This file includes institutions that have closed, merged, or
changed their names.If you note a
need for changing or updating information, please notify
ray.brown@westminster-mo.edu.
An index with links to separate pages for other states and countries is
available at http://www2.westminster-mo.edu/wc_users/homepages/staff/brownr/ClosedCollegeIndex.htm.There is also a blog
at http://collegehistorygarden.blogspot.com/ with links to other resources.Thanks for your interest!
College
Name
City
State
Start Date
End Date
Affiliation
Other Information
Source
Atkinson
College
Madisonville
Kentucky
1894
African Methodist Episcopal Zion
located on the south side of
what is the present day 800 block of West Broadway in Madisonville; later
operated as a nursing home; the top floor of the 3 story brick structure was
destroyed in a tornado in the early 1960's and the remainder of the building
was later torn down; also known as Atkinson Literary and Industrial College;
H.V. Taylor was a president of the institution
claims to be "First
Methodist college in the world", though Cokesbury College in Maryland
was founded in 1787.At the least, it
was the first Methodist college west of the Alleghenies.The school's charter was revoked in 1849
because faculty and students agitated against slavery.John G. Fee, founder of Berea College was
an alum.
http://www.nkyviews.com/bracken/bracken_county_schls_churches.htm
http://www.rootsweb.com/~kybchs/historicalmarkers.html
John G. Fee Biography:http://docsouth.unc.edu/fee/fee.html
founded by Thorton Johnson;
moved to Harrodsburg, KY in 1839; offerings reduced to preparatory level in
1850;rechartered as Kentucky
University in 1858; predecesor to Transylvania University
Hunt and Carper, eds.Religious Higher
Education in the United States. 1996.
Cummins, D. Duane. The Disciples Colleges: A
History. 1987.
Beaumont
College
Harrodsburg
Kentucky
1894
1916
successor to Daughters' College
www.virtualcities.com/ons/ky/x/kyx8901.htm
Blandin.History
of Higher Education of Women in the South. 1909.
Bellarmine
College
Louisville
Kentucky
1950
Roman Catholic
merged with Ursuline College in
1968; name changed to Bellarmine University in 2000
www.bellarmine.edu
Bellewood
Female College
Bellewood
Kentucky
founded by Michael Montgomery
Fisher who also founded Independence (MO) Female College and taught Latin at
Westminster College (MO)
Bethel
College
Hopkinsville
Kentucky
1854
1964
Baptist
located on 15th Street in
Hopkinsville; organized by the Bethel Baptist Association and opened in 1854
as Bethel Female High School; used as hospital during Black Measles epidemic,
1861-1862; Bethel Women's Jr. College, 1917; closed 1942-1945; rooms rented
to Camp Campbell Army officers; became co-educational in 1951 and name
changed to Bethel College; buildings razed, 1966.
http://www.crl.edu/content.asp?l1=5&l2=22&l3=39&top=10;
www.founders.org/FJ19/article3.html
www.kentuckynewera.com/hometown/hopkinsv.htm
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations. 1982.
http://www.westernkyhistory.org/christian/history.html#1269
Bethel
College
Russellville
Kentucky
1854
1933
Baptist
founded as a high school which
was retained after start of four-year college; became a two-year junior
college in 1920. Initial funding came from the Bethel Association, but soon
Kentucky Baptists, through their statewide organization, provided a significant
portion of the school’s operating expenses. could not withstand the financial
reversals of the Great Depression. The school’s last commencement was held on
January 20, 1933;
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations.
1982.
www.kyseeker.com/christian/bethel.html
Bethel
College
Kentucky
1803
1812
Methodist
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations.
1982.
possibly opened as early as 1871
when James A. Brown purchased the buildings and chartered the institution,
assuming a debt of $10,000; the debt was paid off in three years and the
enrollment reached 120 students; in 1878 he transfeered the ownership to W.
