Moorhead State Teachers' College - Moorhead, mn
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m&m O
N 46° 52.033 W 096° 45.759
14T E 670513 N 5192838
Located in south Moorhead, between 6th and 9th avenues south.
Waymark Code: WM129RR
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 04/08/2020
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Moorhead became the site for a new normal school in Northwestern Minnesota after State Senator Solomon Comstock introduced a bill to the Minnesota State Legislature in 1885, declaring "…it would be a fine thing for the Red River Country and especially for Moorhead."
Comstock then donated six acres of land and the next session of the Legislature appropriated $60,000 for the construction of Main Hall, which included classrooms, administrative offices and a library. When The Moorhead Normal School opened in the fall of 1888, President Livingston Lord presided over five faculty members and a class of 29 students. Classes offered: science, music, history, algebra, Latin, English and literature. Expenses were $5,000; President Lord’s salary was $2,500; faculty salaries were $800. Tuition was free to all students promising to teach two years in Minnesota. At the time, the campus towered on the outskirts of the city. Charles Loring, later Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, rode his pony five miles each day to his classes.
The school’s first graduating class of eight students received their degrees in 1890. Old Main expanded in 1908 to provide space for a gymnasium and model school for student teaching. Twelve more acres were purchased for the school’s expansion, which included Weld and Comstock Halls, completing the "great circle" now known as the mall. In 1921, the need for high school teachers led the state legislature to authorize to award bachelor’s degrees, renaming the school Moorhead State Teachers College.
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