Monticello College Collection
Title
Monticello College Collection
Subject
Women's colleges
Universities and colleges
Monticello College
Monticello Female Seminary
Haskell, Harriet, 1835-1907
Illinois--Godfrey
Godfrey, Benjamin, 1794-1862
Description
Monticello College first began as the Monticello Female Seminary in 1838. Founded by Captain Benjamin Godfrey to provide education for women, the school offered two years of classes for attendees based on the idea that “if you educate a man you educate an individual; educate a woman and you educate a whole family.”
Godfrey selected Reverend Theron Baldwin to serve as the first head of the Monticello Female Seminary. In 1867 Harriet Haskell became principal, a position she held until her death in 1907.
On November 4, 1888, a fire broke out in the building and consumed the entire structure. Ms. Haskell and the school's Board of Trustees successfully fundraised for a new building and rebuilt the school in two years.
The school's leadership made the decision to close the school in 1970 with the final class graduating in 1971. Lewis and Clark Community College completed the purchase of the Monticello College campus in 1972.
The finding aid for the Monticello College (Godfrey, IL) Records at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library may be found at https://illinois.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/545.
The finding aid for the photographic Monticello College Collection at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum may be found at https://illinois.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/3/resources/4702.
Godfrey selected Reverend Theron Baldwin to serve as the first head of the Monticello Female Seminary. In 1867 Harriet Haskell became principal, a position she held until her death in 1907.
On November 4, 1888, a fire broke out in the building and consumed the entire structure. Ms. Haskell and the school's Board of Trustees successfully fundraised for a new building and rebuilt the school in two years.
The school's leadership made the decision to close the school in 1970 with the final class graduating in 1971. Lewis and Clark Community College completed the purchase of the Monticello College campus in 1972.
The finding aid for the Monticello College (Godfrey, IL) Records at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library may be found at https://illinois.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/545.
The finding aid for the photographic Monticello College Collection at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum may be found at https://illinois.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/3/resources/4702.
Date
1830 - 1970
Identifier
Manuscript: BC466
Audiovisual: AV-01-08-Monticello
Audiovisual: AV-01-08-Monticello
Collection Items
Class of 1872
Several Monticello Female Seminary students pose for a group photo with school principal, Harriet Haskell. All alumnae are identified on verso, and include: Crete Orcutt (top left); May Burnett (top middle); Clara Martin, Valedictory (top right);…
Mary Gilman
Mary Gilman, a member of the Class of 1904 from Monticello Female Seminary, sits in a chair for a portrait.
Arcade and Conservatory
Several women fill a student and faculty recreation room at Monticello College that also doubles as a greenhouse.
Samuel Snedeker
Samuel Snedeker, a farmer from Jerseyville, sits for a portrait. Snedeker was the father of Catherine Elizabeth Snedeker Hill, an alumnae of the Monticello Female Seminary.
Harriet M. Sunderland Snedeker
Harriet M. Sunderland Snedeker, of Jerseyville, sits for a portrait wearing a dark dress and glasses. She was the mother of Catherine Elizabeth Snedeker Hill, an alumnae of the Monticello Female Seminary.
Henry L. Sunderland
Henry L. Sunderland, a cousin of Monticello Female Seminary alumnae, Catherine Elizabeth Snedeker Hill, sits for a portrait in front of a large tasseled curtain.
Saul J. Snedeker
Saul J. Snedeker, of Jerseyville, a relative of Monticello Female Seminary alumnae Catherine Elizabeth Snedeker Hill, sits for a portrait wearing a suit and top hat.
William R. Hill and Isaac Wills
William R. Hill and Isaac Wills sits beside each other during a portrait session. Hill, a merchant from Mount Pleasant, Iowa, married Catherine Elizabeth Snedeker Hill, an alumnae of the Monticello Female Seminary, on May 10, 1878.
Brigham Young
Brigham Young sits for a portrait while looking to his left. Young was the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1847-1877) and the first governor of the Utah Territory (1851-1858).
Lizzie Stillwell
Lizzie Stillwell poses for a portrait in profile while wearing a hat covered with a flower and a bow.
Man in Suit and Hat
An unidentified man stands during a portrait session wearing a suit and top hat.
Kate Snedeker Hill
Kate Snedeker Hill, a relative of Monticello Female Seminary alumnae Catherine Elizabeth Snedeker Hill, poses for a portrait wearing a lace shawl while looking over her right shoulder.
Portrait Painting
A man points to a portion of a Monticello College student's painting while her sitter poses for his portrait.On verso: "Richard F. Gates; 927 16th St NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa."
Guarded Art Exhibit
Two uniformed men stand on either side of a display case guarding an art exhibit that includes a portrait of Abraham Lincoln and a landscape painting.
Madeleine Dinges and Sculpture
Madeleine Dinges, a Monticello College art student and a finalist in the National Collegiate Sculpture Awards Program, works to chisel a large bust sculpture of United States Senator and Senate Minority Leader, Everett M. Dirksen. Dinges presented…
Art Studio
Monticello College art students paint a variety of models in an art studio at the school.
Students with Machinery
Several Monticello College students stand next to a piece of machinery aboard a steamboat while one woman presses keys on a keyboard.
S. S. Admiral
Students of Monticello College prepare to board the S.S. Admiral. The S.S. Admiral was a large steamboat that offered passenger excursions from the Port of St. Louis on the Mississippi River beginning in 1940.
Monticello Female Seminary
A fence and several trees surround the main building of the Monticello Female Seminary.
Monticello Ladies Seminary
A drawing shows several walkways on the Monticello Ladies Seminary campus leading to the main building.
Monticello Ladies Academy Building
A woman stands on the grounds of the Monticello Ladies Academy in front of the school's main building.Photo caption: "Burned in 1888."
Collection Tree
- Illinois Photographic Collection
- Monticello College Collection