Salina Normal University, sometimes called Salina Normal College, was an independent coeducational normal school established in 1884 in Salina, Kansas. The college offered collegiate, normal, business, science, and fine arts courses. The university's first proprietor was Alexander Hopkins, who closed his East Illinois College in Danville, Illinois and brought some students and faculty with him. A building was constructed on College Street, at the western end of Iron Avenue, and the college opened on Tuesday, September 2, 1884 with a record-breaking initial enrollment for a Normal School of 60. The building had 57 rooms, cost a total of $40,000 to build, and the ground floor measured 100 by 65 feet. It had two wings: a dormitory wing, able to house 60–75 students, and the college wing, able to accommodate 500–600 students. The campus grounds occupied six acres, while the surrounding 53 acres were owned by the college stock company and sold in platted parcels. Attendance in the first year reached 125, but at mid-year many students and faculty became dissatisfied and ownership of the institution was transferred to J. Walter Fertig and L.O. Thoroman, with the latter becoming president. A prominent Salinan, Oscar Seitz, also served as president of the university in the 1880s while simultaneously managing the streetcar company. In 1884–85 the college library had approximately 1,000 books, the only library in Salina listed in the U.S. Office of Education 1886 survey of public libraries. By 1893, despite a lack of financial backing, annual enrollment was almost 700. Wikipedia [ - ]

Salina Normal University, sometimes called Salina Normal College, was an independent... [ + ]