Hillsdale College:
Co-Education for Women by @LaurieAEakes
All my life, I’ve
heard of Hillsdale College in a Michigan town of the same name, but until Patty
Smith Hall (The Doctor’s Bride, Love Inspired Heartsong Presents, November 5,
2013) suggested a few of us write a series set in 1856 around a double train
wreck in Hillsdale, I didn’t know Hillsdale College was the second college
in the U.S. to admit female students to study alongside the men.
In 1844, Michigan
Central College began in Spring Arbor, Michigan. Nine years later, it had
metamorphosed into Hillsdale College centered in that small town
From its inception,
Hillsdale College allowed women to receive four-year degrees, the second school
to do so. It is the first college to state in its charter that it prohibits
discrimination based on race, religion, or sex. It upheld this belief by acting
in the thick of the abolition of slavery.
Allowing women to
study alongside men doesn’t mean the college didn’t believe that females should
be looked after. Many rules of conduct governed the behavior of the students.
For example, men and women were not allowed to partake of tobacco, wine, or
other strong drink, nor were they allowed to frequent places that served these
items. Men and women were not allowed to be alone together and then only during
the hours of 3:00 to 7:00 except in May and June, when they could be together
until 8:00 P.M.
Numerous other
regulations governed academic behavior such as absenteeism, taking tests, and
receiving extra instruction. Students were encouraged to join literary
societies, and when those met were also directed.
Behavior both
academic and social were overseen by the president of the college or a female
faculty member called the Lady Principal.
Although Hillsdale
was started by the Free Baptist Church, it was always nondenominational.
Written in a Bible buried in the cornerstone of the original building is this
prayer: “May earth be better and heaven be richer because of the life and labor
of Hillsdale College.”
The Professor’s Heart
(Love Inspired Heartsong Presents) by Laurie Alice Eakes features a professor
at the college and a female graduate whose ambition destroyed their
relationship in the past. Now, a train wreck on a snowy night gives them a
second chance to choose between love and career and discover what the Lord
wants for their lives. This is Eakes’s sixteenth book and releases on December
3, 2013.
What a beautiful cover!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this history of Hillsdale College. Just this morning, I read a post by Patty Smith Hall in which she told a bit about the double train wreck in Hillsdale. I am eager to read THE PROFESSOR'S HEART and THE DOCTOR'S BRIDE! I would love to know the names of the other books in this series!
ReplyDeletetexaggs2000 at gmail dot com
Enjoyed the post about the college, seems women always seem to be on the short end of the stick, they were not very important it seems for many years. I know men worked hard in the early years but I am betting the little woman who kept his house and bore his children did too...I am glad this college decided to include women at that early yr.
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing this info with us.
Paula O(kyflo130@yahoo.com)
The story sounds great. Women have come a long way
ReplyDeleteGod bless you
Chris Granville
Sorry I forgot
ReplyDeleteChris Granville
granvilleATfrontiernetDOTnet
Ive never heard of Hillsdale College. That is really neat that they were :the second college in the US to admit women. I love the rules they had to go by, they remind me of church camp and what we were allowed and not allowed to do! Thanks for a great post Laurie, I can't wait to read this series of books!
ReplyDeletekam110476 (at) gmail (dot) com
Thank you so much for this wonderful information about Hillsdale College. I live in Michigan, and know of individuals who attended Hillsdale, but didn't' realize the history behind this school. Sometimes we miss the stories from our own neighborhoods. Very nicely done! I will be looking for this book.
ReplyDeletequiltcat26[at]sbcglobal[dot]net
Wow, that is an interesting post about Hillsdale College and the education of girls along with the boys. What forward thinkers they were for their time. I would love to win this book. sharon, ca wileygreen1(at)yahoo(dot)com
ReplyDeleteLauire, I enjoyed reading about the history of Hillsdale College, and am currently enrolled in their online American Heritage course. Can't wait to read your new novel. Bless you as you write for His glory.
ReplyDelete