Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Omaha, Nebraska)

Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary
General information
Town or city	Omaha, Nebraska
Country	United States
Construction started	1901
Completed	1902
Demolished	1979

The Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary was located at 3303 North 21st Place in North Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Opened in 1891 in downtown Omaha, the institution moved to the Kountze Place neighborhood in North Omaha in 1902 and closed in 1943. Converted to apartments, the building stood until 1979 when a fire destroyed it.

On February 17, 1891, a group of Presbyterian pastors and lay leaders gathered to establish a Presbyterian Seminary in Omaha. They felt a need for educated clergy to serve small, rural communities in the Midwestern United States. Enrolling its first students in September 1891, from 1895 to 1902 the seminary was located in the former Cozzens House Hotel at 9th and Harney Streets in Downtown Omaha. It was replaced in 1902 when a new facility was built in the Kountze Place suburb of North Omaha. The building was demolished later that year.

In 1901 the seminary purchased 5 acres (20,000 m²) in Kountze Place for $20,000. Within a year a building was completed that included dormitory rooms, classrooms, offices, a library and a chapel, as well as a dining room, janitor's quarters and other rooms. It was a three story tall gray stone building with high basement windows and a bell tower above the middle section.

In 1909 the University of Omaha was established a few blocks north of the seminary and most of the teachers were recruited from seminary faculty. Three of the university's first four presidents were ordained Presbyterian ministers.

In 1943 the general assembly of the United States Presbyterian Church voted to close the seminary after it failed to meet the minimum accreditation standards of the American Association of Theological Schools. More than 1,000 graduates served in the Midwest, other states and around the world.

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