Racine College
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Racine College was an Episcopal preparatory school and
college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
in
Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...
, that operated between 1852 and 1933. Located south of the city along
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and depth () after Lake Superior and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the ...
, the campus has been maintained and is today known as the DeKoven Center, a conference center, educational facility, and special events venue operated by the DeKoven Foundation. The historic buildings that make up the traditional cloistered quadrangle campus are among the few collegiate
neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...
buildings that survive in the Midwest. Despite their location, they are considered part of the East Coast College architectural tradition. In part because of its limited use, the campus has remained relatively intact since its construction, which took place between 1852 and 1876. Much of the campus was constructed by Lucas Bradley, a renowned Racine architect, who designed it in accordance with plans by J.F. Miller of New York. Like many historic buildings in southeastern Wisconsin, the Racine College structures are largely composed of
Cream City brick Cream City brick is a cream or light yellow-colored brick made from a clay constructed around Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the Menomonee River Valley and on the western banks of Lake Michigan. These bricks were one of the most common building mater ...
.


History


Early years (1852-1859)

Racine College was first conceived at an Episcopal Church conference held in Milwaukee in 1851. Bishop
Jackson Kemper Jackson Kemper (December 24, 1789 – May 24, 1870) in 1835 became the first missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Especially known for his work with Native American peoples, he also founded parishes in wh ...
, who headed the meeting, became the founder of the college even before a site had been laid out for it. Prominent citizens of Racine, including Marshall Strong and Dr. Elias Smith, successfully lobbied to have the college built in their city and raised funds for a rural six-acre site on a bluff overlooking the lake. The
state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...
granted the institution a charter on March 3, 1852. The first classes began in May of that year, which were held in a rented room in the city because the college was still under construction."Racine College Established Here in 1852, Expanded in 1857; Once Nationally Famous"
'' Racine Journal Times Sunday Bulletin'', October 7, 1956.
Construction of the first college building, Park Hall, was not finished until September 1853.Wheeler, Rev. Homer
''Historical sketch of Racine College, founded at Racine, Wis., A.D. 1852.''
Atwood & Culver printers, Madison, 1876.
The first major expansion to the college came in 1857, when a second building was deemed necessary. Lucas Bradley, one of Racine's most prominent architects, was chosen to design the building, which he chose to make "a twin to the first". This building, Kemper Hall, was completed in the autumn of 1859. During the same year, the national economy was suffering the end of the
Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 was a financial crisis in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission ...
, and Racine began to be affected. This depression encouraged Racine to merge with St. John's Hall, a small theological institution in Delafield. The school there closed and its faculty moved to Racine, including its rector, James DeKoven, who became
warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...
of Racine College thereafter.


DeKoven era (1859-1879)

DeKoven became Racine College's most notable warden. He was a major exponent of
High Church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...
and
Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...
views in the Episcopal Church, and was one of the best-known preachers and orators of his day. DeKoven's work at Racine was directly influenced by the Grammar School and College of Saint James in
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, which in turn was part of the "church school" movement inaugurated by William Augustus Muhlenberg and his proteges in 1828. When DeKoven began to raise money for new buildings at Racine College, he looked to England for his inspiration. Most of the campus buildings were inspired by the architecture of St. Peter's College, a high-church public school founded at Radley in 1847. Most of Park Hall was destroyed by fire on January 15, 1864, and almost all of the sizable library of former president Roswell Park was lost. Thanks to donations by the people of Racine, a replacement building was constructed within the year. The college was also able to begin construction on a third building, St. John's Chapel, within the same year. Two years later, Emeline Taylor, the widow of former Racine College trustee Isaac Taylor, died and bequeathed $65,000 to the institution. This sum allowed for the construction of the campus' fourth and largest building, which was named Taylor Hall. The building would later be equipped with a bell tower at the cost of nearly $2,000. When the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
drove Saint James out of business, several important teachers and professors joined DeKoven at Racine. Racine College was sometimes called "the Sewanee of the North", since both were Oxonian church-operated institutions. The grammar school and college at
Sewanee, Tennessee Sewanee () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,535 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Winchester, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. Sewanee is best known as the home ...
were closely linked to Racine in the postbellum era; the Chancellor of the University of the South, Bishop Charles Todd Quintard, served on the Racine Board of Trustees, and an early leader of Sewanee, Thomas F. Gailor, was prepared at Racine. As a result of this further expansion, the college continued to build new facilities. A dining hall was constructed in 1871 and an assembly hall followed the next year. These buildings were placed between the two halls, connecting them and creating what would also be known as the East Building.Property Record: 600 21st St
Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory,
Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...
.
A fire on February 4, 1875, destroyed much of the interior of Taylor Hall, although the outlying structure remained intact. Because of this, the building was able to be restored for less than half the cost of the original construction, although collegiate education was forced to be canceled for several weeks and did not fully return to its prior state for over a year afterward. 1875 also saw the construction of yet another new building, which housed both a gymnasium and a chemistry laboratory. With the encouragement of DeKoven, a collection of nine Episcopal bishops held a meeting in 1876 where they declared Racine College "A Church University for the West and Northwest", and collectively wrote that it was "the only church college proper in actual operation between
Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...
, in Ohio, and the Pacific Ocean." They agreed to support the college's mission by helping it open grammar schools across the Midwest that carried on its educational philosophy. Racine College was one of the first schools to have a college football team. They were known as the Racine Purple Stockings, after the Chicago White Stockings, on whose field they played. Racine and the University of Michigan Wolverines played the Midwest's first intramural college
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
game on May 30, 1879. Michigan won, 1–0. The team continued to play in the NCAA for the next ten years, and frequently played against teams such as
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
,
Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
, Princeton, Northwestern, and
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
.


