The Institute was founded during a time of racial prejudice and strife by anti-slavery Quakers and free black persons in 1845. It made no distinction as to race, color, or gender at a time when black children were prohibited by law from attending public schools in Indiana and interracial education was virtually unheard of prior to the Civil War.

The Institute’s goal was to provide “for the high and noble purpose of carrying knowledge and learning within the reach of those who desire it.” Boarding students worked four hours per day in exchange for room and board.

The Institute’s Constitution embodied the high ideals of its Board of Managers. In particular, Article 8 stated, “There shall not be tolerated or allowed in the Union Literary Institution, its government, disciplines or privileges, any distinction on account of color, Rank, or Wealth.” As a result, Institute is thought to be the first of its kind in the Midwest region to adhere openly to such interracial principles.

While it exists only as a ruin, the Union Literary Preservation Society was founded on the belief that the 1860 brick structure should be preserved and restored as part of local, state, and national history.

Cemeteries related to the Longtown Settlement 

Alexander Cemetery: Founded in the 1830s by Thornton Alexander, it is located in the middle of a farm east of State Road 227 and north of County Road 600. It has been fenced off by the property owners but is available to visitors. A marker was recently established by Shari Petersime and others. 

For a list of those interred go to: 

http://ingenweb.org/inrandolph/Cemeteries 

Also see p. 121 of Ebenezer Tucker’s History of Randolph County. 

Clemens Cemetery: The Clemens Cemetery is located at 5587-5603 Hollansburg Tampico Road 

In Darke County, Ohio. It contains the graves of several Civil War veterans and is available to visitors. To search for the names of those interred, see 

billiongraves.com 

Bass Cemetery: The Bass Cemetery, or African American Cemetery, is located at the corner of County Road 61 and Hollansburg Tampico Road (County Road 46) in Darke County, Ohio. To search for the names of those interred, see 

Findagrave.com 

Norwich Cemetery: The Norwich Cemetery, also known as Crist or Wiggs Cemetery, was established in 1825. Some of the pioneer families of Randolph County are buried here, including John  Randle, a founding member of the Union Literary Institute. A survey of the cemetery was conducted by Tom Allen in 2013. He described it as being in a grove of trees about ½ mile from the nearest road on the farm located at 7392 S750E Road. There is no convenient access to the cemetery, but members of the Union Literary Preservation Society convinced the trustee to install a gate. A Friends meetinghouse and school were once located about 150 feet south of this grove of trees. 

Findagrave.com