Judson College, in

Mount Palatine, Illinois Mount Palatine is an unincorporated community in LaSalle and Putnam counties in the U.S. state of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas in ...

, United States, was founded as Mount Palatine Academy in 1846, under the auspices of the Baptist denomination. It was chartered by the state of Illinois as a university in the winter of 1850–51, then led by its first president in 1853, and sold under fiscal duress by the Sheriff in 1860. When the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

was built, stopping in

Tonica, Illinois Tonica is a village in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The population was 749 at the 2020 census, down from 768 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ottawa Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Tonica was originally a small hamlet ...

, six miles away from Mount Palatine, rapid decline in enrollment ensued at Judson. This institution subsequently became unprofitable and was sold in 1860 to the Catholic community in the vicinity. The sale was conditional on the sole building and property be permanently maintained as a school. Failure to do so would cause the property to revert to the original owners. Judson College has never been connected to the present-day institution founded under the same name, now called

Judson University Judson University is a private Baptist university in Elgin, Illinois. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Judson was formed out of the liberal arts component of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. When the seminary moved ...

, an evangelical Christian liberal arts university located in

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-large ...

, founded in 1963.

Alumni

* Robert Maclay (1834–1898) — Merchant for New York City, business executive, and New York City politically appointed urban development executive

References

{{coord, 42.059825, -88.290150, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-IL, display=title Defunct Christian universities and colleges Defunct private universities and colleges in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1846 Educational institutions disestablished in 1860 1846 establishments in Illinois 1860 disestablishments in Illinois