Organized in 1876 at Ladoga as the second private Indiana normal school specializing in teacher training, Central Normal College was based on Alfred Holbrook's techniques at his normal college in Lebanon, Ohio, which pioneered teacher training in America. It moved in 1878 to the old Danville Academy building, and the campus eventually consisted of five buildings. The last self-supporting private normal school in the Midwest, Central Normal College closed in 1946. The school reopened as Canterbury College under the Episcopal Church, but a declining financial situation forced its closure in 1951. Its alumni include many prominent Hoosiers, and Hargrave Hall, the gymnasium, and the well house remain as part of Danville Middle School.