Decline as a college (1879-1889)

DeKoven died suddenly on March 19, 1879, after serving as Racine's warden for two decades. His funeral was held there three days later, and when the Episcopal Church declared him a
saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
, March 22 became his feast day. He is buried on campus, just outside the wall of St. John's Chapel. His work in theology and education was compared to that of
John Keble John Keble (25 April 1792 – 29 March 1866) was an English Anglican priest and poet who was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement. Keble College, Oxford, is named after him. Early life Keble was born on 25 April 1792 in Fairford, Glouces ...
, and like him, DeKoven's grave was considered a shrine by Anglicans. After DeKoven's death, the standing of the college began to decline. As a result, the school's endowment shrank quickly, which led to a further decline in the quality of education. The collegiate department at Racine was forced to close in 1889, just ten years after the height of its success and influence. In closing the college, its trustees explained that with its lowered funding, it could no longer maintain a high educational standard. The name "Racine College" was retained despite the closure.Stone, Fanny
''Racine, Belle City of the Lakes''
S. J. Clarke, Racine, 1916.


Preparatory school and later years (1889-1933)

Following the closure of the collegiate department, the grammar school remained and became a preparatory school. A military school also occupied the site, and the institution as a whole was advertised as a "school for manly boys". During this time, most boys enrolled at Racine College were secondary (or grammar) school students preparing for the Bachelor of Arts course. The campus continued to be a major location for the Episcopal Church, which held a number of conferences there in the early 20th century. Enrollment fell drastically during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, leading to the college's closure in 1918. The campus was vacant for a few years, before it reopened as the Racine Academy in 1923. After resolving the college's debts, which were in excess of $100,000, the Academy opened its doors on October 1, 1923. Chicago business interests funded much of the repayment. Originally, there was no military school at the Academy, but that branch reopened in 1930. With the addition of a
junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...
in 1932, it officially returned to the Racine College name, but this revival was short-lived. The depths of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
had a delayed effect on the college, but it gradually began to suffer. On August 8, 1933, the college's closure was officially announced, and the last students left the campus shortly after.


Influence

The teaching at Racine College, especially DeKoven, had a wider influence on education in the United States. Teachers and professors trained by DeKoven brought great expertise and passion to other college preparatory schools and to colleges and universities. Sidney T. Smythe, the founder of St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, was prepared at Racine and remained a devotee of DeKoven's. To this end, he reopened St. John's Hall, where DeKoven formerly taught, to house his academy.


