Hesston College and Bible School

Hesston College opened in September 1909, growing from Kansas Mennonites’ desire for a church-related school west of the Mississippi. T. M. Erb led the organizing effort, and A. L. Hess contributed an eighty-acre site. The first learning community occupied a single building, later called Green Gables, with D. H. Bender as principal. Erb continued as business manager; contemporary memorial accounts describe his sustained service to the school and local community.

Initially an academy and Bible school, Hesston added college courses in 1915 and briefly developed a four-year program. The Mennonite Board of Education directed it toward a two-year curriculum in the 1920s. From 1942 to 1954 an agreement allowed students to take three years of Goshen’s five-year Bachelor of Theology course at Hesston before transferring. These changes show educational cooperation within the Mennonite Church as well as the practical adjustment of programs to the students and communities being served.