Thomas Merrill came to Michigan with $7 and a plan to establish a Baptist College on the frontier. In 1833, Judge Caleb Eldred helped to make Merrill’s dreams come true.
Kalamazoo College was originally named The Michigan and Huron Institute, then changed in 1837 to the Kalamazoo Literary Institute due to support of local residents. “This institution will afford facilities for the improvement of the manners, minds, and morals of the young, unsurpassed by any of this section of our country.” The Baptists who founded the college and helped it grow, felt education not only made one a better Christian, but also contributed to a more moral citizen.
In 1843, J. A. B. Stone proposed the addition of a theological seminary to increase the supply of ministers in the region. The Seminary began in 1848. Lucinda Stone (wife of J. A. B. Stone) helped expand the “female” department.
While the seminary did not survive, the Stones brought to Kalamazoo College a well developed, rich curriculum and a strong support for the education of women. The name was changed to Kalamazoo College in 1855. The institution offered one of the superior educations in the Midwest. The vision of the Stones shaped the college.
The mission of Kalamazoo College today is to prepare its graduates to better understand, live successfully within, and provide enlightened leadership to a richly diverse and increasingly complex world. The college has 1348 students from 40 states and 25 countries.
(Kalamazoo College is an American Baptist Churches, U.S.A. related college, and is one of the 4 designated missions of Whiting Community Baptist Church in 2010.)
Kalamazoo College was originally named The Michigan and Huron Institute, then changed in 1837 to the Kalamazoo Literary Institute due to support of local residents. “This institution will afford facilities for the improvement of the manners, minds, and morals of the young, unsurpassed by any of this section of our country.” The Baptists who founded the college and helped it grow, felt education not only made one a better Christian, but also contributed to a more moral citizen.
In 1843, J. A. B. Stone proposed the addition of a theological seminary to increase the supply of ministers in the region. The Seminary began in 1848. Lucinda Stone (wife of J. A. B. Stone) helped expand the “female” department.
While the seminary did not survive, the Stones brought to Kalamazoo College a well developed, rich curriculum and a strong support for the education of women. The name was changed to Kalamazoo College in 1855. The institution offered one of the superior educations in the Midwest. The vision of the Stones shaped the college.
The mission of Kalamazoo College today is to prepare its graduates to better understand, live successfully within, and provide enlightened leadership to a richly diverse and increasingly complex world. The college has 1348 students from 40 states and 25 countries.
(Kalamazoo College is an American Baptist Churches, U.S.A. related college, and is one of the 4 designated missions of Whiting Community Baptist Church in 2010.)
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