116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Curious Iowa: What college does College Community School District’s name refer to?
Western, Iowa was home to Western College until it moved to Toledo in 1881
Mar. 4, 2024 5:00 am, Updated: Mar. 4, 2024 8:18 am
College Community School District, which serves students in Linn, Benton and Johnson counties, is close to the Kirkwood Community College campus. But Kirkwood is not the district’s namesake.
In fact, College Community School District’s history starts in 1953, more than a decade before the community college was established. The district’s name actually comes from College Township, which was organized in 1857. College Township stretches between Cedar Rapids, Ely and Shueyville and encompasses what used to be the small town of Western, Iowa.
Today, the township’s namesake college is missing and largely forgotten. This week, Curious Iowa — a series from The Gazette that answers questions about Iowa, its culture and the people who live here — digs into Iowa history to tell the story of lost Western College.
College Township in Linn County, Iowa
College Community School District's name comes from College Township. The township was formed in 1857, one year after the United Brethren Church established Western College in Western, Iowa. The township stretches between Cedar Rapids, Ely and Shueyville and encompasses Western, Iowa.
Western College’s history in Western, Iowa
Back in 1857, Western was the home of Western College. The college was the United Brethren church’s first college west of the Mississippi River, hence the name “Western.”
The United Brethren Church was born out of the Great Awakening in 1767 and caught hold in German-speaking churches. In 1853, the church organized a mission agency and, according to the its website, “A wagon train of U.B. people journeyed from Iowa to Oregon where they intended to start U.B. churches.”
Leo Landis, state curator at the State Historical Society of Iowa, said the founding of private colleges by religious groups to promote their faith traditions “is just core to American society in that period 1840 to 1880.”
Western, Iowa was platted in 1856 and designed to form “proper surroundings for the college.” Among those plans was a large farm that would be run in cooperation with the college so that “students might earn their way,” according to the book “History of Linn County Iowa: From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. 1” by Luther A. Brewer and Barthinius L. Wick.
At first, there was a lot of excitement around the college town. In 1857, the Cedar Rapids Cedar Valley Times wrote that while “no one expects or predicts that Western will ever become a large city,” the college and incoming railroad would support a “flourishing country town.” However, when the railroad arrived, it was built three miles west of Western.
Western College enrolled both men and women and campus spread across 17 acres and three buildings. Enrollment peaked in 1874 with 230 students. According to a Gazette article from 1949, tuition was $7-$12 a semester and room and board cost $2.50 per week.
The town of Western was “free from saloons and places of sinful, vitiating amusements,” according to the 1878 book “The History of Linn County, Iowa: containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, a biographical directory of its citizens.” “Almost all who spend some years at the institution leave its halls earnest Christians,” the book states.
But, the college faced enrollment and financial issues. Battling debt, Western College sold much of its land, including the college farm. In 1881, the board of trustees decided to move Western College to Toledo, Iowa because residents had pledged more than $20,000 to support the school.
Western College becomes Leander Clark College
After fire destroyed the main campus building in Toledo in 1889, residents and the United Brethren Church came together to rebuild.
By 1902, the college had paid off its debts and started a campaign for an endowment. Anyone who contributed $50,000 could name the school, which is why the college was named after wealthy Toledo resident Leander Clark. Notably, Andrew Carnegie also donated $50,000 to the school on the condition that the church raise the remaining $50,000.
Landis said that industrial giants, like Carnegie, were looking to improve their public image and help the American people through philanthropy. Carnegie funded more than 2,500 libraries, including 101 in Iowa.
“So you get the Carnegie Library movement, but he also was setting up endowments for higher education on a larger scale besides something like what he did with Leander Clark College.” Landis said. “So, while unusual, not out of character for him to say, ‘Oh, here’s an institution of higher education in Iowa. It’s got one big donation of $50,000 from a local patron or a patron with local ties. Let’s help that out.’ ... It's kind of the predecessor to other foundations that we think of today supporting education, educational activities.”
Jessica Rundlett, special projects and outreach coordinator for the State Historical Society of Iowa, said World War I had a negative impact on college enrollment across Iowa. Men went off to war instead of college, and many didn’t come home.
"Especially with the influenza epidemic of 1918, it really impacts an entire generation,“ Rundlett said. ”And I believe for a lot of colleges across Iowa that is … a death knell.”
In the end, Leander Clark College went bankrupt. In 1919, the college united with Coe College and the Toledo campus was closed. In 1920, the campus was reopened as a State Juvenile Home and in 1950, the “Old Main” campus building was razed. The State Juvenile Home closed in 2014.
Today, the land is home to the future South Tama middle school. According to reporting from the Tama Toledo Chronicle, ground broke in 2023 and construction is expected to be completed by summer 2025.
What is left of Western College?
While Toledo, a county seat, was shielded from the blow of losing the college, Western was deeply affected. If you’re looking for old campus buildings while driving through Western, you won’t find them. According to a 1949 Gazette article, “There is no visible hint of a Western college to the passerby.” The three campus buildings were torn down.
When the college left Western, the life of the town left with it. In 1857, the town had about 300 residents. In 1949, 80 people called Western home. The Gazette described it as a “deserted-looking roadside town” back then and that description holds true today.
Have a question for Curious Iowa?
Tell us what to investigate next. Curious Iowa is a Gazette series that answers readers’ questions about our state, its people and the culture.
Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com
Daily Newsletters