6] Cole was admitted to the bar and began what would be a long, prosperous, and influential legal profession.[7] In 1857, Cole moved to Des Moines, Iowa.[8] In 1859 he was nominated, but not elected, to serve as a justice on the Iowa Supreme Court.[9] In 1864, he was appointed to this office “in compliance with a legislative Act increasing the personnel from three to four members.” [10] The next autumn he was elected to the same office by a large majority, and reelected in 1870, again by a large majority.[11] His tenure on the court, which included serving as chief justice for one year, ended with Cole’s resignation on January 19, 1876. [12] Among other accomplishments on the court, Cole authored the landmark Clark v. Muscatine School Board opinion in 1868, which held racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional under the Iowa Constitution—eighty-six years before the U.S. Supreme Court upheld that principle in Brown v. Board of Education [13]. He also served several years as the editor of the Western// //Jurist, edited a popular edition of// //Iowa Reports////, and played a critical role in shaping legal education in the state of// //Iowa.[14] Cole continued in the active practice of law until he was eighty-nine years of age and died in Des Moines, October 4, 1913.[15]

Founding Drake University Law School

In 1865, Cole and fellow lawyer George Wright, who went on to become a U.S. Senator, founded “The Iowa Law School” in Des Moines. [17] Cole served the school as a law professor for ten years.[18] During his tenure, the school was moved to Iowa City, which Cole writes was “against the interest and wishes of those who had organized the school and made it a success.” [19]. Cole believed strongly that location in the state capital, where the legislature meets and the Supreme Court holds most sessions, afforded law students invaluable educational opportunities. [20] In 1875 Cole and Wright founded “The Iowa College of Law” in Des Moines[21], where Cole served as the first Dean.[22] Its first class was graduated in 1876.[23] The school affiliated with Drake upon the university’s organization in 1881.[24] Cole taught at the law school until 1906[25] and served again as its Dean from 1892 [26] until 1907[27]. The first building on campus dedicated to law classes was Cole Hall, built in 1904. [28]

References [1] Evans, E. B. (1905) Chester Cicero Cole. The Alumnus. [2] [File item Cowles Library Archives] Des Moines, IA: Drake University. [3] Evans, E. B. (1905) Chester Cicero Cole. The Alumnus. [4] Mrs. Cole is Dead. (1909, April 8) Times-Delphic. [5] [File item Cowles Library Archives] Des Moines, IA: Drake University. [6] Chester C. Cole from 1864-1876//. (2011). Retrieved November 22, 2011, from Iowa Judicial Branch website: http:www.iowacourtsonline.org/wfdata/frame1773- 1463/pressrel15.asp [7] Mrs. Cole is Dead. (1909, April 8) Times-Delphic. [8] Evans, E. B. (1905) Chester Cicero Cole. The Alumnus. [9] [File item Cowles Library Archives] Des Moines, IA: Drake University. [10] Drake University Law Library //[Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http:libguides.law.drake.edu/libNutshell