By Michael Bushnell
Northeast News
September 23, 2015
Established in 1890 as a school for girls, the Scarritt Bible and Training Institute was located at Harris (now Norledge) and Askew Avenues in Historic Northeast Kansas City. The Rev. Nathan Scarritt donated land worth $15,000 as well as a $25,000 gift of cash to start the fledgling college two years after he founded the Melrose Methodist Church two blocks away. An additional $25,000 was to be raised by the Women’s Board of Missions for the building of the school.
Five students graduated from the first class in 1894. Belle Harris Bennett, a noted U.S. Methodist leader, assisted in the founding of the school and taught there for a period of time.
R. W. MacDonell, in an excerpt from Belle Harris Bennett – Her Life’s Work, gave an account of Dr. Scarritt’s generous gift: “On the sabbath evening during my visit, we walked over to the beautiful hilltop overlooking the Missouri River and Kansas City, Kan. Dr. Scarritt said to me, ‘If you like this, I will give you here whatever you think is necessary for the establishment of a training school.’ Contracts were let and grading for the foundation of the school began April 28, 1891. The cornerstone was laid in the foundation on July 2, 1891. The building was completed and dedicated – free of debt on September 14, 1892.
“Dedicatory services for the new school were held at Melrose Methodist Church, some four blocks distant. It was on that day, under the memorial window to Dr. Nathan Scarritt, that Bishop Eugene Hendrix, President of the Board of Managers for the school, received the keys from Judge E.L. Scarritt of the Board of Trustees for the for the Scarritt Bible and Training Institute.”
The school formally opened that day with an enrollment of three students. Through its 32- year history, the school graduated hundreds of Christian workers to missionary careers all over the globe. In 1924, the school was moved to Nashville, Tenn., to become part of Vanderbilt University and the Peabody Bible College. A few years later, the stately old Scarritt Institute was razed and single-family homes, mostly bungalows, were built on the site. This postcard was published by the Elite Postcard Company of Kansas City, Mo. It was never mailed.
