Scarritt College (founded in 1878 at

Neosho, Missouri Neosho (; originally or ) is the most populous city in Newton County, Missouri, United States, which it serves as the county seat. With a population of 12,590 as of the 2020 census, the city is a part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Stat ...

) began as the Neosho Male and Female Seminary. In 1887 it was reconstituted as the Scarritt Collegiate Institute.

History

Opening its doors on September 2, 1878, the school's first home was inside the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in Neosho. D. M. Conway was its first president. Outgrowing the church, in October 1878 the school purchased a local house and moved into it. In 1880, under the leadership of G. H. Williamson, the

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 ...

was incorporated, taking the name Neosho Collegiate Institute. Led by W. C. Montgomery, and having again outgrown its new home, the school built a new facility at the same location. In the spring of 1887, after several years of financial difficulties, the Neosho Collegiate Institute was forced to close. After a donation by Dr. Nathan Spencer Scarritt of Kansas City, the school reopened the following spring under the name Scarritt Collegiate Institute, in honor of its benefactor. After several years of success and growth, starting in 1900 several setbacks led to a steady decline in enrollment. In 1902, John Brown took the helm, becoming the youngest college president in the nation. He would go on to found Southwestern Collegiate Institute, later John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. Again in 1903, due to mounting debt, Scarritt closed its doors. The school operated as Scarritt College, a business school, for a short time before the doors in Neosho were closed permanently in 1907. In 1908 it merged with another college and moved to Morrisville, in 1909 merged with

Ebenezer College Ebenezer may refer to: Bible * Eben-Ezer, a place mentioned in the Books of Samuel People * Ebenezer (given name), a male given name Places Australia * Ebenezer, New South Wales Ebenezer is a historic town in New South Wales, Australia, in ...

from Ebenezer, Missouri and later became Scarritt-Morrisville College which again merged with Central College to become known as Central Methodist College,

Fayette, Missouri Fayette is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,803 at the 2020 census. History Fayette was laid out in 1823. The ...

Notes of interest

The Neosho School District purchased the property, and in 1916 the empty buildings were razed to make way for a new public high school for the city of Neosho. Scarritt Collegiate Institute was attended by cowboy philosopher and humorist Will Rogers for a single semester in the late 1890s before his transfer to

Kemper Military School Kemper Military School & College was a private military school located in Boonville, Missouri. Founded in 1844, Kemper filed for bankruptcy and closed in 2002. The school's motto was "Nunquam Non Paratus" (Never Not Prepared). The 46-acre camp ...

in Boonville,

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

Notable alumni

E. LeBron Fairbanks E. LeBron Fairbanks (born July 27, 1942) is a leadership consultant, an adjunct professor at Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary, and a retired American ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene who is President ''emeritus'' of Mount ...

, college and seminary president *

Sue Thrasher Martha Sue Thrasher is an activist, writer and educator known for her work on civil rights and gathering white students into the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Early life and education Thrasher is originally from rural West Tennessee, whe ...

, activist, writer and educator Educational institutions established in 1878 Defunct private universities and colleges in Missouri Buildings and structures in Newton County, Missouri 1878 establishments in Missouri {{Missouri-university-stub