S. Jones; Brown then moved to Cynthiana, KY and opened Harrison Female
College
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples Colleges: A History.1987.
www.kycourts.net/Counties/Bourbon_text.asp
www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/harrison/brown.ja.txt
Bowling
Green Business College and Literary Institute
originated as Southern Normal
School and Business College; later Bowling Green Business College and
Literary Institute; then, Southern Normal School and Bowling Green Business
College; Southern Normal School became Western Kentucy State Normal School in
1907 & the business school was sold to become Bowling Green Business
University that later merged in 1963 with Western Kentucky State College
http://www.wku.edu/Library/dlsc/ua/bgbu.htm
Caldwell
Female College
Danville
Kentucky
1859
Presbyterian
originally Henderson Institute;
predecessor to Kentucky College for Women
www.centre.edu/web/library/archives/kcw.htm
Blandin.History
of Higher Education of Women in the South.1909.
Calloway
Normal College
Kirksey
Kentucky
1899
1913
established under leadership of
Rainey T. Wells, later president of Murray State Teachers College; property
occupied by Kirksey High School until 1960 and as an elementary center until
1974; property purchased by Kirksey United Methodist Church in 1975
founded as a result of the split
of Presbyterian Church in Kentucky into Northern and Southern branches.The church split in 1867 with both branches
claiming control of Centre College until a Federal court determined that the
institution was controlled by the Northern branch;The Southern Synod then chartered Central
University; Panics of 1873 and 1893 hindered fundraising and the institution
never graduated a class larger than 25 students; Central offered a law
school, medical and dental schools in Louisville and three prep schools
across the state (S.P. Lees Collegiate Institute in Jackson, Hardin
Collegiate Institute in Elizabethtown, and Middlesborough University School in
Misslesborough;Central became
coeducation in the 1890's; consolidated with Centre College
now Lexington Theological
Seminary; the Seminary is a descendant of the Department of Hebrew Literature
in Bacon College, founded in 1836; with rechartering of Bacon in 1858 as
Kentucky University, the biblical departmet was renamed the School of Biblical
Literature and Moral Sciences;in 1865
Kentucky University moved from to Lexington and merged with Transylvania
University which operated The College of the Bible on the campus until 1950;in 1965 the new name of Lexington
Theological Seminary was adopted; Cummins gives 1878 as date for founding of
the College of the Bible;
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
www.lextheo.edu/history.html
Columbia
Christian College
Columbia
Kentucky
1873
1890
Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ)
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
www.rotsweb.com/~kyadair/history.htm
received annual appropriations
from the state from 1875 to 1879
Blackmar, Frank W. "The
History of Federal and State Aid to Higher Education in the United
States," in Herbert B. Adams, ed.Contributions to American Educational History. 1890.
Corbin
Christian College
Corbin
Kentucky
1891
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
Cumberland
College
Princeton
Kentucky
1826
1842
Cumberland Presbyterian
later re-established as
Cumberland University at Lebanon, TN by the denomination's General Assembly;
a college continued at Princeton under the auspices of the Green River Synod
until the Civil War; Burke claims merger with Nashville University;
http://www.cumberland.org/hfcpc/schools/Kentucky.htm
www.cumberland.org/hfcpc/schools/CumbC.htm
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations. 1982.
Cumberland
College
Williamsburg
Kentucky
1889
Baptist
name changed to University of
the Cumberlands on January 1, 2005
http://www.cumberlandcollege.edu/
Daughters
College
Harrodsburg
Kentucky
1845
1894
Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ)
successor to Greenville
Institute; predecesor to Beaumont College; Cummins lists 1856 as date for
founding
www.virtualcities.com/ons/ky/x/kyx8901.htm
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples Colleges: A History.1987.
W.S. Giltner trained at Bethany
College, W. Va. He and his wife, Lizzie
Rains Giltner, led the college, creating a commercial dept. (1880) and
normal school for training teachers (1886). Reverend Giltner also
preached at Eminence Christian Church. Enrollment peaked around
200 students.
www.rootsquest.com/~jmurphy/lessons/tip_191.htm
http://www.oriscus.com/khs/countysearch.asp?county=Henry
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples Colleges: A History.
1987.
Female
College
Maysville
Kentucky
1852
Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ)
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
Flemingburg
College
Flemingburg
Kentucky
1903
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
Ganard
Female College
Lancaster
Kentucky
1880
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
www.carrolltontourism.com/ghent_history.htm
Glasglow
Normal School
Glasgow
Kentucky
1875
1883
opened at Glasgow Normal
Institute; the following year chartered at Glasgow Normal School; operated
out of former Urania College building; moved to Bowling Green in 1884 as
Southern Normal School and Business College
facilities purchased with name
change to Daughters' College in 1856; later sold again and became Beaumont
College in 1894
Blandin.History of Higher
Education of Women in the South.1909.
