Lapham Institute
Encyclopedia
The Smithville Seminary was a Freewill Baptist institution established in 1839 on what is now Institute Lane in Smithville-North Scituate, Rhode Island. Renamed the Lapham Institute in 1863, it closed in 1876. The site was then used as the campus of the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute
and later the Watchman Institute
, and is now the Scituate Commons apartments. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1978.
The buildings on the knoll
were built in 1839 and comprised a large three-story central building with columns and two wings. The wings, with 33 rooms each, were separated by 20 feet from the main building and connected to it via two-story covered passageways. The central building housed classrooms, offices, staff apartments, and dining facilities, a library and reading room on the second floor, and a large room on the third floor which might serve as a chapel
, while the other two buildings served as separate male and female dormitories. The two-mile-long Lake Moswansicut could be seen from the third-floor chapel. The buildings were designed by Russell Warren
, the leading Greek Revival architect in New England
in the 20th century,
After the close of the re-named Lapham Institute, the campus became the site of the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute
from 1902 to 1919 and, eventually, the Watchman Institute
in 1923.
The site became part of the National Register of Historic Places
in 1978. The buildings were also renovated in the 1970s and converted into apartments known as Scituate Commons.
(the New Hampton
Institute), the other in Maine
(Parsonsfield Seminary
), and Rhode Island desired to have one of their own. Reverend Hiram Brooks was asked to start the school, and raised $20,000, all of which he put toward buildings. Sadly, the entire commitment of these monies to brick and mortar rather than an endowment
fund may have caused financial difficulties for the institution, as it was unable to support itself through tuition revenue.
The first principal was Rev. Hosea Quimby, who had come from the Maine academy to serve at Smithville. Quimby worked for the school, even buying the property when financial trouble struck, until in closed temporarily in 1854 with only 20 students (in 1845, it had an enrollment of over 300 representing 7 U.S. states). It was revived the next year when Quimby rented the property to a Samuel P. Coburn, who became principal, and enrollment again reached over 100 that year. The property was sold to Reverend W. Colgrove in 1857, who operated it for another two years before it closed again, this time for three years.
The site of Henry Barnard
’s first Rhode Island Teachers Institute in 1845, the school began giving normal instruction for teachers with public funding in 1867, but ceased in 1871 when the state's Education Commissioner re-established the Rhode Island Normal School and cut program funding for other institutions.
The school changed hands and its name in 1863 when a minister, a former professor at the school, returned in 1861 to find much of the campus dilapidated and in disrepair, with the Free Baptist Association unwilling or unable to help. Its benefactor would prove to be the Honorable Benedict Lapham
, after whom the new Lapham Institute was named.
In addition to its connections to what would later become Rhode Island College
, the school had connections to Bates College
in Maine
, another Free Baptist institution. Its first principal, Benjamin F. Hayes, was called to a professorship at Bates, and his successor, Thomas L. Angell, was also called to a professorship at there after two years as principal in North Scituate. George H. Ricker then took over as principal for seven years before being called to Hillsdale College
in Michigan
in 1874. His successor was A.G. Moulton, a trustee of Bates, who died just over a year after taking the position. He was followed as principal by W.S. Stockbridge, under whom the school finally closed in 1876. William Winsor was the last benefactor of the Institute, and when no one replaced him, the school went bankrupt without an endowment to support it.
Pentecostal Collegiate Institute
The Pentecostal Collegiate Institute refers to two antecedents of the Eastern Nazarene College in Massachusetts:*Pentecostal Collegiate Institute *Pentecostal Collegiate Institute...
and later the Watchman Institute
Watchman Institute
The Watchman Industrial School and Camp, known to some as the Watchman Institute, was founded 1908 by Reverend William S. Holland in Providence, Rhode Island. It moved to North Scituate in 1923 and closed in 1938, although Holland's summer camp operated there until 1974.- Providence :William S...
, and is now the Scituate Commons apartments. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1978.
Campus
Hillock
A hillock or knoll is a small hill, usually separated from a larger group of hills such as a range. Hillocks are similar in their distribution and size to small mesas or buttes. The term is largely a British one...
were built in 1839 and comprised a large three-story central building with columns and two wings. The wings, with 33 rooms each, were separated by 20 feet from the main building and connected to it via two-story covered passageways. The central building housed classrooms, offices, staff apartments, and dining facilities, a library and reading room on the second floor, and a large room on the third floor which might serve as a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, while the other two buildings served as separate male and female dormitories. The two-mile-long Lake Moswansicut could be seen from the third-floor chapel. The buildings were designed by Russell Warren
Russell Warren (architect)
Russell Warren was an American architect, best known for his Greek Revival style, and notably the design of the Weybosset Arcade, now known as the Westminster Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island.Warren was born in Tiverton, Rhode Island...
, the leading Greek Revival architect in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
in the 20th century,
After the close of the re-named Lapham Institute, the campus became the site of the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute
Pentecostal Collegiate Institute (Rhode Island)
The Pentecostal Collegiate Institute was a co-educational interdenominational collegiate institute located at North Scituate, Rhode Island from September 1902 to 1918...
from 1902 to 1919 and, eventually, the Watchman Institute
Watchman Institute
The Watchman Industrial School and Camp, known to some as the Watchman Institute, was founded 1908 by Reverend William S. Holland in Providence, Rhode Island. It moved to North Scituate in 1923 and closed in 1938, although Holland's summer camp operated there until 1974.- Providence :William S...
in 1923.
