Side A: Chartered in 1849, the Institute was the first of three women’s colleges established in Oxford. The original brick building was completed in 1850, and forms the core structure. The Reverend John Witherspoon Scott, a member of Miami University’s early faculty, headed the Institute. In 1867, the Institute merged with Oxford Female College and later became the Oxford College for Women. Miami University acquired the building in 1928; in 1930 the Daughters of the American Revolution rededicated it as the “Caroline Scott Harrison Memorial.” From 1929-1998 it served as a Miami dormitory, nicknamed “Ox College.” Since 2003, the three-story building has housed the Oxford Community Arts Center. The structure is the oldest extant women’s college building in Ohio. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Side B: Born in 1832 four blocks east of here in her parents’ home, Caroline Scott completed her education at the Oxford Female Institute. It was headed by her father, Reverend John Witherspoon Scott, formerly a professor at Miami University and a strong advocate for women’s education. In 1853, Caroline Scott married Benjamin Harrison, a Miami University graduate, in her parents’ home directly across the street. After leaving Oxford, Harrison, as an active First Lady during most of her husband’s presidency from 1889-1893, oversaw renovation of the White House and became the first President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution. An accomplished artist, she was instrumental in designing Harrison’s presidential china. She died in the White House in 1892 and is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.
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