Pillsbury Baptist Bible College

Pillsbury Baptist Bible College
Old Main (top) and Kelly Hall (bottom) at Pillsbury Baptist Bible College
Former name
 Pillsbury Academy 1886-1957
Type Private
Active 1957 (1957)–December 31, 2008 (2008-12-31)
Religious affiliation
 Independent Baptist
Undergraduates 800[1]
Location Owatonna, Minnesota, United States
44°4′57″N 93°13′6″W / 44.08250°N 93.21833°W / 44.08250; -93.21833Coordinates: 44°4′57″N 93°13′6″W / 44.08250°N 93.21833°W / 44.08250; -93.21833
Campus Small town
Nickname Comets
Sporting affiliations
 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
Pillsbury Academy Campus Historic District
Location Roughly Academy, Grove, and Main Sts.
Coordinates 44°4′56″N 93°13′20″W / 44.08222°N 93.22222°W / 44.08222; -93.22222
Area 8.75 acres (3.54 ha)
Built 1889–1914
Architect J. Anderson (Old Main), Warren Dunnell (Music Hall)
Architectural style Romanesque Revival, Neoclassical
NRHP reference # 86003680[2]
Added to NRHP January 22, 1987

Pillsbury Baptist Bible College was an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist college in Owatonna, Minnesota, United States, in operation 1957–2008.[1] Pillsbury described itself as a "biblical arts college." It offered a four-year program leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in Bible and Bachelor of Science in Bible, as well as several associate degrees and a Bible certificate program.

The campus was previously home to the Pillsbury Military Academy, Pillsbury Academy, and Minnesota Academy. In 1987 a historic district comprising five campus buildings was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Pillsbury Academy Campus Historic District.[2] It was nominated for having local significance in architecture, education, and religion as the only Baptist school among Minnesota's 19th-century private institutions of higher education, its fine architecture, and its association with benefactors Mark H. Dunnell and George A. Pillsbury.[3]

History

The campus was first opened as the Minnesota Academy on September 10, 1877, by the Minnesota Baptist State Convention as a college-preparatory school. The name was changed to the Pillsbury Academy in 1886 in honor of one of its chief donors, George A. Pillsbury of the First Baptist Church in Minneapolis, and one-time mayor of the city. In 1920 it was renamed the Pillsbury Military Academy. In 1957, after a dispute resulted in a change in Baptist Convention control from American Baptist to fundamentalist Minnesota Baptist, the Academy was abruptly closed and reconstituted as a 4-year biblical arts college, Pillsbury Baptist Bible College.[4]

The older structures on campus were placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 22, 1987, as the Pillsbury Academy Campus Historic District. The five contributing properties are Old Main (built 1889), Music Hall (1892), Jefts Hall (1910–11), Lindsay Hall (1913–14), and a heating plant (1893).

Pillsbury Hall, built in 1978

In February 2005, Pillsbury received accreditation by the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE).[5] Pillsbury also had membership in the American Association of Christian Colleges and Seminaries.[6]

Enrollment at the school had dropped from a high of about 800 in the 1970s to 142 in its final semester.[1]

Pillsbury announced in October 2008 that it would permanently close at the end of the year and that its campus would be sold.[1][7] The college closed on December 31, 2008.[1] Pillsbury's transcripts are now held by Maranatha Baptist University in perpetuity.

In April 2014 the campus was purchased and revamped as a summer camp called Camp Pillsbury which opened in June 2014.[8] In addition to the camp programs that will be offered, a technical charter school operated by the Technical Academies of Minnesota will be housed on campus.[9]

Athletics

Athletic teams were called the Comets. The school had football, baseball, wrestling, cross country, soccer, and basketball for men and volleyball, cross country, softball, cheerleading, and basketball for women. Pillsbury Baptist Bible college was a NCAA division III institution. It was a member of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference until 1988. They were the men's golf champions of their conference in 1995.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Pillsbury Baptist Bible College closes". Owatonna People's Press. January 11, 2009. Archived from the original on January 13, 2009. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
  2. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. ↑ Roberts, Norene A. (1986-02-23). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form: Pillsbury Academy Campus Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved 2015-05-23.
  4. ↑ http://www.pillsburyacademy.com/history.html
  5. ↑ "Pillsbury Achieves Accreditation" (PDF). Pillsbury Baptist Bible College. Summer 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-07. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  6. ↑ American Association of Christian Colleges and Seminaries Archived 2013-04-30 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ Pillsbury College website, accessed October 22, 2008
  8. ↑ "Camp Pillsbury hosts grand opening in Owatonna". Owatonna People's Press. June 16, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  9. ↑ "Technical Academies of Minnesota set for 2015 opening". Owatonna People's Press. June 30, 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
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