Concordia College
Fort Wayne, Indiana
1839-1957
E-Travel
The closest I have come to the Concordia campus is the 1907 Griswold panoramic map of Fort Wayne. However, Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center has placed digital copies of the Concordian, the Concordia yearbook, in Internet Archive, so a record of the school and its students is readily available.
History
Concordia College was founded in 1839 by members of the Saxon Lutheran church in Perry County Missouri, moving to a log cabin at Altenburg the following year. There Concordia operated two curricula—a Classical course to prepare students for study in the liberal arts and a Theological course to prepare Lutheran ministers. In 1847 the Lutheran Church moved the school to St. Louis. In 1861, the campus moved again—this time to Ft. Wayne, where it was combined with the Practical Theological Seminary there. In 1907 Concordia College became a military academy, so that it became a combination of a rigorous liberal arts college organized as a military school, whose graduates most often went on to seminary and the ministry.
The 1919 Concordia yearbook shows a student body of 200 boys in grades 9-14, taught by a faculty of 11. The liberal arts bias of Concordia is shown in its faculty. One taught only Greek; one taught only Latin; one taught Greek and Latin; one taught Hebrew, history and math; one taught Latin and math; one taught only German; one taught only English; one taught history of religion and Greek; one taught French, history, and science. The six classes, given the Latin designation of Prima, Secunda, Tertia, Quarta, Quinta and Sexta, were the basis for much of the student life of the school—either as competing units for in-house sports, or as units for literary societies or musical groups.
Later known as Concordia Junior College, it remained in operation until 1957. Then it was replaced by a new Lutheran college called Concordia Senior College, which operated in Fort Wayne until 1975, when it was moved to Ann Arbor, MI.
A "bird's eye view of the Concordia campus from the 1919 Concordian. Lecture Hall is in the center; the dormitory to its right. (https://archive.org/stream/concordian1919conc#page/17/mode/1up Accessed 11-1-2017
Bricks and Mortar
The Concordia Campus was located on a plot bounded by Maumee Avenue, Washington Boulevard, Anthony Avenue and Schick Street in Fort Wayne.
The center of the campus was the Lecture Hall (later named Schick Hall), built in 1905. The dormitory, beside it, opened in 1869 and was completely renovated in 1903. Concordia was justly proud of the gymnasium which contained two basketball courts, fueling an enthusiasm for basketball at the school.
After Concordia Junior College was closed, Indiana Tech purchased the campus, which it occupies today.
Sports
Team name: Cadets, Maroon and White, Saxons
Colors: Maroon and White
Until the late 1920’s Concordia was limited to two sports—baseball and basketball. Since school rules forbade visits to other campuses or hosting other schools except for Culver Military Academy, Concordia played local independent teams for the most part. Concordia later relaxed the rule so that both basketball and baseball teams began to participate against Indiana and Ohio competition.
Concordia attempted to field football teams for a four year period 1926-31. For the most part those teams were overmatched, as they won one game during this period—an 18-13 victory over Howe Military School. In the final 1931 season the team had a 1-5 record, with losses to Detroit Tech, Grand Rapids Junior College, Concordia (IL), Lake Forest, and their own alumni. The 1926 team, the school’s first, lost to two high school teams.
The 1898 championship gymnastics team. Image provided by Elaine Hilgeman, whose grandfather Andrew P. Feddersen is in the center of the picture.
Note: Images are used in accordance with their “terms of use” as I understand those terms. Recopying or republishing these images may be restricted or forbidden.