Closure and recent history (1933-present)

The Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee lost ownership of the grounds after the school's closure, but Bishop Benjamin Ivins was able to arrange a summer camp at the property, run by the Community of St. Mary, in 1934. Another summer camp was held the following year, and this was successful enough that the Community of St. Mary bought the property just before a sheriff's sale was to be held that fall."Racine History - DeKoven Foundation"
Virtual Industries
In December, the sisters created the DeKoven Foundation for Church Work to manage the campus, and organize "retreats, conferences, and church activities," as well as continue to host a yearly summer camp for girls. The DeKoven Center was sold back to the Diocese of Milwaukee in 1985, which continues to operate it under an independent 501c3 corporation, the DeKoven Foundation. The campus became home to the Racine Montessori School, Racine's first school offering
Montessori education The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...
, in September 1963. Originally opened in a single room in the East Building and educating only 32 students, the school continually grew to rent a larger space and enroll over two hundred. The
Case Corporation Case Corporation was a manufacturer of agricultural machinery and heavy equipment (construction), construction equipment. Founded, in 1842, by Jerome Case, Jerome Increase Case as the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company, it operated unde ...
donated the nearby former Lakeside School building, which had closed in 1979, to Racine Montessori, allowing the school to move out of DeKoven in 1996. The Spectrum School of the Arts and Community Gallery opened in the East Building in 1980. A
summer school Summer school (or summer university) is a school, or a program generally sponsored by a school or a school district, or provided by a private company, that provides lessons and activities during the summer vacation. Participation in summer school ...
for children and year-round school for adults, Spectrum offers supplemental art classes to people of all ages. In addition to fine art shows, the Spectrum Gallery, opened in 1996, still holds regular classes and exhibitions of students' artwork. A controversial development plan, proposed in 1995, would have converted the college buildings into apartments, as well as constructing new apartment buildings within the site. This plan was rejected by the DeKoven Foundation and a coalition of local residents. The DeKoven Natatorium, a community swimming pool located in the gymnasium, closed on March 1, 2013, after 100 years of operation. The cost of maintaining the pool grew too high for the DeKoven Foundation to afford. The pool had been added to the gym building in 1913, one of the few architectural additions since the death of DeKoven, and had previously closed in 1979 because of structural problems. After a renovation effort, it had reopened in 1991. The DeKoven Center holds a variety of regional and national/international events in addition to serving as a community event space. in the past, one of the largest annual events, that took place in St. John's Chapel and the Great Hall, was the madrigal feast put on by the choir and theater departments of Horlick High School.


Notable students

*Gen.
Mark W. Clark Mark Wayne Clark (1 May 1896 – 17 April 1984) was a United States Army officer who fought in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He was the youngest four-star general in the U.S. Army during World War II. During World War I, he wa ...
*Bishop Robert Harper Clarkson * Joseph Doe, U.S. Assistant Secretary of War *Bishop Samuel Cook Edsall * James H. Elmore, Mayor of
Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...
, 1890 to 1895 * Norton J. Field,
Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...
man * Francis Joseph Hall, theologian *Alexander James Horlick (1873-1950), vice president of Horlick's Malted Milk Company, mayor of Racine, son of William Horlick * Ernest de Koven Leffingwell, explorer and geologist * Tad Lincoln, son of President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
*Brig. Gen.
Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who had a major role in the creation of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, ...
Sankey, Alice. ''Racine: The Belle City'',
Western Publishing Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was an American company founded in 1907 in Racine, Wisconsin, best known for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also ...
, 1958.
* Henry Harrison Oberly, clergyman and author * James C. Reynolds,
Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...
man and
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
* Wallace Rice, author and designer of the Chicago flag * Earl Winfield Spencer Jr., U. S. Naval Commander and first husband of the
Duchess of Windsor Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Spencer and then Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986) was an American socialite and the wife of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (former King Edward VIII). Their intenti ...
*Maj. Gen.
Eben Swift Eben Swift (May 11, 1854 – April 25, 1938) was a Major general (United States), major general in the United States Army who served as the first commander of the 82nd Division, now the 82nd Airborne Division. Military career Swift was born ...
*Maj. Gen.
Charles A. Willoughby Charles Andrew Willoughby (8 March 1892 – 25 October 1972) was a major general in the U.S. Army who was General of the Army Douglas MacArthur's chief of military intelligence during World War II and the Korean War. An immigrant from Germany ...
* John B. Winslow, 10th Chief Justice of the
Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...


References


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Racine County, Wisconsin {{authority control Anglo-Catholic educational establishments Episcopal schools in the United States Seminaries and theological colleges in Wisconsin Anglican seminaries and theological colleges Defunct private universities and colleges in Wisconsin Buildings and structures in Racine, Wisconsin Episcopal Church in Wisconsin Educational institutions established in 1852 University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places in Racine County, Wisconsin 1852 establishments in Wisconsin