Carthage Collegiate Institute Site (no longer standing), westside of 1400 Block of South Main
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
After the Civil War, there was a need for higher education on the college level in southwest Missouri and for several years Carthage vied with Springfield for the honor of acquiring a college. Carthage eventually lost out to Springfield when Drury College (now Drury University) was established in 1873. Rev. Dr. W. S. Knight, a local Presbyterian minister, continued the campaign for a college in Carthage and within the Presbyterian hierarchy. With local financial support, the Carthage Collegiate Institute (CCI) was founded. The first classroom location was an annex built onto the First Presbyterian Church then located at the southeast corner of Grant and 7th Streets. The formal opening was September 17, 1886, and tuition ranged from $10.00 to $18.00 per term. Shortly after opening the college, the CCI Board of Trustees purchased land in the 1400 block of Main Street (this site) and a brick edifice was built for the cost of $20,000 and was opened for use in 1888. The massive brick and limestone stone building was designed by St. Louis architect J. B. Legg who also designed at least one residence in Carthage -- the Cowgill Home at 1155 Grand Avenue. The structure was constructed by local contractor George Wood.
Images
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The college offered high school and junior college level experiences. Operations continued until 1908 when low attendance and funding issues forced the closing of the college. The building served as an apartment building when it was acquired by the Carthage School Board which used some of the classrooms for overcrowding relief within the larger school system for a short period. Eventually the structure was razed and Mark Twain Elementary School was built on the former college site. Mark Twain Elementary still occupies the site today (see Clio entry for Mark Twain Elementary School, 1435 South Main Street).
Among CCI's notable graduates were journalist and author Leigh Mitchell Hodges and astronomer and author Harlow Shapley. Marian Lucy Wright, who would go on to marry Dr. Powers in 1903, graduated from CCI in 1900. The Powers Museum, a local history museum for the city, is named for her and her husband (see Clio entries Powers Museum and Powers Home).
Sources
Hansford, Michele Newton. Images of America: Carthage Missouri. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2000.
Powers Museum Vertical Files: Carthage Collegiate Institute, Harlow Shapley, Leigh Mitchell Hodges
College image former Powers Museum exhibit image, c 1895-1900
Advertisement from Carthage Evening Press, August 21, 1905