Cane Hill College, originally Cane Hill School, was the first institution of higher learning in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. It operated in Canehill, Arkansas from 1834 until 1891.

History

Cane Hill School (1834–1858)

Cumberland Presbyterians founded a school in Cane Hill, Arkansas at a meeting on October 28, 1834. The Cane Hill School opened in 1835 and served the Northwest Arkansas region until it was renamed and chartered as Cane Hill Collegiate Institute. Cane Hill College became the third four-year institution in the state (after St. John's College and Arkansas College) on December 15, 1852 when an act was passed in the Arkansas Legislature. F. R. Earle ran the school from 1853 until its demise in 1891.

Cane Hill College (1858–1891)

Cane Hill College closed in 1861 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. After a

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

victory at the

Battle of Cane Hill The Battle of Cane Hill (also known as the Engagement at Cane Hill) was fought during the American Civil War on November 28, 1862, in northwestern Arkansas, near the town of Cane Hill, Arkansas, Cane Hill. Union Army, Union troops under Brigad ...

in November 1862, federal soldiers occupied the town. In 1864, Union troops burned three of the four on-campus buildings. Only a dormitory survived. Cane Hill College reopened after the war and admitted its first female student in 1875 with the creation of the Female Department. The Female Department was absorbed into the rest of the college by 1877, and the college became

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

. Disaster struck the evening of October 10, 1885 when the entire college burned to the ground.

Arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

was suspected but never proven. The chartering of the new state college,

Arkansas Industrial University The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

in Fayetteville, was a crippling blow to Cane Hill College. It closed its doors forever in 1891.

Today

Canehill, Arkansas Canehill (also known as Cane Hill and Boonsboro) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 74. The co ...

is now an unincorporated community in Northwest Arkansas. Only one building remains of Cane Hill College, the rebuilt school following the 1885 fire. After closing, the building was used by the Salem Congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for worship, then as a public school from 1919 to 1956. It is listed as "Cane Hill College Building" on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The Bell House is also still located on the old campus grounds. The Cumberland Presbyterians converted Cane Hill College into Arkansas Cumberland College and later

University of the Ozarks University of the Ozarks (U of O) is a private university in Clarksville, Arkansas. Enrollment averages around 900 students, representing 25 countries. U of O is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). History University of the Oz ...

, but college education never returned to Cane Hill.

Alumni

* J. P. Carnahan,

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

officer, a professor of mathematics, and Populist politician *

John Sebastian Little John Sebastian Little (March 15, 1851 – October 29, 1916) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the 21st Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Biography John Sebastian "Bass" Lit ...

, member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

and the 21st

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

References