John Purdue - Purdue University

Purdue University

In 1862, the Morrill Act passed congress and the competition was on to find a location for a land grant college in Indiana. Bidding was fierce between Indiana University in Bloomington, Northwestern Christian in Indianapolis, and the Stockwell and Battle Ground Collegiate Institutes. After the death of influential Lafayette senator Albert S. White the Stockwell bid fell through. Years of wrangling failed to reach a compromise. In 1865, the state started the State Normal College (later Indiana State University) partly to relieve some of the pressure. In order to make Tippecanoe County stand out, various locals stepped up with offers of land and money.

By 1869, Tippecanoe's bid was up to nearly $400,000 in cash, land and bonds but the legislature still stalled. At this point Purdue stepped forth with $100,000 of his personal wealth. His only conditions on the money were that the college be located in Battle Ground and that his surname be associated with it. After some more negotiations (where the name of the university was chosen and Purdue was added to the board of trustees), Purdue's donations were raised to $150,000 and 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land. The negotiations also allowed the new board of trustees to choose the site of the university.