The university was founded in March of 1863 when the Kansas Legislature passed the enabling act to establish the Kansas State Normal School. Although founded in 1863, the first term did not begin until February 15, 1865.

The president of Kansas Normal School and its only teacher, 莱曼凯洛格, taught 18 students on the second floor of the district school house. At the first commencement on June 28, 1867, Kellogg presented diplomas to Mary Jane Watson, a Civil War heroine and Judge Watson's daughter, 还有爱伦·普拉姆, 来自参议员普拉姆的家人. Kellogg saw to it that the Normal got off to an auspicious start before becoming a successful lawyer, 尊敬的法官, 以及堪萨斯州的司法部长.

成立19年以来, KSN不仅与干旱作斗争, 但是对于抑郁症, 怀疑, 位置嫉妒, 以及极度缺乏拨款. By the time ESU’s fifth president, Albert R. 泰勒, 负责, the school was in good condition with an enrollment of about 400, representing 43 Kansas counties and nine countries. Dr. 泰勒 took aggressive measures to increase enrollment, such as refunding transportation mileage to students who lived in excess of 100 miles away. By 1889, KSN had become the largest school in the state and the largest normal school in the country. The school was first accredited in 1898, the same year it graduated its first black students. That same year, the Spanish American War interrupted the course of the school year. Over 35 percent of the first three Kansas regiments were school teachers, many of them from Normal.

The name of the university has changed four times in response to the university’s growth and the increased advantages it provides to students and the citizens of Kansas. The school was founded as Kansas Normal School and later became Kansas State Teachers College (1923), 恩波里亚堪萨斯州立大学(1974年), and finally 恩波里亚州立大学 (1977).

Since its founding, ESU has improved the lives of students from Kansas, throughout the U.S.以及世界各地.

恩波利亚州的传统

战斗之歌

Take a listen to the ESU Fight Song as performed and recorded by the ESU Marching Hornets. And, when you’re on campus, listen twice a day to the fight song performed on the carillon (bells).

沉默的乔

The bell, which weighs approximately 1,400 pounds, was cast in 1855 in Troy, New York. It hung in the Kansas State Normal School administration building from 1880 until that building was torn down and replaced by Plumb Hall in 1917.

The bell was kept in storage until 1939 when the bell tower, 最初被称为老乔, was built following the completion of the stadium. The classes of 1938 and 1939 donated $2,000 for the tower’s construction. The idea was for the bell to sound the victories of the school. Many believed the 1939 football team was so talented it would wear out the bell, but after losing the first two games of the season, 这只钟被称为“沉默的乔”.” The bell was silent beginning again in 1943 as the men left campus to fight the war and rang again on May 8, 1945, 当和平降临欧洲时. As the men came back to school, the bell began to ring again for the victorious Hornets.

七十年后, in 2015, the hardware holding the bell in place finally wore out and was replaced through private funding. 尽管仍被称为沉默的乔, the bell sounds frequently for the victories and accomplishments of Emporia State.

In addition to the repairs that will allow 沉默的乔 to continue to ring, a donor came forth to provide funding for a carillon system, 命名为“现在的闪岩” & 永远相.” This system allows chimes to ring on the hour, creating an emotional connection between their sound and being on campus—a unique tradition through a campus voice. 钟声提供了一种愉快的声音, 常规的, and ongoing reminder that we are “silent no more” and that the University will continue to bring awareness to our achievements and contributions to the common good.