Eleutherian College, which 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 ...
in 1993 and declared a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1997, was founded as Eleutherian Institute in 1848 by a group of local
anti-slavery
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The Britis ...
Baptists at
Lancaster in
Jefferson County. The institute's name comes from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
word ''eleutheros'', meaning "freedom and equality." The school admitted students without regard to ethnicity or gender, including freed and fugitive slaves. Its first classes began offering secondary school instruction on November 27, 1848. The school was renamed Eleutherian College in 1854, when it began offering college-level coursework. It is the second college in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
west of the
Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...
and the first in
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
to provide interracial education. The restored three-story stone chapel and classroom building was constructed between 1853 and 1856 and presently serves as a local history museum.
In the decade before 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 ...
,
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
students comprised approximately one quarter to one third of the institute's total enrollment, with its peak years between 1855 and 1861. At one time during this period its enrollment reached 150 students; however, attendance soon declined and no black students were enrolled at the school after 1861. During the Civil War the college's grounds were used for military training and its main building were used for meetings and concerts. The college closed in 1874, but the main building was used as a private high school and teachers' training school until 1887, when the Lancaster township trustees purchased the building for use as a public school, which closed in 1938. Historic Madison, a Jefferson County preservation organization, received the school as a gift in 1973 and sold it to its present owners in 1990. The new owners formed Historic Eleutherian College Inc., a non-profit group, in 1996. The main building has been restored to reflect an 1850s-era appearance.
History
Reverend Thomas Craven, a visiting
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 compe ...
minister who studied at
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...
in
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...
, is credited with proposing the idea for the school. He was also an
abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
and an early advocate of an integrated educational system. Following his advice, several members of Neil's Creek Abolitionist Baptist Church established the Eleutherian Institute, its initial name, at
Lancaster, Indiana, in 1848.
Much of the initial organizing done by the extended Hoyt-Whipple family.
From the 1830s to the 1860s the
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
of Lancaster, about northwest of
Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
in
Jefferson County, Indiana
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 33,147. The county seat is Madison.
History
Jefferson County was formed on February 1, 1811, from Dearborn and Clark Counties. It was named for ...
, was known for its anti-slavery sentiment. Some members of the local community established the Neil's Creek Anti-Slavery Society in 1839 and the Neil's Creek Abolitionist Baptist Church in 1846.
Neil's Creek was located about west of Lancaster, a major stop for fugitive slaves
In the United States, fugitive slaves or runaway slaves were terms used in the 18th and 19th century to describe people who fled slavery. The term also refers to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Such people are also called freed ...
along the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...
route as they traveled north from Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
on the Ohio River to Indianapolis, Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. Several abolitionist families in the area, including some members of the school's board of trustees, were active participants in the Underground Railroad. The community's abolitionist church and anti-slavery sentiments also made Lancaster a good place to establish an integrated school.[
Eleutherian Institute admitted students without regard to ethnicity or gender, including freed and fugitive slaves.][ and ] The institute's name comes from the Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
word ''eleutheros'', meaning "freedom and equality".[ Its first classes began offering secondary school instruction on November 27, 1848, with fifteen students gathering in an old meetinghouse near Lancaster.
Reverend John G. Craven, the son of Reverend Thomas Craven, served as the school's first teacher. John C. Thompson, Thomas Craven's son-in-law, served as a teacher for the first year, but he returned to ]Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
when the school was unable to financially support two teachers. Reverend John Craven was principal of the school until 1861, then moved to Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. James and Lucy Nelson maintained the school's dormitory in the days before 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 ...
.
Reverend Thomas Craven donated the land for the school's campus at Lancaster, where two new building were erected atop College Hill in the 1850s, a dormitory, circa 1854, and the stone chapel and classroom building, which was constructed between 1854 and 1856. A log cabin on the property once served as John Craven's home, but no longer exists. In addition to donating land, Reverend Thomas Craven also solicited funds to support the school and recruited students to increase its enrollment.[ Note: This includes And accompanying photographs.]
The institute was renamed Eleutherian College in 1854, when it began offering college-level coursework, making it the second college in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
west of the Allegheny Mountains
The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...
( Oberlin College was first) and the first in Indiana to provide interracial education. In the decade prior to the Civil War, African-American students comprised approximately one quarter to one third of its total enrollment,[ although enrollment of black students was never large. Some of its African-American students came from as far south as , ]Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, and Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...
, but most of them came from Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
. The school's peak years were 1855 to 1861. At one time during this period its enrollment reached 150 students. Some sources indicate that by 1860 the college enrolled 200 students, including 50 African Americans, some of whom had come from the Deep South despite fugitive slave laws and an amendment to the state constitution prohibited African-American migration into the state.[ Overall enrollment declined to 112 students in 1857—58 and dropped to 109 students in 1859, including 18 African-American students, 10 of whom were born into slavery.
In 1860, two hundred students were enrolled, 50 of them African-American. No black students were enrolled at the school after 1861.
During the Civil War, some of the school's former students who enlisted in the 6th Indiana Infantry Regiment participated in the military training held on the Eleutherian College's grounds. In addition, the college's buildings were used for meetings and concerts during the war.