The site became part of the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1978. The buildings were also renovated in the 1970s and converted into apartments known as Scituate Commons.
History
Smithville Seminary was founded in 1839 by the Rhode Island Association of Free Baptists. At the time, the Free Baptists already had two academies, one in New HampshireNew Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
(the New Hampton
New Hampton, New Hampshire
New Hampton is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,165 at the 2010 census. A winter sports resort area, New Hampton is home to George Duncan State Forest and to the New Hampton School, a private preparatory school established in 1821.The primary village in...
Institute), the other in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
(Parsonsfield Seminary
Parsonsfield Seminary
Parsonsfield Seminary, which operated from 1832-1949, was a well-known Free Will Baptist school in North Parsonsfield, Maine, in the United States. Also known as the North Parsonsfield Seminary, its preserved campus of four buildings is located on State Route 160.-History:In 1832 Rev. John Buzzell...
), and Rhode Island desired to have one of their own. Reverend Hiram Brooks was asked to start the school, and raised $20,000, all of which he put toward buildings. Sadly, the entire commitment of these monies to brick and mortar rather than an endowment
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
fund may have caused financial difficulties for the institution, as it was unable to support itself through tuition revenue.
The first principal was Rev. Hosea Quimby, who had come from the Maine academy to serve at Smithville. Quimby worked for the school, even buying the property when financial trouble struck, until in closed temporarily in 1854 with only 20 students (in 1845, it had an enrollment of over 300 representing 7 U.S. states). It was revived the next year when Quimby rented the property to a Samuel P. Coburn, who became principal, and enrollment again reached over 100 that year. The property was sold to Reverend W. Colgrove in 1857, who operated it for another two years before it closed again, this time for three years.
The site of Henry Barnard
Henry Barnard
Henry Barnard was an American educationalist and reformer.-Biography:...
’s first Rhode Island Teachers Institute in 1845, the school began giving normal instruction for teachers with public funding in 1867, but ceased in 1871 when the state's Education Commissioner re-established the Rhode Island Normal School and cut program funding for other institutions.
The school changed hands and its name in 1863 when a minister, a former professor at the school, returned in 1861 to find much of the campus dilapidated and in disrepair, with the Free Baptist Association unwilling or unable to help. Its benefactor would prove to be the Honorable Benedict Lapham
Benedict Lapham
Benedict Lapham was a New England industrialist and philanthropist.-Biography:Lapham was born in Rhode Island to a Yankee family on June 26, 1816. His parents were Phebe Arnold and Reverend Richard Lapham, a farmer, and a minister in the Wesleyan Methodist Church...
, after whom the new Lapham Institute was named.
In addition to its connections to what would later become Rhode Island College
Rhode Island College
Rhode Island College is a nationally ranked, coeducational, state-supported comprehensive college founded in 1854, located in Providence, Rhode Island, USA...
, the school had connections to Bates College
Bates College
Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, another Free Baptist institution. Its first principal, Benjamin F. Hayes, was called to a professorship at Bates, and his successor, Thomas L. Angell, was also called to a professorship at there after two years as principal in North Scituate. George H. Ricker then took over as principal for seven years before being called to Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States, is a co-educational liberal arts college known for being the first American college to prohibit in its charter all discrimination based on race, religion, or sex; its refusal of government funding; and its monthly publication, Imprimis...
in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
in 1874. His successor was A.G. Moulton, a trustee of Bates, who died just over a year after taking the position. He was followed as principal by W.S. Stockbridge, under whom the school finally closed in 1876. William Winsor was the last benefactor of the Institute, and when no one replaced him, the school went bankrupt without an endowment to support it.
Prominent alumni
- James Burrill AngellJames Burrill AngellJames Burrill Angell was an American educator, academic administrator, and diplomat. He is best known for being the longest-serving president of the University of Michigan . Under his leadership Michigan gained prominence as an elite public university...
, President of the University of Michigan, University of Vermont - Lewis BossLewis Boss-Life:He was born in Providence, Rhode Island and attended secondary school at the Lapham Institute in North Scituate and the New Hampton Institution in New Hampshire. In 1870 he graduated from Dartmouth College, then went to work as a clerk for the U.S. Government. He served as an assistant...
, astronomer, director of Dudley Observatory, Albany, NY - Mary Latham Clark, author
- George DayGeorge DayGeorge Day may refer to:*George Day , Bishop of Chichester, 1543–1551, and vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge in 1537*George S. Day, marketing specialist in the 1970s...
, editor of the Morning Star - Henry HowardHenry Howard (Rhode Island)Henry Howard was the 32nd Governor of Rhode Island from 1873 to 1875.- Education and family life :Henry Howard was born in Cranston, Rhode Island to Jesse and Mary Howard. In 1848, he studied law in the office of future Rhode Island Governor William W. Hoppin...
, Governor of Rhode Island 1873-1875