For Neil’s Creek abolitionists, Eleutherian College was a shining beacon of freedom

Today the word ‘Eleutherian’ has a strange sound and is seldom used. It’s tied to classical Greek, part of the Greek Revival period in vogue during the 1840s and 1850s, when the folks of the Neil’s Creek Anti-Slavery Society started their new college in Lancaster.

Pronounced El-uth-er’-i-an, an entry on Wikipedia. com also refers to Eleuth-eromania, defined as a “frantic zeal for freedom.” Others define the word as “a passion for liberty.” Both of those definitions are at the heart of the Neil’s Creek mission.

Preserving that mission is the goal of the HEC Board of Directors, which includes Dustin Bailey, Rob Barlow, Jen Duplaga, Camille Fife, David Harden, Zach Hardin, Kenneth Hempstead, Quentin Hizey, Phyllis McLaughlin, Larry Stout and myself.

For their years of dedicated service, the following were elevated to the status of Board Member Emeritus: Art and Carolyn Cleland, Elbert Hinds, Gilbert Maupin and Paul Thompson.

At our annual meeting in July, we voted to streamline the board from 23 members to 11. Working committees will be established over the next few months to carry out the strategic plan, developed over the past year.

Also, the board voted to give me another year as president; David Harden was re-elected as vice president, Phyllis McLaughlin was elected secretary and Quentin Hizey, treasurer.

The College was open for public tours on three weekends this summer. Visitors from near and far were introduced to the building and its history for the first time. Special thanks to Visit Madison Inc. for allowing us to promote these events on their social media platforms.

In closing, I want to give another shout-out, this time to Art and Carolyn Cleland, long-time supporters of HEC. The couple was honored in the July/August 2018 issue of Indiana Landmarks’ Preservation magazine for their support for our board, along with their restoration of an 1896 schoolhouse and restoration of Rush County’s covered bridges.

–Jan Vetrhus, President
HEC Board of Directors