Oskaloosa College was a liberal arts college based out of

Oskaloosa, Iowa Oskaloosa is a city in, and the county seat of, Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Oskaloosa was a national center of bituminous coal mining. The population was 11,558 in the 2020 U.S. Ce ...

. Work was begun on establishing the college in 1855, under the influence of Aaron Chatterson and was affiliated with the

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

. The college was incorporated in 1858, but classes were not held until 1861. Its first president was George T. Carpenter. Mary Bell Smith, who went on to become the president of the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...

, taught at Oskaloosa College, 1863-65. In 1881, all but one of the faculty left the college to start a new school in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, which would later become

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. His ...

; they were also joined by 47 (out of 300) students. For a good portion of its history, the school endured severe financial hardship, which eventually led to its demise in 1898.

Notable alumni

Eleanor McWilliams Chamberlain Eleanor "Ella" Collier McWilliams Chamberlain (née McWilliams; born September 1848; died July 1934) was an American women's rights activist and journalist who has been credited with starting the women's suffrage movement in Florida. Chamberlain w ...

, founder of Florida's suffrage movement * George W. Clarke, 21st Governor of Iowa from 1913 to 1917 *

William Temple Hornaday William Temple Hornaday, Sc.D. (December 1, 1854 – March 6, 1937) was an American zoologist, conservationist, taxidermist, and author. He served as the first director of the New York Zoological Park, known today as the Bronx Zoo, and h ...

, zoologist, conservationist, taxidermist, and author *

J. Howard Moore John Howard Moore (December 4, 1862 – June 17, 1916) was an American zoologist, philosopher, educator, humanitarian and socialist. He is considered to be an early, yet neglected, proponent of animal rights and ethical vegetarianism, and was a ...

, zoologist, philosopher and educator *

Eugene Claremont Sanderson Eugene C. Sanderson (March 24, 1859 – February 16, 1940) was an American Christian minister and educator who founded Eugene Divinity School (EDS) in Eugene, Oregon in 1895. Today this school is known as Bushnell University. He served as it ...

, Christian minister and founder of Eugene Divinity School (now

Northwest Christian University Bushnell University is a private Christian university in Eugene, Oregon. It is historically affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the Christian churches and churches of Christ. The institution was renamed from Northwes ...

) * Isaac D. Young,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from Kansas

References

1855 establishments in Iowa Defunct private universities and colleges in Iowa Educational institutions established in 1855 Education in Mahaska County, Iowa Liberal arts colleges in Iowa Universities and colleges affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) {{Iowa-university-stub