Campion's History
1904 – William A. Hankins offers 5 acres to establish a school from his 160-acre homestead claim located between Berthoud and Loveland, Colorado. Hankins’ dream is to start a school that will train young people to spread the gospel message at home and abroad.
1906-07 – The Academy Building and first dormitory are built, and F.A. Page is hired to run the school, which opens to 29 students attending grades 1-9. Students sit on folding chairs and use their knees or orange crates to write on. 1911 – The first class graduates. 1912 – Initially known as Eastern Colorado Academy, locals called the school Campion Academy because it was located near the Campion railroad switch. In 1912, the name is officially adopted. |
1914 – Voice of Prophecy founder, H.M.S. Richards graduates from Campion.
1919 – fire destroys the Academy Building, leaving only a professor’s Bible and a large barrel of cooked cabbage (once sauerkraut) unharmed. 1920 – A new Administration Building, now Hankins Hall, is built to replace the one that burned. Grades 8-12 meet on the top floor, the chapel is on the first floor, and dining hall and kitchen are in the basement. 1928 – Campion’s monthly paper, The Rocky Mountain Academician, is renamed The Frontiersman. |
1937 – Unable to house the 157 students enrolled for the year, Campion begins adding to the girls’ dorm and builds a new boys’ dorm. In spite of the Great Depression, the school is out of debt and staff housing is added to the campus.
1953 – Recreation at Campion gets a needed boost with the completion of a gymnasium able to hold 2000 people for graduations and church services as well as provide space for basketball, indoor hockey, gymnastics, and roller skating. 1959 – a milking parlor and a broom shop are in full operation, providing students with jobs to help them pay tuition. Silver State Plastics (1960), Harris Pine Mills (1962), and Rhodes Baken N Serve (1966) industries soon follow. 1979 – The academy’s constituency votes $1 million toward a new girls’ dorm, which is the one currently standing today.
2012 -- Hankins Hall is renovated and expanded to include an entry tower and the Mimi Gregg-Danihel Alumni Center. |
1961 – The Alumni Association is formed, supporting the school through the worthy student fund and special projects for years to come.
1963 – Bursting at the seams again, Campion breaks ground for a new Administration Building in order to provide classroom space for its 339 students. In order to build, the old water tower and Annex building have to come down. 1968 – Work is completed on the 3-story boys’ dorm, a $500,000 project that provided 47 dormitory rooms, a dean’s apartment, first-floor kitchen, and 350-person dining area. The following year, students raise money and work to complete a student center in the basement of Hankins Hall. |
Information for this page was adapted from Mary Hedger's (class of '60) A Dream Come True: The Story of Campion Academy.