Hanover College, which sits on 650 generously wooded acres in Jefferson County in southeastern Indiana, is a private, liberal arts college in Hanover, Ind., and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.
Founded in 1827 as an all-men's school, it is Indiana’s oldest private college.
The school began as a small seminary, but in the 1840s, there was a brief move 5 miles to the east near Madison, Ind., and a change of name to Madison University. The state issued the school a new charter in 1849, and the school returned to its founding site and restored the Hanover name.
By the middle of the next decade, Classic Hall was built at The Point and became the school's signature building for almost a century before it was destroyed by fire in 1941.
Women were first admitted in 1880.
The most striking feature of the school's campus -- indeed, the one thing about which it might be best known -- is its breathtaking vista overlooking the Ohio River.
A person standing at The Point, which is what the locals refer to as the campus overlook near the edge of the river bluffs, can see the river snaking through the Indiana and Kentucky landscape when looking west, as illustrated by the photo above. Even more distinct, it is the only place anywhere on the river where one can see three bends in the river.
I exited Scenic Drive at File Street, then looked around for a place to park. I arrived early enough to find a place in the Horner Health and Recreation Center parking lot. I proceeded immediately to The Point.
When you leave The Point and return to the main campus, which is distinguished by its Georgian style architecture, one of the first buildings you come upon is also the oldest classroom structure on campus – Hendricks Hall (pictured below), which opened as the campus library. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. This photo was taken from the February 2011 visit.
When you leave The Point and return to the main campus, which is distinguished by its Georgian style architecture, one of the first buildings you come upon is also the oldest classroom structure on campus – Hendricks Hall (pictured below), which opened as the campus library. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. This photo was taken from the February 2011 visit.
At the time I took this picture, it housed the Rivers Institute and Center for Business Preparation. The basketball game, which occurred eight months before I returned to shoot the football game, started at night, so when I made a brief swing through a very small portion of campus on that trip, dusk was setting in. That is why you see exterior lights turned on around the structure.
Hanover offers 34 majors as well as several pre-professional programs (health sciences, pre-law, pre-med, pre-health and pre-nursing), 42 minors and a graduate program in physical therapy. The college has about 1,100 undergraduate students.
Hanover College survived a devastating tornado on April 4, 1974. The twister knocked out power and damaged all but one of the 34 buildings on campus. Two of the buildings were destroyed, including one that had served as the first fraternity house on campus.
Despite the tornado, the school experienced exponential growth during the 29-year presidency (1958-1987) of John E. Horner. When he retired, the school enjoyed a $40 million endowment. Today in 2024, some 37 years later, that endowment stands at $182.59 million, according to College Raptor.
In 1995, Hanover opened and dedicated the aforementioned $11 million health and recreational center, which was named for Horner and his wife, Anne Evans Horner.
Among notable Hanover alumni are U.S. Vice President and former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, current Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and motion picture and television series actor Woody Harrelson. Writers for the hit sitcom Cheers had Woody Boyd, Harrelson’s character on the show, being born and raised in Hanover.
Harrelson actually was born in Texas and grew up in Ohio, but he did attend Hanover College and graduated in 1983 with a major in English and minor in theater. In 2014, the school awarded him with an honorary doctorate degree.
Inside Horner Health and Recreation Center, which houses the arena used by the school basketball and volleyball teams for home contests, is a wall of plaques (pictured below), each displaying the likeness of a member of the Hanover College Athletics Hall of Fame.
Above and next two below: Views of the Lynn Center for the Fine Arts, whose stately elegance is reinforced by these lofty trees flanking the brick-covered walk leading to the facility.
Above: Parker Auditorium, taken in the evening during my visit in February 2011.
Above: J. Graham Brown Campus Center, the hub of student life and activity on campus because it houses the main dining hall, the student activity center, student mailroom and bookstore. It was named for the philanthropist who donated $2 million toward its construction in 1967 ... and is another structure on campus distinguished by a Roman-column-supported entryway cover.
Inside Horner Health and Recreation Center, which houses the arena used by the school basketball and volleyball teams for home contests, is a wall of plaques (pictured below), each displaying the likeness of a member of the Hanover College Athletics Hall of Fame.
After the football game in October, I strolled through the campus to take advantage of the dramatic late-afternoon sunlight to capture more images, such as the photo leading off the post, a shot that uses backlight to -- among other things -- add definition to water in the fountain in the front of Duggan Library.
To see a full gallery of images taken on the campus from both of my visits in 2011, follow the link in this sentence.
Above: Adjacent to the Lynn Center for the Fine Arts is the Duggan Library (also featured in the lead photo at the top). It, too, has brick-paved walkways -- three of them, one straight ahead, and two diagonals extending in opposite directions across the mall in front of it. The path you see here is one of the diagonals. Below is a closer view of both Duggan Library and the fountain.
Above and next three below: Views of the Science Center / Goodrich Hall complex. Another striking facility because of its column-supported and rounded-covered entryway. The third photo below was taken at night during my visit to Hanover in February 2011.
Above: The landscaping alongside the curved drive in front of the J. Graham Brown Campus Center.
Above: Chrysanthemums in bloom in the landscaped beds within the pedestrian roundabout in the mall in front of Horner Health and Recreation Center.
A look at the main entrance to Horner Health and Recreation Center (above) -- and the landscaped pedestrian roundabout -- from a point just in front of Morse Lane. Below: A nighttime capture of the front of Horner H&R Center from my February 2011 visit.
Above: When those familiar with the campus see this distinguished clock, they know immediately they're at the intersection of Morse Lane and Ball Drive. This view looks east, toward the Science Center / Goodrich Hall.
Above: Limestone steps leading back to campus from the Coed Rock at The Point.
Above: A daytime look at Parker Auditorium, home to the school's theater department. This building and Hendricks Hall are the closest structures to The Point.
Above: The spire and weather vane atop Parker Auditorium, built in 1947. The vane features a pioneer preacher on horseback, indicating the building’s origins as the campus chapel and classroom for future ministers.
Above and first four photos below: A look inside the Horner Health and Recreation Center, including indoor intramural and practice basketball courts, the arena for varsity basketball and volleyball teams, an upper-level running track and a bench in the vestibule area.
Next up: Chapter 5, Wabash College vs. Wittenberg University, Nov. 2011
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