Events

Upcoming events at HEC

Squirrel Butter The Historic Eleutherian College on West St. Road 250 in Lancaster is hosting a varietyof musical programs this summer in honor of the 250th anniversary of USIndependence. The Sunday afternoon events kick off June 28th with a favorite areaband, West of Dublin. Members John Collins, Jeff Vaughn,…
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Who Was Juliet Wilson, Student and Free Person of Color?

At about 14, Juliet Wilson was a free person of color who attended Eleutherian College, an educational institution established in Lancaster, Jefferson County, Indiana, in 1848 by local anti-slavery advocates. Enrollment to the school was open to anyone who wanted to learn, regardless of race or gender. But it…
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In Memoriam

This year, we lost two valued members of our Board whose dedication and leadership made a lasting impact on our organization and community. Meagan Bahlke brought passion and a deep belief in our purpose. Her love for history carried through to the HEC as she spent a decade researching…
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Ohio Valley Folkways Symposium

This summer, we are introducing the Ohio Valley Folkways Symposium Sessions. From 1-4 p.m. on various Sunday’s, joins us for a powerful afternoon of storytelling, history, art, and poetry, hosted on the grounds of Historic Eleutherian College. Let the stories of the Ohio Valley move you — from riverbanks…
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Neil’s Creek Anti-Slavery Society Blog: Abraham Walton Sr.

Abraham Walton Sr. was born in 1777 in Amherst, New Hampshire, then still a colony, to William and Hannah Littlehale Walton. He married Mary “Polly” Hutchinson, born in Amherst in 1778 to Ebenezer and Hannah Littlefield Hutchinson, in Oxford County, Maine, in 1799.  The couple’s first six children were…
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Neil’s Creek Anti-Slavery Society Blog: The Beginnings

186 years ago on January 5, a meeting was held in a public schoolhouse on Neil’s Creek in Jefferson County, Indiana. The purpose of the meeting was to form “an anti-slavery society,” according to Benjamin  Hoyt, one of the founders of the Neil’s Creek Anti-Slavery Society and its first secretary.  The…
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Hanover College students tour HEC

We were happy to host Hanover College students from Dr. Lake Lambert’s class on the theology and life of Martin Luther King, Jr. that was offered this spring. The class included a crash course on African American history. During their visit, the students enjoyed a tour of the college…
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Founder Thomas Craven

Eleutherian College likely would not have existed if not for the perseverance of a Baptist minister from Oxford, Ohio. Elder Thomas Craven, born 19 March 1792 in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, to the Rev. Thomas Lindsey Craven and the former Eleanor Adams, was described as an adult of average height ––…
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Fall Gathering – October 19, 2024