Silliman Institute

1911 Ad in St. Tammany Farmer Newspaper for Silliman College for Girls
Silliman Institute
Address
Bank Street
Clinton, Louisiana
United States
Information
Type Private School
Established 1852
Headmaster Ann Kent
Grades Pre-K–12
Enrollment app. 455
Color(s) Green, Gold, & White             
Mascot Wildcat
Website http://www.sillimaninstitute.org
Silliman Institute
Location 10830 Bank Street, Clinton, Louisiana
Coordinates 30°51′33″N 91°01′11″W / 30.85913°N 91.01961°W / 30.85913; -91.01961Coordinates: 30°51′33″N 91°01′11″W / 30.85913°N 91.01961°W / 30.85913; -91.01961
Area 1.8 acres (0.73 ha)
Built c.1850
Architectural style Greek Revival, Italianate
NRHP reference # 83000504[1]
Added to NRHP April 18, 1983
Silliman Institute

Silliman Institute is a private coeducational school located in Clinton, Louisiana. It was founded in 1852 and reopened in 1966. The school enrolls students from throughout East and West Feliciana Parish, and surrounding areas.


History

Silliman Institute was founded in 1852 as Silliman Female Collegiate Institute. It operated as a women's college between the years of 1852 and 1866. In 1866 the campus was donated to the Louisiana Presbytery and was known as Silliman College until 1931 when the school was shut down due to economic conditions and declining enrollment. The campus was used by the Louisiana Presbytery between 1934 and 1960 as the site of their annual summer conferences.

A group of local parents who were concerned with desegregation and anti christian legislation directed at public school systems bought the old campus in 1965 and began holding classes for grades 1 through 7 in 1966. This occurred prior to the public schools in East Feliciana Parish being ordered to integrate by the Federal courts, in 1969, but local white parents were well aware that the order would be coming.[2] Silliman was expanded to include high school in 1967.

In the late 1990s Silliman Institute was one of twenty-three private schools in Louisiana ruled ineligible for that state's tuition grant program because of its refusal to adopt racially non-discriminatory admissions policies.[3] A majority of the board of directors at the time disapproved of making the changes necessary (allowing black children admission) to become eligible for the grants. The minority of the board issued 1000 new shares of stock in the school's governing corporation and were sued by other directors in an attempt to prevent this attempted end-run around the majority position. The sale of the shares was approved by Judge Wilson Ramshur in November 1999.[4] Changes to the school's admission's policies, as evidenced by the non-discrimination policy posted on the school's official website, were later instituted, allowing for its graduates to qualify for the TOPS scholarship. Approximately 71% of the school's 2013 graduating class received the state's TOPS scholarship. Silliman continues to be a majority white school.[5]

The school promotes themes of religious liberty, states rights, and traditional interpretations of the Constitution.

The current racial make-up of the school's student body is 98.18% White, 1% Hispanic, 0.4% Black, and 0.4% Asian/Pacific Islander[6]

A 1.8 acres (0.73 ha) area comprising the three main historic buildings was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 18, 1983.[1] The three buildings (built c.1850, c.1860 and 1894) are brick structures in Greek Revival, Italianate and Second Empire styles whose front galleries join to form a continuous colonnade.[7][8]

Accreditation

The Silliman Institute is a member of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools.[9] MAIS was founded to accredit private segregated schools. It is also accredited by the Louisiana State Board of Education.

Athletics

While the school competes in athletics as a member of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS). Prior to 1991, it competed as a member of the Louisiana Independent School Association. Silliman offers football, basketball, baseball, softball, golf, tennis, cross country, track, cheerleading, and dance.

During the 2015 calendar year, Silliman won three State Championships in baseball, softball, and football.

Rivals include Centreville Academy (Centreville, Mississippi) and the Central Private School (Central, Louisiana).

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2013-11-02). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Tulane University. Parish Desegregation Status Matrix. East Feliciana Federal Court Desegregation Order Dec. 1, 1969. pg. 5.
  3. ↑ James Minton (October 1, 1999). "Silliman Institute hearing skirts race issue - Arguments focus on stock, government aid". The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.).
  4. ↑ "Judge upholds validity of Silliman stock shares". The Advocate. November 3, 1999.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-08-25. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  6. ↑ http://schools.privateschoolsreport.com/Louisiana/Clinton/SillimanInstitute.html
  7. ↑ "Silliman Institute" (PDF). State of Louisiana's Division of Historic Preservation. Retrieved May 22, 2018. with two photos and two maps
  8. ↑ State of Louisiana's Division of Historic Preservation (February 1983). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination Form: Silliman Institute". National Park Service. Retrieved May 22, 2018. With nine photos from 1981.
  9. ↑ "Silliman Institute". The Silliman Institute. Retrieved September 7, 2012.

Further reading

  • James Minton (January 21, 2005). "Clinton residents see need to smooth out differences". The Advocate.
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