By the mid-1850s, Classic Hall was constructed on a bluff known as the Point, and College classes were moved to that location. "Old Classic" would be Hanover's signature building for more than 90 years.
During the Civil War, the Confederate offensive maneuvers of Morgan's Raid came close to campus; faculty and students were alerted that the troops might try to burn Classic Hall.
In 1870, Presbyterian Church officials proposed that Hanover College be merged with Wabash College, with Hanover becoming a women's school. The Hanover board of trustees rejected that proposal, as well as one from businessmen in 1873 that would have moved the college to Indianapolis and renamed it Johnson University.
In 1880, Hanover began enrolling women.
=== 20th century ===
During Hanover College's first 50 years of operations, it had nine presidents, none of whom served for longer than nine years; five served three years or less. But after that, conditions stabilized. Daniel Fisher led Hanover from 1879 until his retirement in …
