Harriet Fletcher Fisher

Lyndon Institute (College History) Harriet Fletcher Fisher

Lyndon Institute, an independent school in northeastern Vermont, has been educating students since 1870. Chartered in 1867 as a private high school, it was initially called the Lyndon Biblical and Literary Institution. Construction of the first building began in 1869, and the institute opened with fifty students in 1870. The first class graduated in 1873 with just one student. In 1883, the school became nondenominational, and the name became Lyndon Institute in 1923. During its 130 years, the school has produced generous benefactors; championships in sports, music, drama, and academics; and active alumni. Today, with an enrollment of nearly 700, the school serves Lyndon and a half dozen nearby communities that designate it as their high school by town meeting vote each year. The institute's living alumni number over 5,000 and hold yearly reunions in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and, of course, Vermont. Lyndon Institute presents a superb collection of photographs and information tracing the school through its agricultural and vocational years to its technological emphasis of today.