Hambleton
College
Hardin County
Kentucky
Hamilton
College
Lexington
Kentucky
1869
1962
Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ)
Cummins lists as originally
Hooker Female College; located on North Broadway; renamed in 1878; 1911
encyclopedia gives original name as Hocker Female College
www.rootsquest.com/~jmurphy/lessons/tip_191.htm
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples Colleges: A History.1987.
http://40.1911encyclopedia.org/L/LE/LEXINGTON_KY_.htm
Hampton
College
Louisville
Kentucky
http://www.crl.edu/collcat/collcatH.htm
Harrison
Female College
Cynthiana
Kentucky
1878
James A. Brown purchased the
"Broadwell property" and opened the college
Established with charter from
the Kentucky Legislature as a private school; grew to 12 grades with business
classes and a Normal school for teacher training;the Kentucky Christian Woman’s Board of
Missions of the Disciples of Christ Church assumed ownership and later
conveyed the school to the National CWBM in Indianapolis; CWBM was superseded
by the United Christian Missionary Society (UCMS) of the Christian Church
(Disciples) in 1919 and UCMS operated the school up to its closing; after
1930, only grades 7 through 12 were taught; after 1963, only grades 8 through
12 were taught; after 1965, only grades 9 through 12 were taught.
http://www.hganews.com/
Henry
Male & Female College
New Castle
Kentucky
1883
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
Highland
College
Williamsburg
Kentucky
1913
Baptist
acquired by Williamsburg
Institute which then changed it's name to Cumberland College
Hunt and Carper, eds.Religious Higher
Education in the United States. 1996.
Brenner, Morgan G.The Encyclopedia of College & University Name Histories.2003.
Home
College
Campbellsburg
Kentucky
1883
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
Hospital
College of Medicine
Louisville
Kentucky
1873
1908
one of several predecessors to
University of Louisville School of Medicine
http://special.library.louisville.edu
John C.
C. Mayo College
Paintsville
Kentucky
1918
1936
Methodist Episcopal
acquired buildings and grounds
of Sandy Valley Seminary
founded as Grayson Normal School
in 1913; name changed to Christian Normal Institute in 1919; to Kentucky
Christian College in 1944 and to Kentucky Christian University on September
10, 2004
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
Murch, James DeForest.Christians Only: A History of the Restoration Movement. (Cincinnati: The Standard Publishing Company, p. 295).
Kentucky
Classical & Business College
North Middletown
Kentucky
1877
founded as Patterson Institute
in 1860;
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
Kentucky
College for Women
Danville
Kentucky
1859
1926
successor to Caldwell Female
College; in 1926 became a department of Centre College
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
Kentucky
Holiness College
Wilmore
Kentucky
1890
name changed to Asbury College
in 1890
Brenner, Morgan G.The Encyclopedia of
College & University Name Histories.2003.
Kentucky
School of Medicine
Kentucky
1850
1908
one of several predecessors to
University of Louisville School of Medicine
http://special.library.louisville.edu
Kentucky
Southern College
Louisville
Kentucky
1960
1969
merged with University of
Louisville
Songe, Alice H.American Universities
and Colleges: A Dictionary of Name Changes.1978.
Kentucky
State Industrial College for Colored Persons
Frankfort
Kentucky
1886
state supported
founded as State Normal School
for Colored Persons; name change to Kentucky Normal & Industrial
Institute in 1902; to Kentucky State Industrial College for Colored Persons
in 1926; to Kentucky State College for Negroes in 1938; to Kentucky State
College in 1952; to Kentucky State University in 1972
Brenner, Morgan G.The Encyclopedia of
College & University Name Histories.2003.
