THE RISE AND FALL OF PALMER UNIVERSITY
Photo Credit: Wikipedia.com
In the Muncie suburb of Normal City stood a massive building left abandoned by the closure of Eastern Indiana Normal University in 1901. It stood three stories
high with a foundation two hundred and ten feet by ninety-four. Not long vacated, it was in need primarily of cleaning and lawn care to return it to a presentable
condition. All that was necessary to get the ball rolling was someone with an interest.
Dr. Thomas M. McWhinney of Defiance, Ohio, paid Muncie a visit in mid-1902. The precise reason is not known, but while in town, he was shown the then-abandoned
site. Seeing great promise in the location, McWhinney met with Francis Asberry Palmer at the home of the latter on Madison Avenue in New York City. Mr. Palmer
was the founder of the National Broadway Bank in New York City and served as its president from 1849 to 1901. He also served as the president of the Broadway
Savings Bank and founded a variety of charitable and educational institutions.
Moved to action by McWhinney’s report, Palmer agreed that the location seemed viable. On July 16, 1902, the announcement was made that Palmer would provide
$100,000 toward the founding of the new university provided some conditions were met. Among those would be the naming of the institution in honor of the benefactor
and matching funds to be raised by the Christian Church of North America along with contributors at the local level by the end of 1903. Despite a Christian basis,
the school itself was planned to be non-sectarian.
The Palmer University Official Bulletin described the university as being “on the summit of a broad and gentle incline, overlooking the beautiful valley of the White
River half a mile away…To the west, woodland and meadowland stretch far away, while to the north well cultivated farms skirt the campus.” The author of those words
would hardly recognize today’s bustling campus. The same issue of The Bulletin announced that the following schools and colleges that would be up and running at the
opening of classes in September would include the Undergraduate College...the Teachers’ College, the Commercial College, the College of Music, Art, Oratory, and the
Preparatory School” as well as “[p]reparatory classes in law and medicine…and the Divinity School.” The undergraduate program was similar to what one would find in
modern colleges and universities with classes subjects listed as psychology, mental science, political science, moral science, Latin, Greek, math, U. S., ancient
and medieval history, geology, physics and biology. Some courses still in the planning stages would be announced in the following Bulletin. There were also
expectations of courses in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering leading to a School of Technologies and Industry in time. Tuition and miscellaneous expenses
would fall in the neighborhood of $38.50 per quarter including housing and twenty one meals in the boarding hall. For students of limited means, onsite employment
would be found to assist.
These seem like awfully lofty plans for a school not yet fully funded. Francis Palmer’s money would not be available until the matching funds were collected.
Registration was open September 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th with classes starting on the 17th in anticipation of the money coming through. At least eighty-five students
were on hand for the opening exercises. Unfortunately, less than two months later, Palmer passed away in New York leaving behind an estate valued at $6,000,000
(approximately $150,000,000 in 2015). The university was included among those who stood to inherit from the financier. Rumor was that substantially more money was
earmarked for the school. He left no children but did have extended family. On November 10, a memorial service was held in the chapel at the university with Dr.
McWhinney addressing the crowd in memory of his lifelong friend.
Optimistic that Palmer’s death would not stop the progress, articles of incorporation were filed in December, 1902. Trustees elected were George F. McCulloch, Arthur
W. Brady, Frank C. Ball, J. Smith Talley, J. C. Johnston. John R. H. Latchaw, Judge Joseph G. Leffler, W. A. Bell, T. M. McWhlnney. J. F. Burnett, Lewis G. Cowing,
and Charles H. Small. The school year marched forward as well with the first graduating class, two women and five men, receiving their diplomas in June 1903. Classes
resumed in the Fall.
On December 8, Dr. McWhinney was notified that Palmer’s family had filed suit in an effort to have the will thrown out. Still confident that at least the initial
endowment would be forthcoming, trustees continued their fundraising efforts. Despite sizeable donations from Frank McWhinney, George McCulloch (president of the
Union Traction Company), and J. Smith Talley of Terre Haute, and the support of state senator Walter A. Bell, the funds needed to match the Palmer endowment were
still $25,000 short in mid-December. A plea was made to the public for donations and an account was set up at the Delaware County National Bank. If the goal was
not met, the institution would close its doors and the property would be returned to the Indiana Normal Scholl Association. As the days of 1903 dwindled down, there
was still a short fall of $12,500. At the last moment, an anonymous donor stepped up and provided the missing funds ensuring the success of the school. Or so they
thought.
The roughly one hundred and fifty students returning for classes in January, 1904, were met with locked doors. All monies earmarked for the school were entangled
in the Palmer estate dispute despite the trustees having met their obligation. Tuition money was returned and students were told that the closure was temporary.
Classes were expected, as the story went, to resume in the Spring or Fall as everyone awaited the settlement of Francis Palmer’s estate. As the dust settled on
Francis Asberry Palmer’s money, investors, faculty, staff and students had little more than dust remaining from their big plans for Palmer University. No money
and no Spring classes would ever come to fruition. On February 16, 1904, Dr. McWhinney announced that the institution had been dissolved. Palmer University was
no more. By the time Palmer’s estate was finally settled in the summer of 1906, the school had reopened as the Indiana Normal School and Palmer University was long
forgotten. And that abandoned building where Dr. McWhinney saw so much promise? It is the Ball State University Administration Building.
© On The Banks Of White River/Jennifer Lewis 2015
[This article appeared in the Delaware County (Indiana) Historical Society Newsletter, November/December, 2015]
