Blackburn College (Illinois)
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1837 |
| Affiliation | Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) |
| President | Dr. John Comerford |
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Administrative staff
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51 |
| Undergraduates | 590 |
| Location |
Carlinville, IL, USA 39°17′17″N 89°52′19″W / 39.288°N 89.872°WCoordinates: 39°17′17″N 89°52′19″W / 39.288°N 89.872°W |
| Campus | Small town |
| Mascot | Barney the Beaver |
| Website | www.blackburn.edu |
Blackburn College is a four-year coeducational private liberal arts college located in Carlinville, Illinois, United States which is the county seat of Macoupin County, Illinois (a part of the Metro-East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area). It was established in 1837 and named for the Rev. Gideon Blackburn. Blackburn is one of only seven federally recognized work colleges in the United States, and it has the only student-managed work program, enabling students to gain leadership experience as they manage other students. All resident students are required to work, but the program is optional for commuter students. Each student that works receives a tuition discount for the hours they work in the work program. It is also the least expensive private college in Illinois.
Blackburn College is named for the Reverend Gideon Blackburn, D.D., a Presbyterian minister and former president of Centre College in Kentucky. Like many founders of American colleges, Dr. Blackburn sought to establish an institution to train young men for the ministry.
If his ambitions were spiritual, his methods were practical indeed. He bought public lands for $1.25 an acre and resold them at $2.00 to people who believed in his mission. More than 16,000 acres were involved, and the people of Carlinville bought another 80 acres on the edge of town to provide Blackburn with a campus.
In 1837 these lands were deeded to a Board of Trustees. Since that time, Blackburn has been continuously governed by an independent Board of Trustees. In 1857, the trustees obtained a charter in the name of Blackburn Theological Seminary. The first building, University Hall, constructed in 1838, cost $12,000. A year later a primary school opened and Blackburn began to function as a teaching and learning institution.
During the Civil War a full collegiate course of study was introduced, including both the classics and the sciences, and in 1869 the name was changed to Blackburn College. Until 1912 the College continued as a small liberal arts institution, largely local in its service and influence.
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