It is impossible to separate the one effort made in Brookfield to provide higher education for its citizens from the life of one of the most beloved ministers and educators ever to grace this community with his presence and dedicated service. That person was Dr. Jonathan Palmer Finley.
Born September 8, 1822 in Ohio, where he was reared on a farm, he earned the money to enter Ashland Academy in 1841 by the dint of hard labor. in 1846, he entered Vermillion Institute in Haysville, Ohio, and then attended the Princeton Theological Seminary from which he graduated with honors.
Determined to come West, because of a pioneering and adventurous spirit, he did so in May of 1852 and became pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Fayette, teaching at Westminster College, at Fulton at the same time. Then he came to Laclede and Brookfield in 1866, and organized churches in both communities.
Education was his first love, however, and on June 10, 1867, he organized a select school with a few pupils, meeting over a store on Main
Street.
This is actually the origin of the college which subsequently came into
existence.
In
1872, he opened the doors of Brookfield Academy, and in 1884, he added a
second story to his building. At this time he decided to resign as
pastor of the Brookfield Presbyterian Church, having been its pastor for
twenty years, almost to the day.
Dr.
Finley then proceeded to bring into being the dream of his life. With
the help of dedicated business men he built a college building on the
spot where the present high school now stands. An excellent building was
constructed, and the college opened its doors in the fall of 1888. The
college prospered and soon had about 20o students in attendance.
Dr.
Finley passed away on January 25, 1889. While the college continued, it
had lost its guiding light with his passing. The enrollment declined
until the college closed in 1893. The property stood vacant for some
years, and finally, in 1900, the college property was purchased by the
city for use as a high school. |