Kentucky
University
Harrodsburg
Kentucky
1858
1865
in 1865 John B. Bowman proposed
merger of Kentucky University with Transylvania (a preparatory school) and a
new location in Lexington, after a fire; assets would be supplemented by sale
of land script granted through the Morril Land Grant College Act and a stuate
supported A&M College would be added, retaining the name Kentucky
University; controversary flared and the institution splintered into three
institutuons: the College of A&M, renamed the University of Kentucky;
Kentucky University, renamed Transylvania University in 1908; and The College
of The Bible, renamed Lexington Theological Seminary in 1965
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
Brenner, Morgan G.The Encyclopedia of College & University Name Histories.2003.
founded initially as Russelville
Academy, a co-educational school in 1846; chartered as Russellville
Collegiate Institute in 1860; re-chartered in 1867 as Logan Female College
with R.H. Rivers as 1st president; conferred bachelor's degrees; closed due
to financial difficulties
Kentucky Wesleyan College
Archives
Loretto
Junior College
Nerinx
Kentucky
Sisters of Loretto
reference to founding of Loretta
Academy in 1812 by Blandin.Schier and
Russett indicate the college was founded for education of Sisters and
probably did not enroll lay people.
Blandin.History of Higher
Education of Women in the South.1909.
Schier and Russett.Catholic Women's Colleges in America.2002.
Louisville
College of Denistry
Louisville
Kentucky
1887
founded as Dental Department of
Hospital College of Medicine; by 1900 withdrew to become Louisville College
of Denistry;in 1918 transferred to University of Louisville as School of
Denistry
http://special.library.louisville.edu
Louisville
Medical College
Louisville
Kentucky
1869
1908
one of several predecessors to
University of Louisville School of Medicine
http://special.library.louisville.edu
Louisville
Municipal College for Negroes
Louisville
Kentucky
1931
1950
public
opened on grounds of Simmons
University after it closed in 1930; now part of University of Louisville;
Charles H. Parrish, Jr., son of former president of Simmons University became
the 1st black faculty member at a white university in the South
www.louisville.edu/library/uarc/briefhis.htm
www.louisville.edu/lmc/history.html
Hudson, James Blaine, III.The History of Louisville Municipal College: Events Leading to
the Desegregation of the University of Louisville.Ed.D. dissertation. 1981.
opened as Funk Seminary; Grand
Lodge of Kentucky assumed control in 1844 and changed name to Masonic College
and in 1852 to Masonic University of Kentucky; operation disrupted during
Civil War; reverted to a high school in 1873; building burned in 1911
Mayo Technical College merged
into Prestonsburg Community College to become Big Sandy Community and
Technical College
http://www.bigsandy.kctcs.edu/
McGarvey
Bible College
Louisville
Kentucky
1923
predecessor to Cincinnati Bible
College
http://www.cincybible.edu/general/heritage.htm
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples Colleges: A History.1987.
McLean
College
Hopkinsville
Kentucky
1851
Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ)
http://digilib.kcvl.org/dynaweb/oak/ktuead/tua7/@Generic_BookView
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples Colleges: A History.
1987.
Millersburg
Female College
Millersburg
Kentucky
James A. Brown served as
president until the college was transferred to Willaim Savage; Brown then
moved to Paris, KY and purchased the buildings that he chartered as Bourbon
Female College
moved to Owensboro in 1950,
currently Brescia University
Schier and Russett.Catholic Women's
Colleges in America.2002.
http://www.brescia.edu/BUinfo/default.htm
Mt.
Sterling Collegiate Institute
Mt. Sterling
Kentucky
1909
founded by Professor/Rev. Wm. H.
Cord, who was the Principal of Hazel Green Academy, “the Mother Mountain
School,” for sixteen years (1890-1906).Cord proposed that his new school be named, “Montgomery College,” but
that name evidently did not materialize.One of his sons, Prof. Robert I. Cord, was a teacher there and may
well have continued his father’s legacy for some years.Prof. Wm H. Cord died teaching in his
Institute classroom on April 8, 1910 at the age of 45.He was widely respected as a minister
(Disciples of Christ) and stern, disciplined, but fair educator in eastern
Kentucky.
Hazel Green Herald:Thursday, January 28, 1909, Vol. 24, No.
25;
Thursday, July 15, 1909, Vol. 25, No. 3;
Thursday, July 22, 1909, Vol. 25, No.4
created by the Kentucky General
Assembly in 1922, admitted its first students in September 1923.In 1926, when the General Assembly granted
the institution authority to confer baccalaureate degrees, it was renamed Murray
State Normal School and Teachers College.The college was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools in 1928 and received authority to offer liberal arts and
pre-professional courses in 1930, when the name was changed to Murray State
Teachers College.In 1948 the name was
changed to Murray State College, and in 1966 the General Assembly authorized
the Board of Regents to change the name to Murray State University
http://www.murraystate.edu/
Nazareth
College
Louisville
Kentucky
1920
Sisters of Charity
now Spalding University
www.spalding.edu/welcome/general.asp?sec=w-general
www.spalding.edu/visitors/timeline.asp
Schier and Russett.Catholic Women's Colleges in America.2002.
