Grinnell College

History

Grinnell College was founded as Iowa College in Davenport, Iowa in 1846 and was known by that name until 1909 when the Board of Trustees officially adopted the name Grinnell. Iowa College had moved from Davenport, Iowa to the town of Grinnell in the mid-19th century, after difficulties with residents in Davenport forced the college to relocate. The college was invited by Josiah Bushnell Grinnell (to whom Horace Greeley purportedly gave his famous advice, "Go West, young man") to move to his newly-founded town, located at the intersection of two major railroads. Today a railroad still cuts across the college campus.

Related Topics:
Davenport, Iowa - Josiah Bushnell Grinnell - Horace Greeley

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Grinnell was from its inception a progressive institution. It was the first college west of the Mississippi River to grant a bachelor's degree and among the first to admit women and African-Americans to its course of study. Grinnell served as a stop along the Underground Railway and John Brown stopped in Grinnell prior to his raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in 1859.

Related Topics:
Mississippi River - Underground Railway - John Brown - Harpers Ferry, West Virginia - 1859

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The campus was destroyed by a cyclone in 1882, but rebuilding began immediately and the student yearbook is today known as The Cyclone.

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In the 20th century, Grinnell maintained its reputation for social action. The College was a center of the Social Gospel reform movement and Grinnell graduates included numerous prominent members of the New Deal Administration. The later parts of the 1960s saw campus unrest and commencement was cancelled in 1970 after the shootings of student protesters at Kent State and Jackson State University. Today, campus politics continue to be solidly left-of-center, an orientation some students, employees, and alumni worry may stifle discourse or distort student ambitions.

Related Topics:
Social Gospel - New Deal - 1960s - 1970 - Kent State - Jackson State University

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In 2004, the Kaplan/Newsweek Special Education Edition named Grinnell the "Best All-Around College in the U.S." http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3070172/

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