Central Wesleyan College Archives
Scope and Contents
Ledgers; correspondence; business, legal, and financial records; institutional histories of Central Wesleyan College and Orphan Asylum and merging institutions, Mt. Pleasant German College and Ozark Wesleyan College; student organizations' records; and college publications. Some of the documents as well as some records of the St. Louis German Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church. Many of the documents are in German. Early materials, before 1910, are sparse. The collection contains few materials pertaining to the campus buildings and the daily operations of the school. It does not include the individual records from the Orphan Home.
Dates
- 1862-1987
Creator
- Central Wesleyan College (Warrenton, Mo.) (Organization)
Notes on Use of Collection
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Copyright
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Board of Governors for Truman State University, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.
Researchers further agree to indemnify and hold harmless Truman State University, Pickler Memorial Library, and their officers, employees, and agents from and against all suits, claims, actions, and expenses arising out of use of collections held by the library.
Historical Note
Central Wesleyan College had its roots in the German and English College of Quincy, Illinois, founded in 1854. This college endeavored to train ministers for the German Methodist Episcopal Church and to educate young people of German heritage in that language. The English portion of the Quincy college ceased in 1863, and in the summer of 1864, a convention of German Methodists decided to establish a new institution with two purposes: to provide a home for orphans of the Civil War and to supply a "higher educational institute for the youth of the German Church in the West."
Nine hundred thirty-two acres were purchased on May 19, 1864, at Warrenton, Missouri, for the institution, which was named the Western Orphan Asylum and Educational Institute. It opened on October 3, 1864. In 1869, the name was changed to Central Wesleyan College and Orphan Asylum to reflect a broadening in the studies offered.
The two parts of the institution were legally separated in 1884, becoming Central Wesleyan College and Central Wesleyan Orphan Home. Central Wesleyan Orphan Home closed in 1939; the children were transferred to the Methodist Children's Home in St. Louis. The Epworth Children's Home in Webster Groves, Missouri, became the repository of the Central Wesleyan Orphan Home records. They are now part of the Records of Epworth Children and Family Services Records at the Missouri Historical Society.
The college flourished and developed a campus with a number of buildings. The theological seminary was an especially strong part of the course of study. However, over the years the college endured hardships from fires, a tornado, the anti-German attitudes prevalent during World War I, and financial problems.
In 1909 the German College of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, merged with the Warrenton school under the name Central Wesleyan College and German Theological Seminary. The college continued to operate under the auspices of the German Methodist Conference until 1925, when the German conferences merged with the English-speaking conferences. In 1932 Central Wesleyan "inherited" the records of the defunct Ozark Wesleyan College of Carthage, Missouri.
After offering a baccalaureate degree for much of its existence, Central Wesleyan became a junior college in 1930. Increasing financial troubles and the loss of membership in the Missouri College Union finally combined to overwhelm the struggling college, and it failed to open in the fall of 1941.
The school remained closed thereafter, and the property, buildings, and contents were sold to the highest bidder in 1946.
Extent
24.3 linear feet
Language of Materials
English
German
Arrangement
This collection is organized into nine series.
- Series 0: Information on the Central Wesleyan College Collection, 1889-1987
- Series I: History of Central Wesleyan College and Central Wesleyan Orphan Asylum, 1874-1998
- Series II: Organization of Central Wesleyan College and Central Wesleyan Orphan Asylum, 1867-1939
- Series III: Operation of Central Wesleyan College, 1879-1942
- Series IV: Legal and Financial Affairs of Central Wesleyan College and Central Wesleyan Orphan Asylum, 1864-1941
- Series V: Campus Activities and Organizations, 1865-1939
- Series VI: Publications and Publicity, 1866-1941
- Series VII: Church Conferences and Other Cooperative Organizations, 1862-1939
- Series VIII: Photographs, Artifacts and Student Books, undated
Custodial History
The Central Wesleyan College failed to open in the fall of 1941. The school remained closed thereafter, and the property, buildings, and contents were sold to the highest bidder in 1946.
Acquisition Information
In 1947, Northeast Missouri State Teachers College (now Truman State University) in Kirksville, Missouri, purchased the library of the Central Wesleyan College from the new owner, who was liquidating the property. Northeast Missouri State Teachers College at the same time agreed to take custody of and preserve the College's archives and student records. The archives are housed in Special Collections and the student records are under the care of the Registrar. Since that time, Truman has received additional materials for the collection from Iowa Wesleyan University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and Central Methodist University, as well as from individual donors.
Existence and Location of Copies
Some Central Wesleyan College materials including The Pulse yearbook, annual catalogs and photographs have been digitized and are available to view in our digital library.
Separated Materials
Series 0: Information on the Central Wesleyan College Collection; Folder 0.2 Descriptions of the Central Wesleyan College Collection; Slides made for Sauer research are kept in cool storage.
Processing Information
Contents originally compiled and arranged by Carol Fowler under the direction of Odessa Ofstad in December of 1981. The collection was revised by Judith May-Sapko in October 1999. Additions by Cheryl Musch December 2020.
Creator
- Central Wesleyan College (Warrenton, Mo.) (Organization)
- Title
- Central Wesleyan College records
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Carol Fowler and Judith May-Sapko. Additions by Cheryl Musch.
- Date
- [date unknown, before 2019]
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Truman State University, Pickler Memorial Library, Special Collections Manuscripts Repository