Weaubleau is a town in
Hickory County, Missouri. Weaubleau was first called Haran, but later renamed
for the stream upon which it is located. The town sprang up around the
Weaubleau Christian College and Weaubleau Congregational Christian Church,
which predated the town. Weaubleau
Christian Institute was founded in 1873 in Hickory County, Missouri,
under the auspices of the Weaubleau Congregational Christian Church. The
congregation of the church was made up of families living on newly settled
farms that chose the central location on which to erect a 2-story building
large enough to accommodate a church on the first floor and an academy or
secondary school on the second. A small town, first called Haran, but later
renamed Weaubleau for the stream upon which it is located, grew up around the
Church and Institute.
The Institute was incorporated under a board of trustees, the majority of
whom were to be perpetually drawn from among the members of the church. The
student body never exceeded 15) at any point in the schools' first 35 years.
One of the College's Presidents, John Whitaker, called it a "frontier
college," and wrote that many of the student taught terms in frontier
schools to earn their tuition fees.
The Institute gained accreditation as a college around 1893, eventually
granting three degrees: Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Accounts, and master's
degree.
The College closed in 1914. The Weaubleau Congregational Christian Church
closed in 1960. Some papers related to the College and the Church are held by
the State Historical Society of Missouri.