Clinton Liberal Institute

Drawing of the main (male) building of the Clinton Liberal Institute, published in Historical Collections of the State of New York in 1842. At that date Clinton had not yet been incorporated, so it is described as being in the town of Kirkland.

The Clinton Liberal Institute was a preparatory boarding school established by the Universalist Church in the village of Clinton, in the Town of Kirkland, New York, in 1831. Its main building, a massive stone structure,[1] was the largest building in Clinton for many years. It relocated to Fort Plain, New York, in 1878, taking over the former Fort Plain Seminary, and remaining there until its buildings were destroyed in a fire in 1900.

It was the first educational institution established by American Universalists. It was an institute of so-called religious "liberals". According to its original constitution, "Students shall in no case be persuaded by an officer or teacher to attend meetings of any denomination, and no minister of any denomination shall have the liberty to perform the service of worship within this Institute." Parents did not want their children obligated to attend the services of the sponsoring church, as for example students at the Houghton Seminary, in Clinton, were required to attend Presbyterian services.[2] This provision was later rescinded and in 1841 a resolution of the Board of Trustees urged that "students be affectionately entreated to attend public worship."[3]

Both male and female students studied at the Institute, but separately, with different teachers and in different buildings.

  1. ^ "Anniversary Exercises of Clinton Liberal Institute". The Christian Leader. New York, New York. 28 Jun 1873. p. 6.
  2. ^ Bakos, Midge (2023). Stiefvater, Mary Ann (ed.). A View from the Steeple. The Founding and Growth of Stone Church, Hamilton College, and the Village of Clinton. The Presbyterian Society of Clinton. p. 121. ISBN 9798858411802.
  3. ^ "Clinton Liberal Institute". Clinton Courier. August 5, 1965. p. 8.