St. Joseph Indian Normal School
About this property
St. Joseph's Indian Normal School is a former school for American Indians in Rensselaer, Indiana. The school building is now known as Drexel Hall and part of the Saint Joseph's College campus. Boarding schools were believed to be the best way to assimilate them into the white culture. The school lasted from 1888 to 1896 and was funded by the U.S. government and Catholic missionaries. It was believed that this was the best way to "civilize" Native Americans and the western territories. Established by the Catholic Indian Missions with funding from St. Katharine Drexel, the school taught 60 Indian children. The Society of Precious Blood operated the school during its years of operation. The students were all boys. When the Indian School was closed, the building was named Drexel Hall. It is one of the first structures of Saint Joseph's College. The Indian school was essentially a red brick structure with the ground floor surrounded with a sandstone wall. It was built in a square, 80 feet (24 m) on each side. The square courtyard in the center, it being around 30 feet (9.1 m) on each side. Each wing had four floors with the east wing only three floors high. The roof was red tiles. The main entrance was on the west. It was owned by the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions in Washington, D.C. Its architecture would later serve as an inspiration for the St. Boniface Indian School in California. It was a boarding school for Indian boys with space for 70 boys, their classrooms, playroom, dormitory, kitchen, a small chapel, rooms for the superintendent and a teacher or two and for around six Sisters (nuns) who ran the kitchen. An inspector's report said there were 29 rooms in all. Although the building served as an Indian school for only eight years (1888–1896), it was not changed or altered until 1937 when it was remodeled to serve as a residence hall for Saint Joseph's College. Only the bell tower was removed along with the shutters from the windows. On the inside, it was altered. The courtyard was made smaller to allow an extra row of rooms. Drexel Hall later housed some offices of Saint Joseph's College, before and after the college announced a suspension of operations in 2017.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about St. Joseph Indian Normal School
This page lists St. Joseph Indian Normal School. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was St. Joseph Indian Normal School listed on the National Register?
St. Joseph Indian Normal School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 18, 1973.
What type of historic resource is St. Joseph Indian Normal School?
St. Joseph Indian Normal School is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for St. Joseph Indian Normal School?
The period of significance for St. Joseph Indian Normal School is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near St. Joseph Indian Normal School?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near St. Joseph Indian Normal School will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Jasper County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Jasper County.
Explore JasperCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near St. Joseph Indian Normal School will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.