That Our Daughters May Be As Cornerstones--Chad Leinaweaver on the SPB Show

Circumstances cannot be contrived. While researching the long-closed Irving College, Sunbury Press founder and presenter Lawrence Knorr discovered the master's thesis of Chad Leinaweaver, which for the first time is in book form, with "That Our Daughters May Be As Cornerstones."

Founded in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania in 1856, Irving Female College was created at a time when educational opportunities were opening up for women. Leinaweaver takes us through the history of the college, its founder, Solomon Gorgas, and the naming of the school after George Washington Irving. He details how these institutions, also referred to by some as "Women's Colleges," gave them instruction in liberal arts. The curriculum also provided more choices for women of the time, including a Conservatory of Music.

Leinaweaver also discusses the closure of the school in 1883 and its rebirth in 1888 under the leadership of Dr. E.E. Campbell. A businessman and instructor, Campbell's acumen and charismatic style brought him to both the presidency and eventual ownership, as he led Irving College into the twentieth century. The school, however, could not withstand competition and a lack of endowment, with the final class graduating in 1929. 

A Mechanicsburg native and Northeastern University graduate, Chad Leinaweaver is the Director of the Morristown & Morris Township Library in New Jersey. He has authored sections of the Dictionary of New Jersey History (New Library Press), and Preserving Local Writers, Geneology, Photographs, Newspapers, and Related Materials (Scarecrow Press).