Pritchett College was a small institution that operated in

Glasgow, Missouri Glasgow is a city on the Missouri River mostly in northwest Howard County and extending into the southeast corner of Chariton County in Missouri, United States. The population was 1,087 at the 2020 census. The Howard County portion of Glasg ...

from 1866 until 1922. It was founded as Pritchett School Institute and became known as Pritchett College after 1897.

History

The first classes were conducted in the 1866–67 academic year at 3rd and Market Streets in buildings that previously housed Glasgow Female Seminary. Rev. James O. Swinney provided funds and organized the school. The first Board of Trustees appointed by the

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

city council were James O. Swinney, Henry C. Cockerill, and Joshua Belden. Carr W. Pritchett, formerly a faculty member at

Howard College Howard College is a Public college, public community college with its main campus in Big Spring, Texas. It also has branch campuses in San Angelo, Texas, San Angelo and Lamesa, Texas, Lamesa. History Howard County Junior College was establishe ...

Fayette, Missouri Fayette is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,803 at the 2020 census. History Fayette was laid out in 1823. ...

, was hired to serve as the first president and the institution was known as Pritchett School Institute. The school was Christian, non-denominational and admission was open for both males and females. Initial enrollment was 146 students. Swinney later donated money to purchase new grounds and a three-story brick building served 200 students in 1869. The original buildings were sold to

Lewis College {{for, school the located in Romeoville, Illinois, Lewis University Lewis College was a small institution that operated in Glasgow, Missouri from 1867 until 1892. History The college was founded by two brothers, Benjamin W. and James W. Lewis. Th ...

. C.W. Pritchett retired and was succeeded by Oren Root, Jr. as president from 1873–1876. There were 160 students in 1876. The institution offered preparatory, collegiate, and post graduate courses and there were fifty graduates in the first ten years, with twenty-four receiving the

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

degree and two the

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree. Resources were limited and the trustees of Pritchett explored the possibility of merger with a proposal to move Central College to

in 1878. Several unsuccessful attempts were also made to merge with

, the latest in 1880. Upper-level college courses were no longer offered after 1917 and Pritchett College was then considered to be a junior college. It ceased operation after June, 1922.

Morrison Observatory

C. W. Pritchett secured a generous donation in 1874 from Berenice Morrison to purchase equipment and construct a building for the Morrison Astronomical Observatory. Work began in early 1875 and a telescope was mounted within a year. Dr. Pritchett continued as director of the observatory following the end of his presidency and served until September, 1905. He conducted some remarkable research with the assistance of his two sons and others. Many have claimed that Pritchett discovered the "Great Red Spot". In fact, he made observations of the Spot, but did not discover it. Observations of the are probably the best known, and Dr. Pritchett was designated as a Fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

of England. The observatory was not used after 1907 and was eventually moved to Central College in

in 1936.

Presidents

* Carr Waller Pritchett (1866 – 1872) *Oren D. Root (1873 – 1876), brother of Nobel Prize recipient

Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican Party (United States), Republican politician, and statesman who served as the 41st United States Secretary of War under presidents William McKinley and Theodor ...

*R. Thompson Bond (1877 – 1880) *Joseph Henry Pritchett (1881 – 1884), younger brother of Carr Waller Pritchett *Joel Sutton Kendall (1885 – 1894), later served as first president of North Texas Normal School *C. C. Hemenway (1894 – 1904) * Uriel S. Hall (1905 – 1917), U.S. Congressman from 1893–1897 *

Oscar Dahlene Oscar J. Dahlene (April 24, 1886 – October 22, 1949) was an American college football player and coach. He was the eighth president of Pritchett College in Glasgow, Missouri, serving from 1917 until 1920. He died in 1949 in Alabama. Playing ...

(1917 – 1920) *Elizabeth Jeffreys (1920 – 1922)

Noted faculty

*H. Clay Harvey, taught mathematics at Pritchett (1894–1900) and at Kirksville State Teacher's College (1900–1912); served as Superintendent of Schools in McAllen, Texas (1914–1917) *George F. Kuemmel, Music *Susan F. Smith, Modern Languages, Drawing, Painting *Samuel H. Trowbridge, Natural Science

Noted alumni

*Henry Carr Pritchett, Texas Superintendent of Public Instruction (1890), Professor of Mathematics and later, president of

Sam Houston Normal Institute Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...

(1881–1908) *

Henry Smith Pritchett Henry Smith Pritchett (April 16, 1857 – August 28, 1939) was an American astronomer, university president and philanthropist. Biography Pritchett was born on April 16, 1857, in Fayette, Missouri, the son of Carr Waller Pritchett, Sr., ...

, President of

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

and the

Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (CFAT) is a U.S.-based education policy and research center. It was founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an act of the United States Congress. Among its most not ...

Anna Lee Dey Stacey Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th ce ...

, painterBennett, Frances Cheney
''History of music and art in Illinois, including portraits and biographies of the cultured men and women who have been liberal patrons of the higher arts''
(1904)

References

{{reflist

External links

Defunct private universities and colleges in Missouri Universities and colleges established in 1866 1866 establishments in Missouri Education in Howard County, Missouri