Christian Education, the Hope of the World: An Early History of Milligan College

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https://mcstor.library.milligan.edu/handle/11558/1135

This archival exhibit from the College Archives showcases historic deeds and documents relating to the founders of the Buffalo Male and Female Institute and Milligan College, including the 1867 subscription list of 79 names who donated to build the Buffalo Institute, later named Milligan College.

Edmund Williams was assigned Justice of Washington County in 1787 and owned land along Buffalo Creek. This land has now become the Milligan campus we know today. In 1866, Wilson Gilvan Barker arrived at Buffalo Creek Christian Church (now Hopwood Memorial Christian Church) to serve as a school principal, establishing higher education for young men and women. Barker renovated the church, but saw the need for additional space to grow the school. On December 10, 1866, a charter was created, naming the school the Buffalo Male and Female Institute. In 1867, Joshua Williams, Edmund William’s grandson, donated the first acre of land for the construction of the new school building. In the autumn of 1875, Josephus and Sarah Eleanor LaRue Hopwood arrived at the Buffalo Institute as the school’s new primary administrators. On April 21, 1881, Hopwood expanded the new school building and announced the new building to be named Milligan College, named after his beloved professor Robert Milligan. Josephus Hopwood served as Milligan’s first president. Josephus and Sarah Hopwood brought Milligan into a new era with Sarah’s coined phrase: "Christian Education, the Hope of the World."

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    Land Grant to Edmund Williams, 1782
    (1782-10) State of North Carolina
    Edmund Williams received this land grant dated 1782 by the State of North Carolina for 640 acres of land along Buffalo Creek.
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    Wilson G. Barker, c. 1865
    (1865) J. Smarer
    Rev. Wilson Gilvan Barker was born near Bristol, Virginia, on December 25, 1830. He was trained as a school teacher and served as a Colonel in the Confederate forces during the Civil War. On February 4, 1866, Barker was ordained as a Christian Church minister and was called “Brother Barker.” It was in 1866 that Brother Barker left Bristol, Virginia, with his wife Sarah and their three children to arrive at the Buffalo Creek Christian Church (now Hopwood Memorial Christian Church) where Barker became the first teacher and administrator of the Buffalo Male and Female Institute, an establishment of higher education for young men and women.
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    Oldest known record of the Buffalo Institute, March 28, 1866
    (1866-03-28) Wilson G. Barker
    This is a copy of the oldest known record of Buffalo Male and Female Institute. It is a statement of charges and credits to G. W. and S. W. Williams on behalf of their children. It is signed by Wilson G. Barker, founder and first teacher of Buffalo Male and Female Institute.
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    Postal Card from Wilson G. Barker to Josephus Hopwood, July 29, 1875
    (1875-07-29) Barker, Wilson Gilvan
    A postal card from Wilson Barker to Josephus Hopwood informing Hopwood of his election as Principal of the Buffalo Male and Female Institute, dated July 29, 1875.
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    Buffalo Male and Female Institute circular, 1878
    (1878)
    This Buffalo Male and Female Institute circular would have been distributed prior to September 2, 1878, announcing the school term of fall 1878. On this circular, Josephus and Sarah Eleanor Hopwood are noted as principals of the Institute.
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    Subscription List, 1867
    (1878-06-07)
    On June 7, 1867, seventy-nine subscribers pledged $1553 to build a new school building on the acre of land that was donated by Joshua Williams. The Institute, a two-story structure built by bricks fired on-site, was completed in 1867, which is now the location of Derthick Hall.
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    Josephus Hopwood, c. 1903
    (c. 1903)
    In the early 1870s, Josephus Hopwood attended the College of the Bible at Kentucky University, where he studied under Robert Milligan and J. W. McGarvey. Both Milligan and McGarvey were prominent Disciples of Christ leaders of the Stone-Campbell Movement. Josephus and his wife Sarah Eleanor LaRue Hopwood were married on August 19, 1874 in the Antioch Christian Church in Oldham County, Kentucky.