Wartburg History: Locations & Consolidations
The history of Wartburg College is a story of openings and closings, of hopes and frustrations, of moves and mergers. It is intertwined with the history of Wartburg Theological Seminary and Wartburg Teachers Seminary/Normal College, which all evolved from the institution in Saginaw, Mich., founded by Georg Grossmann in 1852 after being commissioned by Willhelm Löhe to serve German immigrants in the Midwest. Four other Lutheran schools eventually became part of the heritage as well.
Below you will find a timeline that illustrates the moves and mergers that defined the legacy of what we now know as Wartburg College. Through its rich history, the college has continued to follow its missional pillars of leadership, service, faith, and learning.
Saginaw, Michigan
Wilhelm Löhe sends Georg Grossmann to establish teachers seminary.
Dubuque, Iowa
Grossmann establishes reparatory department (Lateinschule). The seminary was officially started in 1854.
St. Sebald, Iowa
Grossmann and his theological students spent the summer and fall of 1857 erecting the new building, which was dedicated on Oct. 31, 1857. The seminary finally had a name: Wartburg.
Galena, Illinois
The seminary remained in St. Sebald while the college moved to Galena during a time of modest enrollment gains and was called das Collegium, or “The German Evangelical College.”
Mendota, Illinois
The college and seminary moved to Mendota after great turmoil and discord between the institution’s leadership and the Iowa Synod.
Waverly, Iowa
A normal school (teachers seminary) is established in Waverly, Iowa. Old Main was dedicated in 1880.
Seminary and Normal School Combine
The college moves from Mendota and combines with the normal school in 1885. This is also the first use of the name “Wartburg College” in that same year.
Seminary Returns to Dubuque
In 1889, Wartburg returned to Dubuque, settling in the Emerson Mansion. 25 years later, the cornerstone of the Wartburg Castle-inspired seminary complex was laid in 1914, exactly 61 years after the seminary’s first Dubuque location.
Clinton, Iowa
The teachers seminary remained in Waverly, but the college moved to Clinton. The “Clinton Plan” included building a magnificent building, but also a staggering load of debt for the time.
Consolidations & Return to Waverly
The Great Depression had a profound impact on all colleges at the time. In 1932, the “new church,” called the American Lutheran Church, decided to consolidate the five colleges it supported. Closed after World War I, Martin Luther Academy in Sterling, Neb., closed and students were encouraged to attend Wartburg. In 1933, Eureka Lutheran College (Eureka, S.D.) merged with St. Paul-Luther (St. Paul, Minn.) In 1935, St. Paul-Luther closed and students relocated to Wartburg College in Waverly. Wartburg College in Clinton moved to Waverly in the same year. Hebron College and Academy in Hebron, Neb., closed permanently during World War II and students were encouraged to transfer to Wartburg.
