History

Central Normal College was founded at Ladoga, IN in 1876 by J.W. Darst and W.F. Harper.  It was the second private normal school in Indiana, modeled after the teachings of Alfred Holbrook.  In 1878 the school moved to Danville.  By the end of the century enrollments had topped 1300 students and held above a thousand well into the twentieth century.  The 1919 catalog described the school as operating with “no appropriations from church or state.”  Central ultimately became the last self-supporting private normal school in the Midwest.  That catalog shows that after World War I, C.N.C. was poised to meet the needs of a number of different groups, thus keeping enrollment high.  First, it had a teachers’ professional course, offering certificates at three levels; second, it was a “Commercial Institute” to train those students seeking careers in business; third, it operated as both a standard junior college and four-year college, offering both Associates’ and Bachelors’ degrees; fourth, it offered courses in music, art and vocational training for those wanting only a few courses either for cultural enrichment or personal development.  Finally, it maintained a high school for those students whose local district did not offer one. 

Under a school philosophy that “one of the most important factors in a college education is the general culture that comes from its social life,” C.N.C. offered numerous fraternities and clubs of both professional and social nature.  Included in these were literary societies and maids and bachelors groups.

Enrollment dwindled after World War II, causing Central Normal to cease operations.