Museum and Archives Maintains Memory of Saint Paul's College

U.S. News & World Report posted an article by Bill Lohmann, a Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter, "Group Keeps Saint Paul's College's History Alive With Museum," on February 16, 2019.  

The original article, "With new museum, grassroots group keeps alive the history of Saint Paul's College," was first published by the Times-Dispatch on January 6, 2019.

Lohmann relates the work of of community volunteers, including Saint Paul’s alumni, to form a nonprofit organization after the institution in Lawrenceville, VA closed in June 2013.  The James Solomon Russell-Saint Paul’s College Museum and Archives is now open several days a week and the group has a website where you can find more information, volunteer, or donate.

You can also review the Museum page on Facebook to follow activities of the group.

Information about Saint Paul's College and events leading up to its closure can be found in previous posts on College History Garden:

• Thursday, August 30, 2012 Saint Paul's College (VA) #1--initial suspension of classes
• Monday, May 13, 2013 Saint Paul's College (VA) #2--possible acquisition of Saint Paul's by Saint Augustine's University of Raleigh, NC
• Friday, May 31, 2013 St. Paul's College (VA) #3--closure of Saint Paul's
• Sunday, December 28, 2014 President of Saint Paul's College Recognized

Successful Administrator of Milton College Preservation Society Retires

Rebecca Kanable reports in the Milton (WI) Courier, "Milton College Preservation Society admin to retire," on the commitment of Judy Scheehle to the legacy of Milton College.

I've admired the work of Scheehle and other volunteers from afar for several years as the Milton College Preservation Society has worked successfully to both preserve the history of Milton College in Milton, WI and find alternative ways to use the former campus as a community resource.  Maintaining interest in the history of a closed college for several decades requires a lot of creative energy and Scheehle has built a good foundation for the future.

You can also read earlier College History Garden posts on Milton College:

• The former Milton College in Wisconsin is Featured from Februrary 19, 2017 
• Milton College (Wisconsin) from August 22, 2010

Field Trip Opportunity to Spencer, TN for the Burritt College Alumni Reunion

The Burritt Alumni Association is hosting its annual reunion this Saturday, September 8th at 11:00 AM on former campus of Burritt College in Spencer, Tennessee.  The alumni association is inviting family and friends or anyone with an interest in Burritt's history. $10.00 membership dues can be paid at the reunion and if you partake of the meal that is an additional $15.00.  The Burritt Alumni Association maintains a Facebook page where you can find additional information.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press published an interesting short historical sketch by Jerry Summers, "Burritt College -- Pioneer of the Cumberlands," that was published September 4, 2016.  The college operated from 1848-1939.  Summers notes that a Tennessee state commemorative marker at the site reads that Burritt College was "established in 1848 through the efforts of Elihu Burritt, a blacksmith who intended that the youth of his community should get the benefits of education denied to him."

St. John's College Alumni Gather Three Decades after Closure

The Wellington (KS) Daily News published an article on June 6, 2018 by Adam Catlin, "Thirty-two years after its closure, St. John's College still brings back its alumni."  St. John's College operated in Winfield, Kansas from 1893 to 1986 and Catlin reports on a recent successful gathering of St. John's alumni.  His article includes comments from a number of alumni he interviewed and also provides information on the institution and several historical images.

The city of Winfield maintains the campus as Baden Square and has successfully repurposed a number of the building for other community activities.  You can read an earlier College History Garden post from several years ago that includes links to a couple of alumni web sites.

Tarkio College (MO) Alumni Work to Reopen Institution

Jennifer Hall reports for the St. Joseph News-Press on efforts by the alumni of Tarkio College to find ways to use the campus.  Tarkio College was affiliated with the United Presbyterian Church and operated from 1883 until 1992.  The alumni group maintains a web site for those who are interested.

Penn Hall Preparatory School and Junior College

The Penn Hall Alumnae Association maintains a web site with brief history of the institution and links to photographs and other items.  Penn Hall Preparatory School in Chambersburg, PA, was founded in 1906 and a junior college was added in 1927.  The institution ultimately closed in 1973.

Colorado Women's College

The Colorado Women's College Alumnae Association maintains a web site with links to many resources, including detailed information on the history and traditions of the institution.

The institution was founded as Colorado Woman's College in 1888.  The name changed to Temple Buell College in 1967 and then to Colorado Women's College in 1973.  With declining enrollment, trustees decided to merge with University of Denver in 1982.

St. Joseph College, (Emmitsburg, MD)

The St. Joseph College Alumnae Association maintains an excellent web site that includes a history of the institution in Emmitsburg, MD and a Facebook page.  

Elizabeth Ann Seton founded an academy in 1809, considered the first parochial school for girls in the United States, that evolved over time to become St. Joseph College.  Operated by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, the college closed in 1973.

The Emmitsburg Area Historical Society also offers a nice history of the college that was originally written in 1957.

The property was purchased by the U.S. Government in 1979 to serve as the National Fire Academy.  A 30th anniversary program celebrating the creation of the National Emergency Training Center and U.S. Fire Administration Emergency Management Institute also includes a large image of the St. Joseph campus and a historical sketch.  

