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The Lapham Institute was a well-known Freewill Baptist academy in North Scituate, Rhode Island in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. It was also known as Smithville Seminary, Pentecostal Collegiate Institute, Eastern Nazarene College and Watchman Institute.
History
The school was originally founded in Scituate as the "Smithville Seminary" in 1839 by the Rhode Island Free Will Baptists (later American Baptists). The Free Baptists were extremely active in northern Rhode Island during the nineteenth century. Well-known educational reformer, Henry Barnard, established the first "Rhode Island Teacher Institute" at the Seminary in 1845. In 1863 the school's name was changed to the "Lapham Institute." The school had a strong connection with Bates College, another Free Baptist institution, and many of the institute's principals went on to become professors at Bates. In 1867 the Institute began giving normal instruction for teachers with public funding (as a predecessor to Rhode Island College).
The school closed in 1876 and reopened in 1902 as the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute, which was renamed Eastern Nazarene College in 1918. In 1919 the College moved to Quincy, Massachusetts. In 1920, Reverend William S. Holland bought the school, and it became a day camp and trade school for African American children known as the Watchman Institute (Watchman Industrial School). Several suspicious fires occurred in Institute in 1924, 1926, and 1934 forcing the school to close. The Ku Klux Klan was believed to be responsible, as it was very active in the area at that time. The Institute was eventually renovated in the 1970s and converted into apartments known as Scituate Commons, which still sit on Institute Lane. The Greek Revival Seminary was built by Russell Warren in 1839 and became part of the National Register for Historic Places in 1978.
Principals from 1839-1876
| Principals | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Hosea Quimby | 1839–1854 |
| Samuel Coburn | 1854–1857 |
| W. Colgrove | 1857–1859 |
| Benjamin F. Hayes | 1863–1865 |
| Thomas L. Angell | 1864–1867 |
| George Ricker | 1867–1874 |
| A.G. Moulton | 1874–1875 |
| W.S. Stockbridge | 1875–1876 |
Prominent Alumni
- James Burrill Angell, President of the University of Michigan, University of Vermont
- Thomas Angell, Professor at Bates College
- Mary Latham Clark, author
- George Day, editor of the Morning Star
- Henry Howard, Governor of Rhode Island 1873-1875
See also
- Bates College
- Cobb Divinity School
- Eastern Nazarene College
- Scituate, Rhode Island
- Rhode Island College
References
- Hector Richard Carbone, History of the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction, (University of Connecticut, 1971).
- William Howe Tolman, History of Higher Education in Rhode Island, (DC: Government Printing Office 1894).
External links
Boarding schools | Christian education | Educational institutions established in the 19th century | High schools in Rhode Island | Private schools | United States seminaries | Universities and colleges affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA
"Lapham Institute"