University of Minnesota

What eventually became the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus was founded as a prep school in 1851, seven years before Minnesota became a state. It moved to its present site on the east bank of the Mississippi Rver in 1857. That year it had 26 students.

Financial problems forced the University to close during the Civil War. It reopened in 1869 as a land-grant school. The first degrees — two of them — were granted in 1873; the first doctorate was awarded in 1888.

Since then, the system has expanded to 4 campuses, enrolling 66,000 students a year. The Twin Cities campus is one of the top three research universities in the country, offering degrees through 20 different colleges.

Old Main, an enlargement of the first University building, circa 1880. Photo: Minnesota Historical Society.