A History of Women’s Empowerment through Education
Bethany House & Garden is situated on ground which was once home to the Kanza, or Kaw, People, indigenous inhabitants of much of what is now the State of Kansas. They were known to white explorers of the early 19th century as the Wind People. The land for the Gardens at Bethany Place is part of a 20-acre parcel given in 1860 by the founders of Topeka to the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas to build a school for girls, which came to be known as the College of the Sisters of Bethany. The school operated on the property from 1870 until 1928. Our focus on education at the Garden retains our ties to the original purpose. Portions of the original land now house Grace Cathedral on the north and Topeka High School on the south and west, as well as three diocesan buildings. Two buildings remain from the school, Upton Hall and Bethany House. Both buildings are on the Kansas Historic Registry. Upton Hall houses a conference center with quasi-monastic housing available for retreats. Bethany House provides office space to Bethany House and Garden, as well as our community partners, the Topeka Doula Project. Our partnership with Agatha Amani House celebrates the early years of women’s empowerment which the College of the Sisters of Bethany provided and our relationship with creation.