George R. Smith College (MO)

George R. Smith College opened in northeastern Sedalia, Missouri in 1894.  The institution was associated with the Freedmen's Aid and Southern Education Society of the Methodist Church and played an important role in the lives of young people for several decades.  The college burned in 1925 and several years later there was a  formal merger with Philander Smith College in Arkansas.  The merger was accomplished through joint action of the Board of Education of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Trustees of the Southwest and Central West Annual Conferences, and the Trustees of Philander Smith College. The transaction was formally ratified in a joint executive session on May 23, 1933.

Alumni of the institution included:
John Wesley Donaldson, baseball player
Scott Joplin, ragtime musician
T. Manuel Smith, M.D. and President of the National Medical Association (1942-43)

Presidents:
P.A. Cool, 1894-1896
E.A. Robertson, 1897-1901
I.L. Lowe, 1902-1907
A.C. Maclin, 1908-1910
J.C. Sherrill, 1911-1912
George Evans, 1913-1914
Matthew Simpson Davage, 1915-1916, who later served as president of New Haven Institute, Samuel Huston College, Rust College, and Clark University
Robert B. Hayes, 1917-1925

Rose M. Nolen edited Lost on the Prairie: George R. Smith College Methodist School for Blacks.  The book is available for $15 by contacting the author at nolen@iland.net.







Nolen also authored African-Americans in Mid-Missouri that includes a chapter on George R. Smith College.  An extensive list of students by program and department is provided in the appendix.

A column for the Sedalia Democrat by Nolen in February 2010 included information on George R. Smith College.

Forest Park University (MO)

Anna Sneed Cairns founded Kirkwood Seminary in 1861.  She moved the seminary in 1891 and it was renamed as Forest Park University, closing in 1925 or 1926. In addition to her role as an educator, Cairns was also a leader in both the prohibition and women's suffrage movements. The university consisted of three colleges (Forest Park College, the School of Art and Elocution, and the College of Music) as well as a preparatory school and served both boarding and day students.

Mount Mary College (WI)

Karen Herzog reports in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Mount Mary College will mark its 100th anniversary in fall 2013 with a name change to Mount Mary University.

The School Sisters of Notre Dame initially founded St. Mary's Institute in 1850 in Milwaukee.  Twenty-two years later another St. Mary's Institute was started in Prairie du Chien.  This second institution grew to become St. Mary's College in 1913 and then moved to Milwaukee in 1928 as Mount Mary College.  Mount Mary has aggressively evolved to become a leader in women's education and has expanded its mission to include graduate programs.

Western University (KS)

Western University operated in Kansas from 1881 to 1943 and was associated with the AME Church. The institution thrived for decades attracting students from many states.  Like many colleges, it suffered during the Great Depression and ultimately closed.

The Kansas City, Kansas Public Library offers a variety of resources for the Quindaro historic district and Western University.  

You can also access a document with Quindaro and Western University Historic District details.

Catalogs for some Closed Mississippi Colleges

The Mississippi State University Library offers a number of catalogs as part of their digital collection.  Those from institutions that have closed include:
     Cooper Normal College (Daleville, MS) 1892-93 Catalog
     Grenada College (Grenada, MS) 1934-35 Catalog
     Hillman College (Clinton, MS) 1924 Catalog
     Lexington Normal College (Lexington, MS) 1896 Catalog
     Shuqualak Female College (Shuqualak, MS) 1888-90 Catalog
     Warren Female Institute (Oxford, MS) 1883-84 Catalog

Methodist Institutions in the South

Jay S. Stowell's Methodist Adventures in Negro Education (1922) is available through the Documenting the South website.  The book includes descriptions and photographs of twenty institutions.  While George R. Smith College (Sedalia, MO) has closed and a couple of institutions have merged, most are still operating.

Kingswood University (NB, Canada)

Randy Boswell explores reasons for the recent name change in 2011 from Bethany Bible College to Kingswood University.  The institution was founded in Woodstock, New Brunswick as Holiness Bible Institute in 1945 by the Reformed Baptist Church of Canada.  The name changed in 1947 to Bethany Bible College with relocation to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  The institution then moved to Sussex, British Columbia in 1965.  

Kingswood was formally accredited by New Brunswick in 1983 and accreditation was first granted in 1987 by the Association for Biblical Higher Education and reaffirmed in 2009. 

Eisenhower College (NY)

The Eisenhower College Alumni Association maintains a website with links to information on the college archives and several collections of photographs.  Eisenhower College was founded in 1965 in Seneca Falls, NY and was designated by Congress as a memorial to the former president Dwight D. Eisenhower.  Even with several appropriations, financial problems persisted and the institution was acquired by Rochester Institute of Technology in 1979.  The last class graduated from Eisenhower in 1983.  The property was later sold to the New York Chiropractic College in 1989.

Baldwin-Wallace College (OH)

Julie Kent reports in The Cleveland Leader that Baldwin-Wallace College will change its name to Baldwin-Wallace University effective July 1, 2012.  The institution was founded as Baldwin Institute in 1845 and was re-chartered a decade later as Baldwin University. It later merged with German Wallace College in 1913 to become Baldwin-Wallace College.

Mercyhurst University (PA)

An article by Robb Frederick of the Erie Times-News interviewed students and staff after Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA announced a change in name to Mercyhurst University.

Dennis Spellmann

I recently came across a reference to an extensive and fascinating article on Dennis Spellmann written by Jeannette Batz for the Riverfront Times in St. Louis.  As a historical note, it was written in September 2000 and Spellmann passed away August 30, 2006.  He was definitely a fascinating, if controversial, person in Missouri higher education for many decades…having attended and later served Missouri Valley College.  He was  associated with a number of other Presbyterian colleges including Tarkio College.  While most of the article focuses on Lindenwood University,  Batz also interviewed people familiar with his service to Knoxville College in Tennessee.  

Ursuline Academy and College (KS)

Journeys of Ursuline Academy and College documents the educational work of a group of Ursuline Sisters who arrived in Kansas in 1894 through text and numerous photographs.  The Sisters founded an academy and college in Paola, KS within a few years and the institution successfully educated young women from many states and several continents.  The college was discontinued after 1957 and the academy after 1971. 

The surviving convent was closed in 2009 after a merger with the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph who are located in Maple Mount, KY.  The Sisters in Kentucky also operated an academy that closed in 1963.  Mount Saint Joseph Junior College for Women opened in 1925.  This institution later moved to Ownsboro in 1950 and is now known as Brescia University, a co-educational institution.

The Miami County Historical Society offers web pages with historical information  and a timeline with images  of the academy and College.