A school for nurses, missionaries and deaconesses at Askew and Norledge in the eastern part of Kansas City was established in 1890 through the gift of land worth $15,000 and $25,000 in cash from the Rev. Nathan Scarritt. An additional sum of $25,000 was to be raised by the Women's Board of Missions. Mr. Scarritt had helped found the Melrose Methodist Church two years earlier in 1888. At the dedication of the Scarritt Bible & Training School, The Kansas City Star of Sept. 14, 1892, observed: The idea is to prepare Christian workers for home and foreign fields by giving them, besides a religious knowledge, a practical training in medicine and nursing, so that their benefits may be both spiritual and physical to the unfortunate. The first graduating class in 1894 numbered five persons. In 1924 the school was moved to Nashville, Tenn., and the name was changed to Scarritt College for Christian Workers. There the college merged with Vanderbilt University and Peabody College. In the years following the move the old building was razed and the site is now occupied by homes. A 75th anniversary celebration in Kansas City was held in 1968, at which time it was stated that 48 per cent of Methodist missionaries had received all or part of their preparation at Scarritt; 3,500 Scarritt alumni were then serving in 50 states of the U.S. and in 60 foreign countries. The Scarritt post card was published in Germany in 1907. Kansas City Star, July 1, 1972.
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