Cobb Divinity School records

Collection

Identifier: CA02.80

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

These records contain catalogs, programs, reports, correspondence, notebooks, and other documents recording the administration of the Cobb Divinity School.

Dates

1867 - 1908

Creator

Cobb Divinity School (Organization)

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

The collection is the physical property of Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library. Bates College holds literary rights only for material created by College personnel working on official behalf of the College, or for material which was given to the College with such rights specifically assigned. For all other material, literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for obtaining permission from rights holders for publication or other purposes that exceed fair use.

Historical Note

The Cobb Divinity School was a training institute for Freewill Baptist ministers, and was sponsored by Bates College. Founded at Parsonsfield Seminary in 1840, it subsequently moved to Dracut, MA, then to Whitestown, NY (as part of the Whitestown Seminary), then to the New Hampton Institute in New Hampton, New Hampshire until 1870. It was known simply as the Theological School from the time it came to Bates in 1870 until 1887, when it was renamed in honor of J.L.H. Cobb, a local businessman and prominent supporter of the School. The Divinity School existed until 1908, when it was disbanded and its faculty and selected courses were integrated into the college as the religion department. The School was housed in Roger Williams Hall.