The Crozer Theological Seminary was a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

located in

Upland, Pennsylvania Upland is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Upland is governed by an elected seven-member borough council. The population was 3,239 at the 2010 census, up from 2,974 at the 2000 census. Geography Upland is located in so ...

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

was a student at Crozer Theological Seminary from 1948 to 1951, and graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity degree. In 1970, the seminary merged with the Rochester Theological Seminary, forming the

Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School is a Baptist seminary in Rochester, New York It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History 1820s-1960: Early history Four Baptist institutions merged over the course of the 19th and 20t ...

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

and the Old Main building was subsequently used as office space by Crozer Hospital (now part of the

Crozer-Chester Medical Center Crozer Health is a four-hospital health system based in Delaware County, Pennsylvania and serving Delaware County; northern Delaware and parts of western New Jersey. History In 1893, the 48-bed Chester Hospital opened to serve the growing popu ...

.) The Old Main building is a three-story, "F"-shaped,

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

coated stone building with three pavilions connected by a corridor with flanking rooms. Each of the pavilions is topped by a gable roof and

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

, the largest cupola being on the central pavilion. ''Note:'' This includes The seminary's grounds are now the

Crozer Arboretum Crozer Arboretum, now the Crozer Garden, is a arboretum and garden park located at 1 Medical Center Boulevard, Upland, Pennsylvania. The grounds are open daily; admission is free. The park was formerly the campus of the Crozer Theological Seminar ...

. The Old Main building was listed 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 ...

in 1973.

History

Crozer Chester Medical Center Campus Map

Lewis House at Crozer Theological Seminary

The Seminary began as the

Normal School A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

of Upland, established and built by the president of the board of directors of the

American Baptist Publication Society The American Baptist Publication Society is a historic building at 1420–1422 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1896 on the site of the former headquarters of the American Baptist Publication Society, which had been ...

John Price Crozer John Price Crozer (January 13, 1793 – March 11, 1866) was an American textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At firs ...

. After the outbreak of 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 ...

, the school was closed. Crozer allowed the

Union army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

to use the building as a hospital during the Civil War. The hospital contained a thousand beds and accommodated 300 nurses, attendants and guards. The patients were almost exclusively Union soldiers except for after the

battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

, in July 1863, when the number of wounded and sick

Confederate army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

soldiers left on the battlefield required their acceptance at the hospital. During the war, more than 6,000 patients were treated. Many of the dead from the hospital were some of the first burials at nearby

Chester Rural Cemetery Chester Rural Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery founded in March 1863 in Chester, Pennsylvania. Some of the first burials were Civil War soldiers, both Union and Confederate, who died at the government hospital located at the nearby building w ...

. After the war, the building was repossessed by Crozer and subsequently sold to Colonel Theodore Hyatt for usage as the

Pennsylvania Military Academy Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...

until 1868. After Crozer's death in 1866, his family converted the school to the Crozer Theological Seminary in his honor. His son recruited faculty for the new mission. The seminary served as an

American Baptist Church The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline/evangelical Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainl ...

school, training seminarians for entry into the

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

from 1868 to 1970. In 1970 the school moved to

, in a merger that formed the

. The old seminary building was used as the former Crozer Hospital (now the Crozer-Chester Medical Center). The building is currently used as administrative offices for the

Campus

The multi-acre campus contains the

and the following buildings: *Humpstone *President's House *Pollard House *CHEC *Evans House *Crozer Hall *Neisser House *Lewis House *Vedder House *Davis House *Sunnyside House *Westin House *Franklin House

Pearl Hall

Pearl Hall is a serpentine stone library on the campus which opened on June 4, 1871. The building was sponsored by

William Bucknell William Robert Bucknell (April 1, 1811 – March 5, 1890), was an American real estate investor, businessman, philanthropist, and benefactor to Bucknell University. Early life Bucknell was born in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania to English immigrants. ...

, the benefactor of

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...

, in memory of his late wife Margaret Crozer, the daughter of John Price Crozer. In addition to the $30,000 cost of the building, Bucknell also gave $25,000 for the cost of books and $10,000 for an endowment fund.

Notable alumni

* George Barbier, actor *

J. Pius Barbour Josephus Pius Barbour (June 8, 1894 - January 5, 1974) was an American Baptist pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Chester, Pennsylvania who served as an executive director of the National Baptist Association, editor of the National Baptist Voice ...

, pastor of

Calvary Baptist Church Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...

in Chester, Pennsylvania, executive director of the National Baptist Association, editor of the National Baptist Voice, mentor to Martin Luther King Jr., first African-American graduate of Crozer Theological Seminary * John Warren Davis, New Jersey politician and federal judge, taught Greek and Hebrew at Crozer Theological Seminary for three years * William Augustus Jones Jr., minister and civil rights leader *

, Baptist minister and civil rights leader *

Samuel D. Proctor Samuel DeWitt Proctor (July 13, 1921 – May 22, 1997) was an African-American minister, educator, and humanitarian. He was active in the Civil Rights Movement and is perhaps best known as a mentor and friend of Martin Luther King Jr. Early life ...

, minister, educator and humanitarian

Notable faculty

* John Warren Davis, taught Hebrew and Greek for three years *

Lemuel Moss Lemuel Moss (December 27, 1829 – July 13, 1904) served as the sixth president of Indiana University, being the last of a long line of six "Preacher Presidents."Clark, T. D. (1970). Indiana University: Midwestern Pioneer / Volume 1: The Early Yea ...

, professor of New Testament *

James B. Pritchard James Bennett Pritchard (October 4, 1909 – January 1, 1997) was an American archeologist whose work explicated the interrelationships of the religions of ancient Palestine, Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon. Pritchard was honored with the Go ...

, taught in the chair of Old Testament History and Exegesis *

Henry Clay Vedder Henry Clay Vedder (February 26, 1853 – October 13, 1935) was an American Baptist church historian, seminary professor, editor and theologian. Vedder authored numerous articles and twenty-seven books on church history and theology. Early life a ...

, professor of Church history

References

External links

Uplandboro.org history of Crozer theological seminary Bulletin of The Crozer Theological Society, Volumes 1-3
{{authority control 1867 establishments in Pennsylvania American Civil War hospitals Educational institutions established in 1867 Hospital buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Delaware County, Pennsylvania School buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Schools in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Seminaries and theological colleges in Pennsylvania