BLANDFORD HISTORICAL SOCIETY PRESENTS…
DID YOU KNOW?
Rev. John Keep (1781–1870)
In the early nineteenth century, a young minister stood in Blandford’s meetinghouse preaching to a hilltown congregation. Few could have imagined that he would later help shape one of the most influential reform colleges in America—and cast a vote that would help change the course of American education.
That minister was Rev. John Keep.
Keep arrived in Blandford in 1805, a 24-year-old Yale-educated minister beginning his career. Shortly afterward, he married Lydia Hale, whom he met in town. Their son, Theodore John Keep, was born in Blandford a few years later. For 16 years, Keep served as pastor of the town’s Congregational church.
During these years, Americans increasingly debated slavery and the nation’s moral direction. Religious revivals known as the Second Great Awakening encouraged the belief that faith and education could improve society and inspired reform movements across the country.
While living in Blandford, Keep visited the hillside where Black Revolutionary War veteran Jethro Jones and his family lived alongside other Black families, and where they are buried today. According to local accounts, Keep organized a group of these and other Black children into a school—said to have been the first school for Black students in the nation.
Like many New England families, the Keeps later joined the westward movement of the young nation.
But before leaving Blandford in 1821, Keep drew on the recollections of longtime residents to describe the hardships of early hilltown life and the growth of the church at its center. His address remains one of the earliest written histories of the town.
A Vote That Changed American Education
After leaving Blandford, Keep became involved in securing funds for the establishment of Oberlin College in Ohio in 1833—one of the most progressive and forward-thinking schools of its time. He initially served as acting president and was later named to the board of trustees.
In 1835, Oberlin’s trustees faced a historic question: whether to admit Black students. The board was evenly divided.
Rev. John Keep cast the deciding vote in favor.
That single vote helped make Oberlin one of the first colleges in the United States to educate Black and white students together. Soon afterward, the school also began admitting women, becoming one of the earliest institutions to provide higher education to people of both races and both sexes.
Oberlin soon became a center of the abolitionist movement, and many of its students went on to work in education and social reform. Keep spent the remainder of his life raising funds for the school.
Widely honored and affectionately known as “Father Keep,” he died in Oberlin at the age of 89 and is buried there beside his wife of 59 years. Their son followed him into the ministry and remained active in the affairs of the college until his death.
From helping educate Black children in the hills of Blandford to casting the deciding vote that echoed across the nation, Rev. John Keep’s life reminds us that Blandford is truly a “small town with a big history.”
DID YOU KNOW?
Rev. John Keep (1781–1870)
In the early nineteenth century, a young minister stood in Blandford’s meetinghouse preaching to a hilltown congregation. Few could have imagined that he would later help shape one of the most influential reform colleges in America—and cast a vote that would help change the course of American education.
That minister was Rev. John Keep.
Keep arrived in Blandford in 1805, a 24-year-old Yale-educated minister beginning his career. Shortly afterward, he married Lydia Hale, whom he met in town. Their son, Theodore John Keep, was born in Blandford a few years later. For 16 years, Keep served as pastor of the town’s Congregational church.
During these years, Americans increasingly debated slavery and the nation’s moral direction. Religious revivals known as the Second Great Awakening encouraged the belief that faith and education could improve society and inspired reform movements across the country.
While living in Blandford, Keep visited the hillside where Black Revolutionary War veteran Jethro Jones and his family lived alongside other Black families, and where they are buried today. According to local accounts, Keep organized a group of these and other Black children into a school—said to have been the first school for Black students in the nation.
Like many New England families, the Keeps later joined the westward movement of the young nation.
But before leaving Blandford in 1821, Keep drew on the recollections of longtime residents to describe the hardships of early hilltown life and the growth of the church at its center. His address remains one of the earliest written histories of the town.
A Vote That Changed American Education
After leaving Blandford, Keep became involved in securing funds for the establishment of Oberlin College in Ohio in 1833—one of the most progressive and forward-thinking schools of its time. He initially served as acting president and was later named to the board of trustees.
In 1835, Oberlin’s trustees faced a historic question: whether to admit Black students. The board was evenly divided.
Rev. John Keep cast the deciding vote in favor.
That single vote helped make Oberlin one of the first colleges in the United States to educate Black and white students together. Soon afterward, the school also began admitting women, becoming one of the earliest institutions to provide higher education to people of both races and both sexes.
Oberlin soon became a center of the abolitionist movement, and many of its students went on to work in education and social reform. Keep spent the remainder of his life raising funds for the school.
Widely honored and affectionately known as “Father Keep,” he died in Oberlin at the age of 89 and is buried there beside his wife of 59 years. Their son followed him into the ministry and remained active in the affairs of the college until his death.
From helping educate Black children in the hills of Blandford to casting the deciding vote that echoed across the nation, Rev. John Keep’s life reminds us that Blandford is truly a “small town with a big history.”
Reverend John Keep