Nazareth
Junior College
Nazareth
Kentucky
1921
1971
Sisters of Charity
Nazareth Academy founded in
1814; merged with Nazareth College in 1940, then separated in 1961, then
re-merged again in 1969; campus closed in 1971
Blandin.History of Higher
Education of Women in the South.1909.
www.spalding.edu/welcome/general.asp?sec=w-general
Schier and Russett.Catholic Women's Colleges in America.2002.
possibly also known as North
Middleton Classical and Business College
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
www.kycourts.net/Counties/Bourbon_text.asp
Ogden
College
Bowling Green
Kentucky
1877
1927
Offered both preparatory and
college-level coursework.College-level work suspended from 1902-1904.Merged with Western Kentucky State Normal
and Teachers College in 1927.
originally known as Sturgis Male
and Female Institute; supported by Ohio Valley Baptist Association; changed
name to Ohio Valley Baptist College in 1898
Cummins, D. Duane. The Disciples Colleges:
A History.1987.
Paducah
College
Paducah
Kentucky
1852
Burke, Colin B. American Collegiate Populations.
1982.
Paducah
Junior College
Paducah
Kentucky
1932
founded as private, non-profit
institution in former YMCA at 707 Broadway; moves to new campus in 1961 along
Alben Barkley Drive; joins University of Kentucky community college system in
1967 as Paducah Community College; consolidates with West Kentucky Technical
College in 2003 to become Western Kentucky Community & Technical College
school closed & campus sold
to Western Kentucky State Normal School
Western Kentucky University
Library Archives
Potter
Bible College
Bowling Green
Kentucky
1901
1913
Churches of Christ
founded by Clinton and Mary
Potter and named in memory of their son, Eldon S. Potter; after closure of
the bible college, operated as a children's home
Hunt and Carper, eds.Religious Higher
Education in the United States. 1996.
Cummins, D. Duane. The Disciples Colleges: A
History. 1987.
www.wku.edu/Library/200Years/timeline.htm
functioned as liberal arts
college until 1929 and exclusively as a seminary until 1975
www.bellarmine.edu
Saint
Thomas Aquinas College
Bardstown
Kentucky
1806
1828
Dominican
founded by Edward Fenwick; 200
students by 1817, one was Jefferson Davis; plan to move college to Cincinnati
in 1822 thwarted by restraining order that friars should no leave;
transferred to Episcopal Church
in 1841; sometimes called Saint James College after 1868
Hunt and Carper, eds.Religious Higher
Education in the United States. 1996.
Blackmar, Frank W. "The History of Federal and State Aid to Higher
Education in the United States," in Herbert B. Adams, ed.Contributions to American Educational
History. 1890.
Shelbyville
Female College
Shelbyville
Kentucky
Simmons
University
Louisville
Kentucky
1881
1930
Baptist
previously known as State
Colored Baptist University; name changed in 1919
September 19, 1997, October 3,
1997 Chronicle of Higher Education
Transylvania
University
Danville
Kentucky
1785
Presbyterian
chartered as Transylvania
Seminary; moved to Lexington in 1788; rechartered as Transylvania University
in 1798; after 1819 Presbyterians shifted attention to chartring and
establishing Centre College; Transylvania nearly ceased to exist in 1859; in
1908 Kentucky University assumed the name
Cummins, D. Duane.The Disciples
Colleges: A History.1987.
West
Kentucky Industrial College
Paducah
Kentucky
1909
Dr. Dennis Henry Anderson starts
to meet needs of African-American students in western part of the state.Became state supported in 1918. The first
building was located at what is now 1400 H.C. Mathis Drive.Merges with Kentucky State College in
Frankfort (now Kentucky State University) and becomes West Kentucky
Vocational School.Moves to location
adjacent to Paducah Community College in 1979.Name changed to West Kentucky State
Technical School in 1994, to West Kentucky TECH in 1996, and to West Kentucky
Technical College in 1998.Following
consolidation with Paducah CC in 2003, becomes Western Kentucky Community
& Technical College.
