Hide Article Text (OCR)
ORGANIZED BY DR. JONATHAN P. FINLEY IN 1866, WITH ELEVEN CHARTER MEMBERS—HAS MADE A STEADY GROWTH AND NOWHAS A MEMBERSHIP OF 344On September 9. 1866. that great Christian pioneer, educator and j preacher, Dr. Jonathan P. Finley, came to Brookfield and on that Sabbath day preached two sermons. He; had left, but recently, has'latest pastorate at Palmyra, Missouri, and had set out to find a new field of service where he might not only build up a pastorate, but where he might also lay the foundation of a school which would provide a more liberal education for the young than was offered by the public schools.After a complete survey of the Brookfield community, as well as other fields that wrere open, he decided that Brookfield offered greater opportunities* and prospects for service than any other, therefore, he decided to make it the scene of his future life and service* , ? *, S^ven years previous tb this, the Hannibal St. Joseph railroad had been completed, and Brookfield had been made the division point. With the opportunities afforded by the railroad repair'shops, , the toW'n had already gained a population of six hundred.- if.lt;Ybusiness house on Main street. During the firf t winter he was the only teacher. But out of this small beginning grew* Brookfield College some twenty-years pater. In February. 1879, Dr. Finley said to an old friend, “If I could borrow $300 for three years, I would give my note for it with six per cent interest, and would erect an academy on one of my jots so as to give the young people a better op-portuni y to secure a good edtf$atior\. This is the great need of Brookfield I today.’ The friend acted upon the sug-1 gestion. and within two hours he had raised the amount on subscriptions, and presented it to Dr. Finley, who began immediately to carry his plans} into execution. As a result, Brookfield Academy opened in a small frame building on September 13, 1880, with ) fifty-eight pupils. Due to the energy,! enthusiasm and efficiencyr of Dr. Fin-*; ley. the school soon outgrew jts quarters Rhd plans for a larger building were being considered. yThe increasing ygars and added duties \yet’e beginning to weigh heavily on Dr. Finley for all the whilfe he had* ' i »• V I
Newspaper Details
Brookfield Linn County Budget Gazette
Brookfield, Missouri, US
Fri, Nov 22, 1929
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Brookfield P.
MO, USA 17 Oct 2023
Other Publications Near Brookfield, Missouri
Brookfield Blade And Messenger
Brookfield Daily News Bulletin
Brookfield Linn County Budget
Brookfield Linn County Budget Gazette
Brookfield Linn County News And Daily News
