Huntington University is an institution of higher education in Huntington, Indiana, that is affiliated with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. The institution opened as "Central College" in 1897. The name changed to "Huntington College" in 1917. Huntington gained accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1961, and the institution adopted its current name in 2005. The Loew Botanical Garden and Arboretum was established in 1935. Parts of the original arboretum were flooded in the 1960s to create Lake Sno-Tip. The botanical garden at one time included a specimen of every plant growing in Huntington County, Indiana. The Arboretum and botanical garden are no longer actively cultivated. The school herbarium, founded in 1903, includes approximately 10,000 specimens. Most were collected from Huntington County and the Upper Wabash Valley Basin between 1905 and 1950. Thornhill Nature Preserve is a 77-acre (310,000 m) nature preserve that provides outdoor educational opportunities through the Reiff Nature Center, ropes course, and various community events. The Merillat Centre for the Arts is a fine arts center that includes the Robert E.