Yankton College was a small liberal arts college in Yankton, South Dakota, affiliated with the Congregational Christian Churches (later the United Church of Christ).
Founded in 1881, it was the first institution of higher learning in the Dakota Territory. The man primarily responsible for the college's establishment was Joseph Ward, a local pastor and educator who is one of the two South Dakotans represented in Statuary Hall.
The campus was declared the Yankton College Historic District in 1982 due to the presence of a group of buildings designed by architect George Grant Elmslie. Between 1927 and 1932, Elmslie designed seven structures for the college, of which several were built:
- Campus Library (1927/1928)
- Forbes Hall of Science (1929)
- Look Chapel, project (1929)
- Power plant (1930)
- Look Dormitory for Men (1931)
- Conservatory of Music (1932)
- Gymnasium, project (1932)
It is probably best known today as the college which NFL football player Lyle Alzado attended. The college's athletic teams were known as the Greyhounds. The football stadium (Crane Youngworth Field) is now used as the home field for the Yankton High School football teams.
Yankton College closed in December 1984, and its campus became the site of Federal Prison Camp, Yankton, which opened four years later.
The University of South Dakota - Springfield, a public university in the same state also originally established in 1881, also closed in 1984, and its campus became the site of a state prison.
Notable alumni
- Lyle Alzado, former professional American football defensive end of the National Football League
- Gabor Boritt, the Robert Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies and Director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College
- Joseph H. Bottum, 27th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota and a member of the United States Senate
- Amanda Clement (1888â€"1971), first paid female umpire
- Riley Gardner, American psychologist
- Les Goodman, former running back in the National Football League
- Alvin Hansen, professor of economics at Harvard
- Michael Jaffe, American TV and film producer
- Nancy Lenehan, American actress
- Ruben Mendoza, strength and conditioning coach and a former guard in the National Football League
- Earl Rose, Dallas County medical examiner at the time of the assassination of John F. Kennedy
- Dean Wink, former defensive end in the National Football League and member of the South Dakota House of Representatives
References
External links
- Yankton College
- Historical article
