Liber College

Liber College was a short-lived school located in Liber, Indiana, just south of Portland. It was founded in 1853, funded by $20 shares, and opened that fall in a building constructed for the school.{{cite journal|journal=Inventory of the County Archives of Indiana|publisher=The Indiana Historical Records Survey|volume=38|title=Jay County (Portland)|department=Historical Sketch|pages=16|location=Indianapolis|year=1940|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RvAFAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA16&dq=%22liber%22+college+indiana&hl=en|access-date=2025-02-06}} The first head of the college was I. N. Taylor, who had proposed creation of a school at the founding meeting and who was one of the donors of the land on which it was built.{{cite book|title=History of Jay County, Indiana Including It's World War Record and Incorporating the Montgomery History|first1 = Milton T.|last1=Jay|chapter= Liber College|volume=1|pages=114–120 |publisher=Historical Publishing Company|location=Indianapolis|date=1922|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T0LWAAAAMAAJ|access-date=2025-02-06}} The name of the school was taken from the Latin. Both male and female students were taught, but at the collegiate and primary levels; in the 1860-'61 school year 156 students were enrolled. In 1864 the school moved to a new building, the old being perchased by the township for a primary school. A dispute over the enrollment of colored students led to the establishment of the nearby Farmer's Academy in 1854; it was taken over by the local Methodist conference in 1859 and was closed in 1865; two years later its building was sold to the township. Liber College itself closed in 1873 or 1880.