Westbrook College
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Westbrook College was a liberal arts college in
Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
, founded 1831 as Westbrook Seminary in
Westbrook, Maine Westbrook is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States and a suburb of Portland. The population was 20,400 at the 2020 census, making it the fastest-growing city in Maine between 2010 and 2020. It is part of the Portland– South Port ...
. It closed in 1996 and merged with the University of New England, which uses its old campus.


History

In 1831, Westbrook
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 established by the Kennebec Association of Universalists in
Westbrook, Maine Westbrook is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States and a suburb of Portland. The population was 20,400 at the 2020 census, making it the fastest-growing city in Maine between 2010 and 2020. It is part of the Portland– South Port ...
. The original 8- acre property was a gift from Zachariah Stevens, for whom Steven's Plains and Stevens Avenue are named, and Oliver Buckley. The seminary building, now called Alumni Hall, was not finished until 1834, and the first classes were finally held after its completion. The four tracks of study included English, scientific, ladies' classical, and preparatory. It was
co-educational 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 ...
, but women in the scientific or ladies' classical tracks received unique "laureate of arts" and "laureate of science" degrees upon completion. Westbrook became an all-female institution when the last co-educational class graduated in 1925, and gradually became a junior college, as well, and dropped all preparatory work by 1933. During this time, it seems to have been named Westbrook Junior College. The women's junior-college plan had been proposed by president Clarence Quimby in 1914, but was rejected, and he later resigned in 1920. The college continued to grow through the 1970s, and the name was changed to Westbrook College. It became co-educational again in 1973, after the federal government stopped providing funds to gender-discriminating institutions. During the 1980s and 1990s, Westbrook made a commitment to a four-year liberal arts college education, but was hit hard by declining enrollment at the same time. By the mid-1990s, the college was seeking to close and merge with another institution, and finally did so with the University of New England in 1996. In an odd twist, the merger actually took place under the Westbrook charter, technically making the new institution Westbook College and changing its name to University of New England.


Campus

Westbrook College was originally located in
Westbrook, Maine Westbrook is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States and a suburb of Portland. The population was 20,400 at the 2020 census, making it the fastest-growing city in Maine between 2010 and 2020. It is part of the Portland– South Port ...
, then
Deering, Maine Deering was a town in Cumberland County, Maine which was incorporated in 1871 and annexed by the neighboring City of Portland in 1899. Until 1871, the town was part of Saccarappa, which also included what is now neighboring Westbrook. In that ye ...
, and finally
Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
. The institution never actually moved, but the surrounding area changed hands and names at least twice.University of New England: Westbrook College History
/ref> Today, the area where the campus is located is known as Portland's
Deering Center Deering Center is a neighborhood in the residential area of Portland, Maine, United States.
neighborhood. The Westbrook College campus is now known by the University of New England as the UNE Portland Campus.


Notable alumni and faculty

*
Adin B. Capron Adin Ballou Capron (January 9, 1841 – March 17, 1911) was an American miller and politician from the U.S. state of Rhode Island. He served in the American Civil War and was a member of the United States House of Representatives. Early li ...
, U.S. Congressman * Emma Bedelia Dunham, poet *
Marion Coats Graves Marion Coats Graves (August 2, 1885 - November 19, 1962) was an American educator known for her work in creating two-year junior colleges for women. She helped establish and was the first president of Sarah Lawrence College. Biography Marion Coa ...
, president of the college in 1932 * John C. Hall, physician, Wisconsin state senator and Union Army doctor''The legislative manual of the state of Wisconsin; comprising Jefferson's manual, rules, forms and laws for the regulation of business; also, lists and tables for reference'' Tenth Annual Edition. Madison: Atwood and Culver, State Printers, Journal Block, 1871; p. 368
/ref> * Edward A. Newman, businessman, general manager of Portland Railroad Company *
Lillian M. N. Stevens Lillian M. N. Stevens (1843–1914) was an American temperance worker and social reformer, born at Dover, Maine. She helped launch the Maine chapter of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.), served as its president, and was elect ...
, temperance leader


References


{{authority control Defunct private universities and colleges in Maine Educational institutions established in 1831 Educational institutions disestablished in 1996 Buildings and structures in Westbrook, Maine Universities and colleges in Portland, Maine University of New England (United States) 1831 establishments in Maine 1996 disestablishments in Maine