In Shades of Sepia: The Story of Jubilee College...

I just finished reading In Shades of Sepia: The Story of Jubilee College as Told Through Letters and Other Documents and enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about the institution.  Sue Swanson is the author and she focuses the early part of her book on Philander Chase and his family as they founded Jubilee College during his service as the first Episcopal Bishop of Illinois.   She begins with Chase's early life, including the time where he previously served as the founder of Kenyon College in Ohio.  Chapters are also devoted to what life was like at Jubilee, brief sketches for students and faculty, and descriptions of various buildings associated with the college.  

Actual construction on the college began in 1839 and expanded to include a dozen or more structures on a 3,500-acre tract of land. Jubilee College was comprised of a theological seminary, a college, a classical preparatory school for boys, and a “seminary” for girls, as well as small farming operations.  The college struggled as a frontier institution throughout its existence and no longer offered classes after 1862.  It opened briefly after the Civil War before closing again in 1868.  The site was also home to several other educational ventures before it was abandoned after 1912 and was ultimately given to the state of Illinois in 1935.  It is now operated as a state historic site adjacent to Jubilee College State Park.

While Swanson's book will be of interest to anyone wanting to know more about Jubilee College and the people who served there.  It is also a useful account for those who would like to learn more of life at a small frontier institution during the 19th century.  Swanson incorporated a number of photographs and includes a helpful list of sources.

You can contact the author at sueswa@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing a copy of the book.  The price will be $10.00 plus postage with proceeds going to the Friends of Jubilee College Historic Site.

For those who would like to learn more about efforts to maintain the site and preserve the history or the college, there is a Facebook page at Friends of Jubilee College Historic Site.

You can also find a few more photographs of the the historic site in a College History Garden post from last month, Open House at Jubilee College Historic Site this Weekend.