After John Craven left the school in 1861, William Brand served as its principal until 1866, followed by several successors. The college closed in 1874; however, John Craven returned to the school in 1878 to help revive it as a private high school and teachers' training school. Craven stayed at the school until 1887. Lancaster township trustees purchased the main classroom and chapel building in 1888 for use as a public school.][ It finally closed in 1938, after the township schools were consolidated, and the building was eventually abandoned. Subsequent owners were unsuccessful in efforts to have the Indiana Department of Conservation convert the property to a state park.][
]
Preservation and restoration
Restoration of the college's main building began in the 1960s. Historic Madison, a Jefferson County preservation organization, received the school as a gift in 1973, but sold it in 1990. The new owners formed Historic Eleutherian College Incorporated, a non-profit organization, in 1996. The chapel and classroom building has been restored to "an 1850s-era appearance." Historic Eleutherian College operates the building as a local history museum.
Description
Reverend Thomas Craven donated the land for the school, which eventually included two new buildings erected on the College Hill property in the 1850s. The main building housed a chapel and classrooms; a second building served as a dormitory. Both buildings were constructed of rough-cut limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
from nearby quarries. The two-story dormitory, circa 1854, had fifteen rooms. The three-story main building, completed in 1856, included a chapel and seven more rooms. The main building measures by . Its classroom spaces were capable of accommodating 200 to 300 students.[ The dormitory/boardinghouse located near the main school building measures by .
]
Exterior
The main building was constructed between 1854 and 1856 in the Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
style. The three-story building has a rectangular plan that includes a square bell tower ( belfry) centered above a gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
-fronted main entrance. The gable roof includes a triangular-shaped wood pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedim ...
above the third-floor windows. The building's windowsills, lintels, and corner quoins are finished limestone, which contrasts to the rough-hewn stone walls. The north (front) facade of the building has three bays wide with two wooden doors flanking a single, ground-floor window. East and west facades are identical, with four double-height windows below four more on the third level. The south (rear) facade has two windows at the third-floor level.[
]
Interior
The main building has a small entryway leading to a two-story chapel that runs the length of the building. The chapel includes double-height windows and a balcony, which crosses the north side of the room. The chapel ceiling is covered in wood panels. Stairs at each end of the entry hall lead to the upper floors. The second story includes two classrooms above the entryway and five additional rooms on the third floor. Stairs in one of the third-floor rooms leads to an unfinished attic. A ladder in the attic leads to the belfry tower. The cast bell was manufactured by J.A. Kelley of Franklin Brass Bell Factory, Madison, Indiana.[
]
Recognition
The restored main building (classroom and chapel), now a public museum, was listed on the National Register in 1993 and declared a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
on February 18, 1997.[ The National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, also lists the building as a Network to Freedom Site.][ In 2004 the Indiana Historical Bureau installed a state historical marker at the college to honor its role as one of the earliest educational institutions in the state to enroll students of all ethnicities and genders.
]
Notable alumni
Among the school's most notable African-American students was Moses Broyles, who became pastor of the Second Baptist Church in Indianapolis and an organizer of the Indiana Association of Black Baptists Churches in 1858. Broyles was a slave from Kentucky who purchased his freedom as an adult.[
Notable female students included Sarah B. Hoyt, who also studied at Oberlin College. She became a teacher and later served as a high school principal at ]Newport, Kentucky
Newport is a home rule-class city at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking rivers in Campbell County, Kentucky. The population was 15,273 at the 2010 census. Historically, it was one of four county seats of Campbell County. Newport is a majo ...
. Rebecca J. Thompson, who completed studies at the Young Ladies Institute, which later became Shepardson College in Granville, Ohio
Granville is a village in Licking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,646 at the 2010 census. The village is located in a rural area of rolling hills in central Ohio. It is east of Columbus, the state capital, and west of Newar ...
, was chair of the mathematics department at Franklin College (Indiana)
Franklin College is a private liberal arts college in Franklin, Indiana. It was founded in 1834 and has a wooded campus spanning 207 acres including athletic fields and a 31-acre biology woodland. The college offers its approximately 1,000 stu ...
for thirty-eight years. She retired from Franklin College in 1910.[Thompson, p. 119.]
Gallery
Eleutherian College.jpg, Old NPS picture of the school
Eleutherian College 2.JPG, Distant view
See also
* Lyman and Asenath Hoyt House
Notes
References
* Also:
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External links
"Eleutherian College, Lancaster Indiana
" YouTube
"Eleutherian College, Lancaster, Indiana
" History in Your Own Backyard, YouTube
Historic Eleutherian College
(official website)
"List of Sites
," Aboard the Underground Railroad website, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
The Underground Railroad: An Abolitionist Movement - Eleutherian College
YouTube
{{Authority control
African-American history of Indiana
University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana
Defunct private universities and colleges in Indiana
Educational institutions established in 1848
National Historic Landmarks in Indiana
Abolitionism in the United States
Museums in Jefferson County, Indiana
History museums in Indiana
National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, Indiana
1848 establishments in Indiana