![]() | |
Former name | Pleasant J. Potter College for Young Ladies |
---|---|
Type | Private womens |
Active | September 9, 1889–May 20, 1909 |
President | Benjamin F. Cabell |
Location | , , United States |
Colors | Green and Gold |
Pleasant J. Potter College was an American private women's college that operated from 1889 to 1909 in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
In early 1884, a group of businessmen in Bowling Green, Kentucky formed a committee to establish a girls' school for local and boarding students. [1] Benjamin F. Cabell was elected president of the proposed school; he had taught at the Cedar Bluff College in Kentucky until that institution was destroyed by fire. [2] Cabell began planning and fundraising for the new college. [2]
The school committee purchased a 4-acre tract known as Vinegar Hill on the southern edge of Bowling Green in March 1889. [1] [3] Cabell and the committee sold subscriptions to the local community for $25 a share to fund a "state of the art" building. [1] [2] This scheme raised $17,000 but was short of the needed funds for the construction project. [2] Local businessman and banker Pleasant J. Potter donated the last $5,000 ($169,556 in today's money) required for construction. [1]
Pleasant J. Potter College was incorporated on February 9, 1889, with $21,160 set aside to construct its main building. [2] It was named for Potter in recognition of his donation. [4] Otis Wood of Louisiana was hired to construct the building; the construction workers were paid with shares in the building stock. [2]
Pleasant J. Potter College for Young Ladies opened on September 9, 1889. [4] [1] [3] [2] Because the building was not completed until December, boarding students were housed in town. [2] Its students consisted of female students of "high position". [1] Cabell was the college's president. [4]
Potter College operated on what was considered an out-of-date congregate system with a single building. [1] This allowed the school's administrators to control the students, including locking them on their floors at night. [1] In contrast to more modern colleges of the era that gave female students more freedom, the students at Potter College "chafed at a succession of rules, bells, and institutional constraints". [1] Even its faculty petitioned to ease their duties as chaperons to the students. [1]
In 1901, Cabell caught local boys helping five students exit the second floor via a ladder for a late-night date. [1] Gunfire was exchanged between Cabell and the boys, but there were no injuries. [1] The female students were expelled. [1] Despite the college's attempt to reduce scandal, the incident made national news. [2]
Cabell moved into a separate house next to the school building in 1907. [1] However, his health declined, and the college suffered from financial difficulties as students went to other, more modern colleges. [1] [2] Cabell closed Potter College after the spring 1909 term, on May 20. [5] [6]
Western Kentucky State Normal School bought the buildings, properties, and adjacent 177 acres of Potter College in 1909 for $82,500. [7] In February 1911, Western relocated to the former Potter campus. [8] In the 1930s, the Potter College building was demolished. [2] Potter College alumnae became affiliates of Western's alumni association in 1930. [1]
Potter College was located at the summit of Vinegar Hill (also called Copley Knob), 125 feet (38 m) above downtown Bowling Green. [8] [2] The four-story Italianate style college building was designed by Louisville architect Harry P. McDonald. [1] The building featured two wings; a third wing was added in 1890. [1] Its first floor included a chapel, classrooms, a dining room, a kitchen, a library, and reception rooms. [1] The second and third stories had a gymnasium, a music room, and 100 furnished bedrooms that housed two students each. [1] [2] The building had modern conveniences; it was heated by steam, illuminated by gas light, and its nine bathrooms had hot and cold running water. [2] [1] The college president and his wife also lived in the building until a nearby house was acquired in 1907. [4] [1]
Potter College operated as a finishing school for upper-class girls but also provided a liberal arts education that prepared its students for work as artists, businesswomen, nurses, social reformers, teachers, and writers. [1] Its students graduated with Bachelor of Arts, Mistress of English language, or a Certificate of Proficiency. [2] The latter required "satisfactory completion" of coursework in elocution, English, French, German, Latin, math, music, and science. [2]
Cabell developed a curriculum focused on English studies, mathematics, and science. [2] Students studied a mix of classical and more recent writings, including Geoffrey Chaucer, Cicero, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Shakespeare, and Virgil. [2] Science offerings include botany, chemistry, physics, and zoology. [2] Other required courses included history, logic, and political economy. [2] Over time, Bible classes, elocution, political geography, religious studies, and spelling were added to the college's curriculum. [2] Students could also take electives, including art, languages, and music. [2]
Students at Potter College were required to attend chapel daily; on Sundays, they attended the local church selected by their parents. [2]
One of the college's first clubs was the Young Women's Christian Association. [2] Other clubs were organized around the students' state residence, such as Kentucky, Tennessee, or Texas. [2] Two literary societies, Hypatian and Ossolian, was also established, as well as French, German, and Shakespeare Clubs. [2]
Potter College had social sororities, including chapters of Beta Sigma Omicron (1902), Sigma Iota Chi (1909) Eta Upsilon Gamma (1908) and Phi Mu Gamma (1908). [9] All four chapters went defunct in 1909 when the college closed. [9] The sororities established rooms in the school building. [2]
The students formed intramural athletic teams for basketball, bowling, and tennis. [2] The students also published The Green and Gold, quarterly. [2]