St. Joseph's Indian Normal School - Rensselaer, IN
N 40° 55.284 W 087° 09.083
16T E 487253 N 4530042
Quick Description: St. Katherine Drexel's building is the oldest on the St. Joseph's College campus and stands as testament to the faith and service of the college for the community.
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 4/2/2008 6:04:45 PM
Waymark Code: WM3GCE
Views: 22
Long Description:St. Joseph's Indian Normal School was started in 1888 by St. Katherine Drexel, an heiress from Philadelphia, who donated $50,000 for the education of Catholic American Indian boys.
In 1896, the school closed and the building was turned into a dormitory for male college students of St. Joseph's College. It was named Drexel Hall after the St. Katherine Drexel, who was canonised in 2000. The building went into disrepair and was kept vacant after 1978. Stories about hauntings becamed embedded in campus culture.
With the use of state and federal grants, Drexel Hall was renovated and restored in 2003, finally taking itself off the Endangered List of the Historic Landmark Foundation of Indiana. Still owned and maintained by St. Joseph's College, Drexel Hall has been repurposed for the Rensselaer Adult Education Center.
The Indiana Historical Marker located at the end of the road reads:
St. Joseph's Indian Normal School
1888-1896
Erected by the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions with funds from Katherine Drexel and operated by the Society of the Precious Blood with federal funds, 60 Indian boys from distant reservations were annually trained here.
Erected by the Indiana History Society, 1971
