Yankton College is a former private

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as La ...

college in

Yankton, South Dakota Yankton is a city in and the county seat of Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,411 at the 2020 census, and it is the principal city of the Yankton Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the entirety of Y ...

, United States, affiliated with the

Congregational Christian Churches The Congregational Christian Churches were a Protestant Christian denomination that operated in the U.S. from 1931 through 1957. On the latter date, most of its churches joined the Evangelical and Reformed Church in a merger to become the United ...

(later the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...

). Yankton College produced nine

Rhodes Scholars The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

, more than any other South Dakota higher education institution.

History

Founded in 1881, it was the first institution of higher learning in the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of N ...

. The man primarily responsible for the college's establishment was

Joseph Ward Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and Un ...

, a local pastor and educator who is one of the two South Dakotans represented in the

National Statuary Hall The National Statuary Hall is a chamber in the United States Capitol devoted to sculptures of prominent Americans. The hall, also known as the Old Hall of the House, is a large, two-story, semicircular room with a second story gallery along th ...

. Yankton College produced nine

. Yankton College closed in December 1984, and its campus became the site of

Federal Prison Camp, Yankton The Federal Prison Camp, Yankton (FPC Yankton) is a minimum-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Yankton, South Dakota. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. Th ...

, which opened four years later.

Campus

The campus was declared the Yankton College Historic District in 1982 due to the presence of a group of buildings designed by architect

George Grant Elmslie George Grant Elmslie (February 20, 1869 – April 23, 1952) was a Scottish-born American Prairie School architect whose work is mostly found in the Midwestern United States. He worked with Louis Sullivan and later with William Gray Purcell as a ...

. Between 1927 and 1932, Elmslie designed seven structures for the college, of which several were built: * Campus Library (1927/1928) * Forbes Hall of Science (1929) * Look Chapel, project (1929) * Power plant (1930) * Look Dormitory for Men (1931) * Conservatory of Music (1932) * Gymnasium, project (1932) The college's athletic teams were known as the Greyhounds. The football stadium (Crane–Youngworth Field) is now used as the home field for the Yankton High School Bucks and Mount Marty University Lancers football teams. Yankton College began football in 1894. In 1917 they became one of the charter members of the South Dakota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. From 1960 to 1980 Yankton competed in the Tri-State Conference with private schools in Iowa and Nebraska. Yankton returned to the SDIAC in 1981, remaining until the school closed. The most successful seasons were as members of the Tri-State.

Notable alumni

Lyle Alzado Lyle Martin Alzado (April 3, 1949 – May 14, 1992) was an American professional All Pro football defensive end of the National Football League (NFL), famous for his intense and intimidating style of play. Alzado played 15 seasons, splitting hi ...

, former professional All-Pro

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

* Rich Bisaccia, interim head coach of the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West div ...

of the

. *

Gabor Boritt Gabor S. Boritt (born 1940 in Budapest, Hungary) is an American historian. He was the Robert Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies and Director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College. Born and raised in Hungary, he participated as a t ...

, the Robert Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies and Director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College * Joseph H. Bottum, 27th

Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota The lieutenant governor of South Dakota is the second-ranking member of the executive branch of South Dakota state government and also serves as presiding officer of the South Dakota Senate. The lieutenant governor succeeds to the officer of go ...

and a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

Amanda Clement Amanda E. Clement (March 20, 1888 – July 20, 1971) was an American baseball umpire who was the first woman paid to referee a game, and may have also been the first woman to referee a high school basketball game. Clement served as an umpire on ...

(1888–1971), first paid female

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per' ...

Riley Gardner Dr. Riley W. Gardner (October 31, 1921 – October 23, 2007) was an American psychologist who published works on individual differences and cognition. Early life and education Gardner was born in Ree Heights, South Dakota, and was the son of Hug ...

, psychologist *

Les Goodman Les Goodman (born September 1, 1950) was a former running back in the National Football League. He played professionally for the Atlanta Falcons and the Green Bay Packers. Early life Goodman was born Leslie Edward Goodman Jr. in Port Jefferson, N ...

, former

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

in the

Alvin Hansen Alvin Harvey Hansen (August 23, 1887 – June 6, 1975) was an American economist who taught at the University of Minnesota and was later a chair professor of economics at Harvard University. Often referred to as "the American Keynes", he was a w ...

, Harvard College economics professor *David P. Hardy, co-founder

Boys’ Latin of Philadelphia Charter School , motto_translation = "Every man is the architect of his own fortune" , address = 5501 Cedar Avenue , city = Philadelphia , county = , state = Pennsylvania , zipcode ...

* Michael Jaffe, TV and film producer * Fred Kirschenmann, professor and leader in the

sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...

movement. *

Nancy Lenehan Nancy Lenehan (born April 26, 1953) is an American actress who has appeared in film and television since the 1980s. She is best known for Audrey in ''Grace Under Fire'' (1993-1998), Kay Hickey in ''My Name Is Earl'' (2005-2008), and Angela in ' ...

, American actress * Ruben Mendoza, strength and conditioning coach and a former

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

in the

* Earl Rose, Dallas County medical examiner at the time of the assassination of John F. Kennedy * Dean Wink, former

in the National Football League and member of the

South Dakota House of Representatives The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota Legislature. It consists of 70 members, two from each legislative district. Two of the state's 35 legislative districts, Districts 26 and 28, are each subdivided into ...

References

External links

Yankton College
{{Authority control Yankton College, Educational institutions established in 1881 University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in South Dakota Buildings and structures in Yankton, South Dakota Educational institutions disestablished in 1984 1881 establishments in Dakota Territory 1984 disestablishments in South Dakota Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in South Dakota National Register of Historic Places in Yankton County, South Dakota