"Athens of the Ozarks": The Archaeology of Cane Hill College, Arkansas's First University

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Working on the 19th-Century" session, at the 2019 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Founded by Cumberland Presbyterians in 1827, Cane Hill, located in Northwest Arkansas, was once a thriving community centered on agriculture, religion, education, and its milling industry. Education was very important to the Cumberland Presbyterians and plans for their growing community. In 1834 they established the first public school and library in the state. The school evolved, later becoming Cane Hill College, Arkansas’s first four-year college degree granting institution. By the 1850s, the college campus had grown to four buildings, three of which were clustered on a hill overlooking the town. During the Civil War, Union troops reportedly destroyed these three buildings. After the war, subsequent college buildings were constructed nearby, including the recently renovated 1886 Cane Hill College building that continues to serve as the community's visual and social center. In this presentation, we review the results of a 2017 archaeological survey at the suspected location of the 1850s campus.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2019   •
• Working on the 19th-Century

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 338