Jefferson Seminary
Encyclopedia
The Jefferson Seminary was one of Kentucky
's first schools and is considered to be the direct ancestor of the University of Louisville
.
The school was chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly
in 1798, with the sale of 6,000 acres (24 km²) of land in rural southern Kentucky used to pay for initial construction. Eight prominent citizens of the fledgling village of Louisville (then the 2nd largest city on the Falls of the Ohio River
) met together on April 3, 1798 to seek donations for the school and to arrange for its board of trustees and faculty. The process was slow, with a school house finally being built at the present day intersection of 8th Street and Muhammad Ali
Boulevard sometime between 1813 and 1816. Its first principal was Edward Mann Butler
, one of Kentucky's most prominent educators and a man who later became the state's most trusted historian
. The school offered both high school
and college
level courses in English
, geography
, French
, Latin, geometry
, and trigonometry
. It had an average of 45 to 50 students, who paid $20 for a six month term.
Despite the school's early success, pressure from newly established public schools would force its closure in 1829. Criticism from what became The Courier-Journal
also aided the closing, with its editor, Shadrach Penn, Jr., who editorialized that the school "was elitist and didn't give Louisville's school children a practical education."
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
's first schools and is considered to be the direct ancestor of the University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
.
The school was chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly
Kentucky General Assembly
The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky.The General Assembly meets annually in the state capitol building in Frankfort, Kentucky, convening on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January...
in 1798, with the sale of 6,000 acres (24 km²) of land in rural southern Kentucky used to pay for initial construction. Eight prominent citizens of the fledgling village of Louisville (then the 2nd largest city on the Falls of the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
) met together on April 3, 1798 to seek donations for the school and to arrange for its board of trustees and faculty. The process was slow, with a school house finally being built at the present day intersection of 8th Street and Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
Boulevard sometime between 1813 and 1816. Its first principal was Edward Mann Butler
Edward Mann Butler
Edward Mann Butler was one of Kentucky's most prominent early educators. He is best remembered as being the first president of what would become the University of Louisville and heading the first public school in Kentucky.Butler was born in Baltimore...
, one of Kentucky's most prominent educators and a man who later became the state's most trusted historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
. The school offered both high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
and college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
level courses in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Latin, geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
, and trigonometry
Trigonometry
Trigonometry is a branch of mathematics that studies triangles and the relationships between their sides and the angles between these sides. Trigonometry defines the trigonometric functions, which describe those relationships and have applicability to cyclical phenomena, such as waves...
. It had an average of 45 to 50 students, who paid $20 for a six month term.
Despite the school's early success, pressure from newly established public schools would force its closure in 1829. Criticism from what became The Courier-Journal
The Courier-Journal
The Courier-Journal, locally called "The C-J", is the main newspaper for the city of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. According to the 1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, the paper is the 48th largest daily paper in the United States and the single largest in Kentucky.- Origins :The...
also aided the closing, with its editor, Shadrach Penn, Jr., who editorialized that the school "was elitist and didn't give Louisville's school children a practical education."