The Ohio Military Institute was a higher education institution located in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

. Founded in 1890, it closed in 1958.

History

The Ohio Military Institute was established in 1890, on the foundation then known as Belmont College, and in the earlier days, as Farmers' College. The history of the college goes back almost to the beginnings of education in the West. Farmers' College was one of the first institutions of higher culture established beyond the mountains. It had a long and useful career. The roster contains the names of President

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;

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, the great editor; and Bishop John M. Walden, of the

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. Farmers' College was begun perhaps a generation too soon for permanent success. The community had not yet accepted the concept that inspired the enterprise. To quote the language of a very old letter used in early materials, "The distinctive feature of Farmers' College is the practical character of its course of instruction *** to qualify our youth for a higher position in any of the industrial pursuits." The idea expressed is today the most powerful force directing the trend of thought in education. The history of Belmont College covers a period of transition, during which the older institution was returning gradually toward its source for the training of boys. The real progenitor of the Ohio Military Institute was Cary Academy, established in his own home on College Hill by Freeman Cary, in the year 1832. The Cary family were pioneers in this part of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. The father came from

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Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

as early as 1802. A few years later he purchased a large farm on the present site of College Hill. There his two sons, Freeman G., the elder, and Samuel F., grew to manhood. Sisters Alice and

Phoebe Cary Phoebe Cary (September 4, 1824 – July 31, 1871) was an American poet, and the younger sister of poet Alice Cary (1820–1871).She was a great poet who composed a Legend of Northland which is a very beautiful poem. The sisters co-published poe ...

, the well-known poete, lived nearby, in what is now North College Hill. Both the Cary boys were graduated from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, then in its infancy. Freeman's ambition was to become an educator, and upon his graduation, he opened an academy for boys at his home. The old house still stands, a well-known landmark of the village. Cary's Academy, when opened, received four pupils, but before the year closed the eager young scholar was teaching more than a score of boys. Mr. Cary was encouraged to build, on a plot of ground just in front of the present location of the school, a small brick school building. Shortly afterward he constructed a handsome addition. Meanwhile, the school increased readily in numbers, until during the last year of the old Academy, more than 120 students were in attendance. In the twelve years during which Mr. Cary conducted his school, some 1,200 boys from all parts of the West and the South came under his instruction. His Academy was, at that time, the leading private school west of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

. He was assisted in the work by an efficient corps of instructors, several of whom were very able men, who afterward became eminent educators. Probably most loved because of his personality, and the most revered and respected because of his work, was Dr. Robert H. Bishop. He came from Miami University to Cary Academy during its last year, He remained to fill the chair of Philosophy and History in the faculty of Farmers' College, Shortly before his death, in 1855, he requested that his body and that of his wife might find a last resting place on the college grounds. The letter begging this simple boon is one of the most precious archives of the college. In 1999, part of Cary's original school was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

under the name "Freeman Grant Cary Pleasant Hill Academy". Embracing his house and one other building, the designation was granted both because of the buildings' architecture and because of their connection to Cary, who was deemed a significant figure in local history.

History

References

Further reading