- Crozer Theological Seminary
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Old Main
Location: 21st St. and Upland Ave., Upland, Pennsylvania Coordinates: 39°51′21″N 75°22′17″W / 39.85583°N 75.37139°WCoordinates: 39°51′21″N 75°22′17″W / 39.85583°N 75.37139°W Area: 1 acre (0.40 ha) Built: 1857 Architectural style: Italianate Governing body: Private NRHP Reference#: 73001626[1] Added to NRHP: June 18, 1973 The Crozer Theological Seminary was a multi-denominational religious institution located in Upland, Pennsylvania. The school succeeded a Normal School established at the site and the building's use as a hospital during the American Civil War. The seminary mostly served as an American Baptist Church school, training seminarians for the entry into the Baptist ministry.
After 1970, when the seminary merged with institutions in Rochester, New York, the building was used for Crozer Hospital (now part of Crozer-Chester Medical Center.) Most recently, it is used for medical offices associated with the center. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Contents
History
The Seminary began as the Normal School of Upland, established and built by wealthy textile manufacturer John Price Crozer.[2] Crozer allowed the Union to use the building as a hospital during the American Civil War.
After Crozer's death in 1866, his family converted the school to another purpose, endowing it as the Crozer Theological Seminary in his honor. His son recruited faculty for the new mission.[3]
The most famous student of Crozer Seminary was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. He enrolled on September 14, 1948 and graduated on May 8, 1951 with a Bachelor of Divinity degree. He then studied and earned his doctorate at Boston University.[4]
Another Crozer student was Dr. Monroe E. Dodd, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Shreveport, Louisiana from 1912–1950, founder of the Dodd College for Girls, and a pioneer radio minister.
In 1970 the school moved to Rochester, New York, in a merger that formed the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School.[5] The old seminary building was used as the former Crozer Hospital (now the Crozer-Chester Medical Center). Now the building is used for medical offices on the grounds of the Crozer-Chester Medical Center.
Presidents Name Tenure Harry G. Weston 1869–1909 Milton G. Evans 1909–1934 James H. Franklin 1934–1944 Edwin E. Aubrey 1944–1949 Sankey Lee Blanton 1950–1962 Ronald V. Wells 1962–1970 Notable faculty
- James B. Pritchard, taught in the chair of Old Testament History and Exegesis
- Henry Clay Vedder, professor of Church history
- John Warren Davis, taught Hebrew and Greek for three years
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ Ashmead, Henry Graham (1914), "John P. Crozer", History of the Delaware County National Bank : with biographical notes of its officers, Chester, Pennsylvania: Press of the Chester Times, p. 130, OCLC 245975812, http://www.oldchesterpa.com/biographies/crozer_john_price_1.htm, retrieved 2009-10-06
- ^ Brackney, William H. (2004), A genetic history of Baptist thought : with special reference to Baptists in Britain and North America, Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, p. 369, ISBN 9780865549135, OCLC 260116581, http://books.google.com/?id=JI_8p6y01xIC&pg=PA369, retrieved 2009-10-06
- ^ King, Martin Luther; Carson, Clayborne (1998), The autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., New York, New York: Warner Books, p. 62, OCLC 39399036, http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/kingpapers/article/the_autobiography_of_martin_luther_king_jr_contents/, retrieved 2009-10-06
- ^ Dugan, George (1970-05-17), "BAPTIST SEMINARY PLANS TO MERGE; Crozer Theological to Join With School in Rochester", New York Times: 36, ISSN 0362-4331, http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10717FB395417768FDDAE0994DD405B808BF1D3, retrieved 2009-10-06
External links
- Picture of historical seminary building Crozer Divinity School
- Pennsylvania's Historic Architecture and Archeology[dead link]
Categories:- Schools on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
- Educational institutions established in 1867
- Seminaries and theological colleges in Pennsylvania
- Schools in Delaware County, Pennsylvania
- Seminary stubs
- Northeastern United States university stubs
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