History of Ball State University
The History of Ball State University predates Ball State University's public-funding era by almost two decades. Previous educational institutions operated at the intersection of University and McKinley avenues before 1918. They were neither public nor did they carry the "Ball" name. Historical timeline The pre-Ball years The area of Muncie, Indiana that is now known as Ball State University had its start in 1899 as a private school called the Eastern Indiana Normal School to educate teachers. The entire school, including classrooms, library and the president's residence were housed in what is now known as the Ball State Administration building. The then one-building school had a peak enrollment of 256 and charged $10 for a year's tuition. It operated until the spring of 1901, when it was closed down by its president, F.A.Z. Kumler (Franklin Abia Zeller Kumler - b. Ohio) due to lack of funding. A year later, in the autumn of 1902, the school re-opened as Palmer University for the next three years after Francis Palmer, a retired Indiana banker gave the school a $100,000 endowment. Between 1905 and 1907, the school dropped the Palmer name and operated as the Indiana Normal College. It had two divisions, the