Finch College, New York City

The Finch College Alumnae Association offers a website maintaining memories of the institution that operated in New York City.  Founded as Finch School in 1900, it became Finch Junior College in 1937 and added bachelor's degrees after 1952 before ultimately closing in 1976.

Finch and its Future, provides an overview of the institution.  The document includes images of the founder, Jessica Finch, and the buildings.  The text offers many details, including: institutional objectives, curriculum, information on faculty, results of an alumnae survey of graduates from 1950-1954, and copies of newspaper articles on Finch.

Gulf Park College for Women, Pt. 2

Alumni and friends of Gulf Park College for Women maintain a web site with links to a variety of resources for people interested in the history of the institution.  

The site includes part 1 of "Gulf Park College for Women: A History" written by Dr. Louis Elias, Jr. published in the November/December 1995 issue of Coast.  The article focuses on the period from 1921-1950 and the presidency of Richard Garfield Cox.  

Links are also available off the alumni site to may photographs of students and over fifty years of Sea Gull yearbooks digitized by University of Southern Mississippi, McCain Library and Archives.

College for Sale...the Nasson College campus

 

There is an admittedly small group of people who spend a lot of time thinking about colleges that have closed....and it sometimes seems like too much time passes between relevant new books or dissertations.  Fortunately this past week has almost seemed like Christmas with three "new" books arriving via the U.S. Postal Service.

I just finished reading the first one...College for Sale: The Fall and Rise of a Closed College Campus  written by Richard E. Schneider and highly recommend it to anyone interested in:  issues surrounding the closing of a small college, efforts to find other uses for a college campus, or maintaining an alumni group after an institution closes.  

Schneider is an alum of Nasson College that was located in Springvale, Maine and his book reflects an intimate knowledge of events leading to closure thirty years ago and the involvement of alumni and community members since that time to build both a vibrant alumni organization and revitalize the campus.  The unfolding story that led to these successful outcomes is amazing and Schneider does a masterful job of portraying the conflicts and drama while weaving details into a book that will keep your interest.  

Trinity College (Burlington, VT)

The University of Vermont Libraries Center for Digital Initiatives offers a number of photographs of Trinity College.  The institution was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1925.



Trinity College Alumni & Friends maintain a web page with brief history of the institution.

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.

Nassson College #2 (ME)

Foster's Daily Democrat published an article yesterday relating that Rick Schneider is updating the history of the former Nasson College.  Nasson's history is contained in the book "Nasson: The Seventy Years," by Albert Prosser, with an "Epilogue," by Richard D'Abate.  Prosser's portion of the book ended in 1975 with D'Abate's Epilogue covering the period from 1975 to the school's closing in 1983.

The Nasson College alumni maintain an extensive website with more details and resources.

Sue Bennett College (KY)

The Unusual Kentucky website offers a historical sketch of Sue Bennett College.  The institution in London, Kentucky which operated from 1897 through 1997. It was affiliated with the United Methodist Church.  Wikipedia also provides a more detailed overview.  The alumni association maintains a web site and there is an active page on Facebook with a number of images.

Nazareth College (MI)

The Nazareth Association maintains an excellent website for alumni and friends of the institution. It was founded as Nazareth Academy in 1897 in Kalamazoo, MI by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth. Nazareth evolved to become a four-year liberal arts institution after 1924 and ultimately closed in 1992.

There is also a facebook page and a more extensive historical sketch on Wikipedia.

Bishop College (TX)

The Bishop College alumni association maintains a web site at http://www.bishopcollegealumni.com/. A historically black college, the institution operated from 1881 to 1988. It was founded in Marshall, Texas and later moved to Dallas. The Bishop College article at Wikipedia offers more information.

St. John's College (Kansas)

The St. John's College operated in Winfield, Kansas from 1893 to 1986. The city of Winfield maintains the campus as Baden Square and has successfully repurposed a number of the building for other community activities. Alumni maintain a web site at http://www.stjohnsalumni.org/.

There is also an unofficial web site at www.chuvala.com/sjc/.

Milton College (Wisconsin)

The Milton College Preservation Society recently released the DVD, titled “Vintage Silent Films of Milton College: 1930s and 1950s.” The films contain hundreds of hours of footage of sporting events, activities and campus life shot at Milton College between 1935 and 1965. The college has been closed since 1982. An article by Neil Johnson describes the project.

The Milton College Preservation Society web site includes links for news, history of the

college, archive and photo collections, memorabilia, and a request form for securing attendance and transcript information.

John F. Kennedy College (Nebraska)

Kevin Abourezk's article, "Epilogue: A closed campus," in the August 2, 2010 issue of the Lincoln Journal Star, focuses on the campus of John F. Kennedy College in Wahoo, Nebraska. The article includes several current pictures of the campus.

John F. Kennedy College operated from from 1965-1975. The campus was previously the home of Luther Junior College founded in 1883. Luther merged with Midland College (Fremont, Nebraska) in 1962 and the name was changed to Midland Lutheran College.

Alumni of John F. Kennedy College maintain a web site that includes news, announcements, a bulletin board, alumni remembrances, and a photo album.