Cane Hill College
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Canehill College Building
| nrhp_type =
| image = Campus of Cane Hill College 002.jpg
| caption = Cane Hill College Building
| location = McClellan and College St., Canehill, Arkansas
| locmapin = Arkansas#USA
| built = {{Start date|1887}}
| builder =
| coordinates = {{coord|35.910833|-94.3975|display=inline,title|type:edu}}
| architecture = Italianate
| added = November 17, 1982
| area = {{convert|2.8|acre}}
| mpsub = {{NRHP url|id=64000023|title=Canehill MRA}}
| refnum = 82000942{{NRISref|version=2010a}}
}}
Cane Hill College, originally Cane Hill School, was the first institution of higher learning in Arkansas. It operated in Canehill, Arkansas from 1834 until 1891.
History
=Cane Hill School (1834–1858)=
Cumberland Presbyterians founded a school in Cane Hill, Arkansas at a meeting on October 28, 1834. The Cane Hill School opened in 1835 and served the Northwest Arkansas region until it was renamed and chartered as Cane Hill Collegiate Institute.
Cane Hill College became the third four-year institution in the state (after St. John's College and Arkansas College[http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=5612 Arkansas College]. Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. Retrieved on September 23, 2007.) on December 15, 1852 when an act was passed in the Arkansas Legislature."1834 - 1858: Cane Hill School." University of the Ozarks. [http://www.ozarks.edu/about/history/canehillschool.asp History of Cane Hill School.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712010831/http://www.ozarks.edu/about/history/canehillschool.asp |date=2010-07-12 }} Retrieved on June 23, 2010. F. R. Earle ran the school from 1853 until its demise in 1891.Publications, Volume 1. Arkansas Historical Association. Page 162.
=Cane Hill College (1858–1891)=
Cane Hill College closed in 1861 during the American Civil War. After a Union victory at the Battle of Cane Hill in November 1862, federal soldiers occupied the town. In 1864, Union troops burned three of the four on-campus buildings. Only a dormitory survived."1858-1891: Cane Hill College." University of the Ozarks. [http://www.ozarks.edu/about/history/canehillcollege.asp History of Cane Hill College.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712012544/http://www.ozarks.edu/about/history/canehillcollege.asp |date=2010-07-12 }} Retrieved on June 23, 2010. Cane Hill College reopened after the war and admitted its first female student in 1875 with the creation of the Female Department. The Female Department was absorbed into the rest of the college by 1877, and the college became coeducational.
Disaster struck the evening of October 10, 1885 when the entire college burned to the ground. Arson was suspected but never proven. The chartering of the new state college, Arkansas Industrial University in Fayetteville, was a crippling blow to Cane Hill College. It closed its doors forever in 1891.
Today
File:Cane Hill College bell tower.JPG
Canehill, Arkansas is now an unincorporated community in Northwest Arkansas. Only one building remains of Cane Hill College, the rebuilt school following the 1885 fire. After closing, the building was used by the Salem Congregation of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for worship, then as a public school from 1919 to 1956.Ellis, David B., The Presbyterians of Cane Hill, Arkansas, 1991. It is listed as "Cane Hill College Building" on the National Register of Historic Places. The Bell House is also still located on the old campus grounds. The Cumberland Presbyterians converted Cane Hill College into Arkansas Cumberland College and later University of the Ozarks, but college education never returned to Cane Hill.
Alumni
- J. P. Carnahan, Confederate States of America officer, a professor of mathematics, and Populist politician
- Jordan E. Cravens, lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Arkansas
- John Sebastian Little, member of the United States House of Representatives and the 21st Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas{{cite web|url=http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_arkansas/col2-content/main-content-list/title_little_john.html|title=Arkansas Governor John Sebastian Little|publisher=National Governors Association|accessdate=August 17, 2012}}
See also
- Earle House, housed the president of Cane Hill College
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Arkansas
References
{{Reflist}}
Category:Defunct private universities and colleges in Arkansas
Category:Universities and colleges established in 1834
Category:Educational institutions disestablished in 1891
Category:Italianate architecture in Arkansas
Category:1834 establishments in Arkansas Territory
Category:1891 disestablishments in Arkansas
Category:University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Arkansas