About
Originally established as the Hocker Female College by James Hocker in 1869, the four-story Italianate structure was located on North Broadway, just north of Fourth Street in Lexington, Kentucky. In recognition of William Hamilton, who made a large donation in 1878, the school was renamed Hamilton Female College. In 1889 Kentucky University (now Transylvania University) became a major stockholder of the school and in 1903 assumed complete charge of it. Under the leadership of President Burris Jenkins, Hamilton College was converted into a two-year junior college, the first in Kentucky. Women students who completed their studies at Hamilton frequently transferred to Kentucky University to secure A.B. degrees.
The college offered a high-quality academic program. It also had a policy of strictly supervising the social activities of its students, although this was liberalized when Kentucky University became coeducational in 1889. The school functioned successfully until the 1920s, when diminished financial resources resulted in a large debt. Hamilton College ceased to exist as an independent college after 1932 and the building was converted into a women's dormitory for Transylvania students until 1958. It was razed in 1962.
-From "Hamilton College" entry by John Wright in the Kentucky Encyclopedia.
Timeline
1869 - Hocker Female College established by James Hocker.
1878 - Hocker College changes name to Hamilton Female College with donation from William Hamilton.
1888 - J. T. Patterson is President of Hamilton College. 1888-89 Annual Catalog of Hamilton Female College, p. 52.
1888 - J. B. Skinner is named Principle of Hamilton College. 1888-89 Annual Catalog of Hamilton Female College, p. 52.
1889 - Kentucky University becomes major stockholder in Hamilton Female College
Twenty-seven women matriculate into Kentucky University, as Transylvania was then called. These were the first women to attend Transylvania. Wright. Transylvania: Tutor to the West, p276.
1899 - B. C. Hagerman is President of Hamilton College. 1898-99 Annual Catalog of Hamilton College
1903 - Kentucky University assumes full control over Hamilton College making in a junior college for women. 1903 Crimson Yearbook, p 109.
1903 - Luella Wilcox St. Clair named president of Hamilton College. 1903 Crimson Yearbook, p. 111.
1914 - Bourbon Female College is merged with Hamilton Female College. Bourbon News, March 10, 1914.
1932 - Hamilton College closes. The building continues to be used as a dorm for women.
Online Documents held at TU
1899 Yearbook - published as part of the Transylvania Crimson Yearbook
1903 Hamilton College section of Transylvania Crimson Yearbook
1904 Hamilton College section of Transylvania Crimson Yearbook
1911 Hamilton College section in the Transylvania Crimson Yearbook
1915 Hamilton College Yearbook - published as part of the Transylvania Crimson Yearbook
Related Collections
Hamilton Female College Collection at Lexington Public Library.
Jane Haselden Papers. MSC 38. Transylvania University.
Further Reading
Hollingsworth, Randolph. "Hamilton Female College Delegation in Lexington's 1916 Suffrage Parade." H-Kentucky H-Net's Network on Kentucky History. 4/24/2021.
“Hocker Female College.” The College Courant 5, no. 10 (1869): 153–153.
"Hamilton College (Kentucky)" Wikipedia. 2024.
"Hamilton Female College." IN: Ranck, G. Washington. Guide to Lexington, Kentucky: with notices historical and descriptive of places and objects of interest, and a summary of the advantages and resources of the city and vicinity. Lexington, Ky.: Transylvania Printing and Publishing Company. 1883. p 44.
Lewis, Alvin Fayette and United States. Bureau of Education. History of Higher Education In Kentucky. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1899.
Wright. Transylvania: Tutor to the West. pp. 275-76. pp.360-61
Photo of Hamilton College from the 1906 Transylvania Crimson Yearbook.
Photo of 1886 Hamilton College students.