05/06/1869 AD founded

In 1862, the Morrill Land Grant Act passed Congress, and the competition was on to find a location for a land grant college in Indiana. Bidding was fierce between Indiana University in Bloomington, Northwestern Christian in Indianapolis, and the Stockwell and Battle Ground Collegiate Institutes.

After the death of influential Lafayette Senator Albert S. White, the Stockwell bid fell through. Years of wrangling failed to reach a compromise. In 1865, the state started the State Normal College (later Indiana State University), partly to relieve some of the pressure. To make Tippecanoe County stand out, various locals stepped up with offers of land and money.

By 1869, Tippecanoe's bid was up to nearly $400,000 in cash, land, and bonds, but the legislature still stalled. Then, Purdue stepped forth with $100,000 of his personal wealth. His only conditions were for the college to be located in Battle Ground and for his surname to be associated with it. After some more negotiations, when the name of the university was chosen and he was added to the board of trustees, Purdue's donations were raised to $150,000 (equivalent to $2.9 million in 2019) and 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land. The negotiations also allowed the new board of trustees to choose the site of the university and on May 6, 1869, the General Assembly established the institution in Tippecanoe County as Purdue University.

Classes began at Purdue on September 16, 1874, with six instructors and 39 students.

West Lafayette, IN

Lattitude: 40.4419° N
Longitude: 86.9125° W
Region: North America

Modern Day United States

Events in 1869 MORE