An Education on Indiana Education

21 Locations | Curated by Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology

Education in Indiana extends well beyond big-name universities like Purdue, IU, Notre Dame, Butler, Ball State, and Indiana State. From the collegiate level down to the elementary level, Indiana has a rich history in education. Across the state, Hoosiers have pursued information in numerous venues.

This tour highlights those locations throughout the state with ties to Indiana’s studies. From smaller sites like the Farmers Institute to larger sites like Franklin College and everywhere in between (even including an observatory!), An Education on Indiana Education will provide you with countless insights into the erudite actions of past and present Hoosiers. Discover Indiana invites you to take a journey across the 19th state and explore the history of Hoosiers learning from one another and teaching each other!

Please keep in mind that each tour is by no means a comprehensive list of sites in Indiana related to each theme. Please be respectful of private property lines when visiting each of these sites.

Through the efforts of John Collins Moore, a college called the Moores Hill Male and Female Collegiate Institute (later known as Moores Hill College) was founded in Moores Hill, Indiana and opened to students in 1856. John C. Moore was the son of Adam Moore who founded Moores Hill in the…
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The small town in northwestern Clark County (formally named New Providence) is now named Borden in honor of Professor William Wesley Borden, the leading citizen who donated the Borden Institute. The town of New Providence was originally founded in 1817 by Borden’s father, John. The Borden…
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Crispus Attucks High School was built in 1927 as the city of Indianapolis’ first and only African American high school. Despite protests from the Better Indianapolis League (a civic organization of progressive black citizens), the school board approved the construction of the school on a site on…
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By 1860, Indianapolis had one of the largest African American populations in the state. Tracking the settlement of both rural and urban blacks in Marion County has presented many issues. Census records indicate that the majority of Marion’s Black population settled in the second half of the 19th century. However, the well-recorded presence of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church indicates…
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The Franklin County Seminary opened in 1831 as part of a mandate in Indiana’s 1816 Constitution for each county to have a seminary. The concept of a publicly supported secondary educational system in the United States under a state-wide program was first conceived in Indiana under this county…
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Eleutherian College was one of the first Indiana schools to admit students without regards to race or gender. Eleutherian was also the first school in Indiana to offer advanced educational opportunities to African-American students. The three-story Classroom and Chapel Building was constructed from…
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Founded in the late 1830s, the Indiana Baptist Manual Labor Institute transitioned to being the four year liberal arts college known as Franklin College in 1844. Franklin College was the fifth college to be founded in the state of Indiana. According to John F. Cady’s "The Centennial History of…
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Madame CJ Walker was the first African American woman to open the field of cosmetology as a new and lucrative industry for black Americans. Her experimentation with hair preparations for African American women eventually led to the establishment of a thriving business that included not only the…
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As the last quarter of the 19th century began, the idea of an education for all Americans was becoming a reality. Educated professionals were gaining acceptance, especially in medical fields. Medical and dental colleges sprang up with alarming rapidity; unfortunately, not all were quality…
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Indiana Asbury University was granted its charter in 1837 and was the first Methodist College to be established in Indiana. Asbury quickly became a leading educational institution in the state. The name of the college was changed to DePauw University in 1884 in honor of noted benefactor Washington…
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Constructed in 1905, the Booker T. Washington School served as one of two African American schools in Rush County. This two story, brick building housed grades 1-6 up until 1932, when it was closed by the local school board. The first floor of the school contained classrooms while the second floor…
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Conceived in large measure as part of a 1921 campus master plan, the three main features of the historic Evansville College campus are Administration Hall, the Circle, and the President’s House. They are now situated within the larger campus that has been known as the University of Evansville since…
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Lyles Station was founded in prior to the Civil War by Joshua and Sanford Lyles, former slaves from Tennessee. Joshua Lyles returned to Tennessee and encouraged other former slaves to come join him in Indiana. Many decided to do just that, and, at its peak in 1912, there were 600 residents of Lyles…
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In 1840, the Sisters of Providence, a religious order of Catholic nuns, immigrated to the United States from France. The Sisters, led by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, came from France for the express purpose of establishing schools and orphanages in the Indiana wilderness. Shortly after their…
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Originally known as the Corydon Colored School, the building was constructed in 1891 as an elementary and secondary school for African Americans. It may be the oldest African American school remaining in the state of Indiana. The grade school met in one room of the school, while the high school met…
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The college was originally founded by the United Brethren Church in 1860. The college was first known as the Roanoke Classical Seminary and was located in the small village of Roanoke in Huntington County, Indiana (about 20 miles east of North Manchester). The institution achieved a high reputation…
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Founded by Quakers in 1847, Earlham College is a private institution in Richmond, Indiana. In 1856, the college purchased a 6.5 inch objective lens telescope from R. B. Rutherford, an American pioneer in astronomy. Five years later, the Earlham College Observatory was constructed and opened for use…
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The Farmers Institute is the main building of a small campus of Quaker buildings located in a seven acre grove near Lafayette, IN. It is a wood frame building constructed in 1851 and enhanced by Greek Revival elements. The building housed the first rural high school in Tippecanoe County, the first…
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The Propylaeum was founded in 1888 by a group of seven Indianapolis women. The original purpose of the meeting was to find a headquarters for the Indianapolis Woman’s Club. However, the chairperson, May Wright Sewall (a nationally known educator, suffragist, feminist, and peace advocate), suggested…
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The Fortnightly Club in Vincennes is an educational, social, and humanitarian club for women. Before women were allowed to vote (1917 in Indiana, 1920 nationally), clubs and organizations were the only accepted way for women to take an active role in social reform. Such groups hoped to influence…
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The St. Joseph Indian Normal School operated from 1888-1896, and was owned by the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions in Washington, D.C. It was designed in imitation of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania, which was founded nine years earlier. The St. Joseph School was a…
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