Open House at Jubilee College Historic Site this Weekend

The Friends of Jubilee College Historic Site are hosting an Open House on Saturday, August 18th beginning at 9:00 am.  I encourage readers to consider this opportunity for learning more about the founding of an early Illinois college. 

The Jubilee College Historic Site is located adjacent to Jubilee College State Park a few miles northwest of Peoria, IL.  The Friends of Jubilee College Historic Site deserve appreciation for their efforts to maintain the site at a time when state funding has largely disappeared.  You can also visit and like their Facebook page to learn more about group activities

Philander Chase, who previously founded Kenyon College in Ohio, also founded Jubilee College during his service as the first Episcopal Bishop of Illinois.  Construction on the college began in 1839 and expanded to include a dozen or more structures on a 3,500-acre tract of land. The institution included a theological seminary, a college, a classical preparatory school for boys, and a “seminary” for girls, as well as small farming operations.  The college struggled as a frontier institution and no longer offered classes after 1862.