Martin Luther College

Quick facts Location, Coordinates ... Old Main, Dr. Martin Luther College U.S. National Register of Historic Places Old Main in winter Location College Heights, New Ulm, Minnesota Coordinates 44°18′20.7″N 94°28′16.2″W NRHP reference number "}]]}">No. 79001208 [ 10 ] Added to NRHP 31 December 1979 Close Martin Luther College was established in 1995 when Northwestern College (NWC), in Watertown, Wisconsin , combined with Dr. Martin Luther College (DMLC), in New Ulm, Minnesota , at the New Ulm campus. [ 11 ] Northwestern College Northwestern College was established in 1865 to train pastors for the Wisconsin Synod. [ 12 ] [ 13 ] After the Wisconsin Synod was founded in 1850, [ 14 ] the church body had received its pastors from mission societies in Germany. But as the synod developed a more confessional stance, a desire to train its own pastors grew. Furthermore, it was becoming more challenging to provide the church body with enough pastors. In 1863, the Wisconsin Synod passed a resolution to establish a college and seminary in Watertown for the training of its own ministers in America. [ 12 ] Beginnings Northwestern College began operation in 1865, when the first building was dedicated. [ 15 ] The square-shaped building, topped by a small, square cupola, was affectionately called the Kaffeemuehle , or coffee grinder, by Northwestern's early, mostly German-speaking students. [ 16 ] The building housed the college, its preparatory department, and a seminary . [ 17 ] The Kaffeemuehle at Northwestern College in 1866 Financial hardship marked the earliest years of Northwestern due to a lack of interest from Wisconsin Synod congregations, yet in 1868 the college built a new dormitory and added 30 acres (12 ha) to its property. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] The Wisconsin Synod also solidified its confessional stance during this time and entered into fellowship with the Missouri Synod . The seminary then combined with the Missouri Synod seminary in St. Louis .

The college provided pre-seminary training for both synods. [ 20 ] Professor August Ernst was installed as a professor in 1869 and became college president. He redesigned the college's institutional structure to match the German Gymnasium system. [ 21 ] The college and preparatory departments included seven class levels, each designated by a Latin name. [ 22 ] The Latin names are still in use at Luther Preparatory School . [ 23 ] The teaching department left in 1892 for New Ulm when the Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan synods federated, leaving the pre-seminary department in Watertown. [ 24 ] [ 25 ] On the night of July 30, 1894, the Kaffeemuehle was struck by lightning and set ablaze. The building was destroyed, and the college constructed the Recitation Building in its place by 1895. [ 26 ] In 1909, the Northwestern Club of Milwaukee, an alumni group, gave its alma mater a gymnasium. [ 27 ] At the gymnasium's dedication in 1912, St. Matthew's congregation of Milwaukee presented a statue representing a "Sprinter on His Marks", commonly called the Sprinter , [ 28 ] and President William Taft sent a congratulatory telegram. [ 29 ]

The campus of Northwestern College in 1975, following major campus expansion Through a special offering collected at WELS congregations, many improvements and building projects were completed at the campuses of Northwestern College and Dr. Martin Luther College, beginning in the 1950s. [ 30 ] Meta Kilgas Michelson of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, bequeathed the funds to build a campus chapel at NWC, which was dedicated in 1956. [ 31 ] By 1974, the preparatory department began to operate apart from the college as Northwestern Preparatory School, today's Luther Preparatory School , [ 32 ] but continued to share a campus with Northwestern College. [ 33 ] Luther Preparatory School has remained on this campus since then. [ 34 ]

Dr. Martin Luther College was established in 1884 to train pastors and teachers for the Minnesota Synod, [ 13 ] one of the church bodies incorporated into the present-day WELS in 1917. [ 14 ] The Minnesota Synod, founded in 1860, suffered from doctrinal disunity and a shortage of workers in its early years. The synod sought to resolve these issues by establishing its own theological school in Minnesota. [ 35 ] Early years The Minnesota Synod received several bids from communities to be the new school's location. New Ulm was chosen due to its favorable site, the persuasion of Reverend C. J. Albrecht, and the large support from both Albrecht's congregation in New Ulm and members of the New Ulm community. [ 36 ] Albrecht later became DLMC's first president. [ 37 ] Old Main in the 1880s Dr. Martin Luther College began operation in 1884. In its early years, preparatory, college, and seminary departments were all kept on the same campus. [ 38 ] The school's direction changed in 1892, when the Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan synods federated. The synods resolved to exclusively train their pastors at Northwestern College and their teachers at DMLC, beginning in the 1893–94 school year. [ 24 ] [ 25 ] DMLC began admitting women in 1896. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some Wisconsin and Missouri Synod leaders had misgivings about employing women to teach in their schools. But by 1938, coeducation was also offered by the Missouri Synod's Concordia Teachers College , and by 1984 the graduating class of DMLC was 74% female. [ 39 ] In 1908, Fritz Reuter became DMLC's chair of music. He had initiated a strong music tradition at the college by the time of his death in 1924. While at DMLC he established singing classes and organized male and mixed choruses. Reuter also composed and arranged many hymns, several of which are used today in Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal , commissioned by the WELS.