Eleutherian College - History

History

The college was founded by members of the Neil's Creek Abolitionist Baptist Church, with much of the organizing done by the extended Hoyt-Whipple family. Lyman Hoyt was married to Aseneth Whipple Hoyt, the niece of William Whipple, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Aseneth’s sister, Lucy Whipple Nelson, was a strong abolitionist and encouraged Lyman and Aseneth to move to Lancaster, Indiana. Walter Hoyt and his brother Benajah soon followed. In the 1830s-1860s, Lancaster was the center of a burgeoning abolitionist community, largely centered around the Neil's Creek Abolitionist Baptist Church. The Hoyts soon became involved in the Neil's Creek Church. Lyman Hoyt became a well-known "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, and provided shelter and supplies to runaway slaves. The Hoyts helped to establish the Eleutherian College in 1848, following the advice of Thomas Craven of Oxford, Ohio, an early advocate of an integrated educational system. In 1856 the college built a stone school house which still stands on a hill in Lancaster.

Some of the Eleutherian College's trustees were active in the Underground Railroad and made Lancaster an important stop for fugitive slaves traveling from Madison on the Ohio River to Indianapolis. In 1856, the college had 18 African-American students, 10 of whom were born slaves. In 1860, two hundred students were enrolled, 50 of them African-American. This was at a time when the Indiana Constitution prohibited African-American immigration into the state.

The college and chapel building, constructed between 1854 and 1856, became a public school in 1888 and remained in use until 1938.