Heller, Herbert L. (Herbert Lynn), 1908-1983

Herbert Heller (d. 1983) joined the faculty of Baldwin-Wallace College in 1965 as associate professor of education, and retired in 1973, serving as professor emeritus of education until his death. During his tenure he conducted research on the founder of the college, John Baldwin, Sr., and collected materials related to Baldwin and to the college. This material, compiled during his research at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, the Ohio Wesleyan Methodist Historical Archives, the Ritter Library at Baldwin-Wallace, and the Western Reserve Historical Society, comprised original materials, including Baldwin's letters, deeds, and receipts, as well as secondary sources such as articles and copies of records. He authored several books, including works on Indiana history. John Baldwin (1799-1884), grindstone manufacturer and university founder, was known locally for his early settlement in Berea, Ohio, and his founding of the Baldwin Institute which became Baldwin University, then Baldwin-Wallace College. Born in Connecticut, Baldwin settled in the Berea area in 1828 after his marriage to Mary Chapel. After several years of farming, Baldwin joined with Methodists Henry O. Sheldon and James Gilruth for the establishment of the "United Community of United Christians," a utopian society formed for the glory of God and named Berea. In this community all property was held in common, simplicity and self-denial were enforced in dress, lifestyle, and food, and most forms of recreation were shunned. Educational needs were met by the newly-organized Berea Seminary. From a population peak of 38 families, membership in the community dwindled to two families in 1839, leaving Baldwin in debt until his invention of a stone lathe assured his success in the local grindstone industry. As the quarry expanded in Berea, Baldwin encouraged the organization of a Lyceum school and then the Baldwin Institute in 1846 in an effort to provide education for the children of the community and to educate laborers for his enterprises. Baldwin also financially supported the conversion of the Baldwin Institute to Baldwin University in 1855. Over the next decade Baldwin also founded an institution in Douglas County, Kansas, which later became Baker University, and the Baldwin Seminary (later Baldwin Public School) in New Orleans. In 1880 he founded high schools in Bangalore, India, and then donated an additional forty acres to Baldwin University (now Baldwin-Wallace College) just prior to his death.

From the guide to the Herbert L. Heller Collection, Papers Relating to John Baldwin, 1837-1972, (Western Reserve Historical Society)

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