Iowa Wesleyan College
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa
1842-2023
E-Travel
Early catalogs (1912-1917) are available through HathiTrust, which also has the 1942 centennial history by Charles J. Kennedy. Internet Archive has the 1930 Croaker yearbook. The Mount Pleasant News, Muscatine Journal and Des Moines Register all carried news from the school. The National Register application for “Old Main” is online. As a recently closed college, Iowa Wesleyan has numerous online articles concerning issues of closure and disposal of the campus.
History
The oldest co-educational college in Iowa and also the oldest west of the Mississippi, Iowa Wesleyan received its charter as Mt. Pleasant Literary Institute on February 17, 1842 and was rechartered as Mt. Pleasant Collegiate Institute in 1844. Classes opened in January 1845 with two teachers—President Aristides J.P. Heustis taught natural and moral science as well as belles-lettres. Johnson Pierson taught ancient languages and literature. Mathematics was added later. As more collegiate-level work was added, the school name was changed to Iowa Wesleyan University in 1855, and to Iowa Wesleyan College in 1910. The first B.A. degree was awarded in 1856.
The 1930 Croaker shows an enrollment of 240 taught by a faculty of 18.
Under the aegis of the United Methodist Church, Iowa Wesleyan required students to attend daily chapel services and attend church weekly. Among forbidden student activities was dancing, so in 1895 “a number of students” were suspended for attending a ball.
Like many private colleges, Iowa Wesleyan provided a strong educational community for its students. The 1930 Croaker shows seven social sorority/fraternity chapters with membership of 205. In addition, I.W.C. offered chapters of discipline-based organizations in forensics, English, French, drama, biology. music, business, education, and history.
I.W.C. Student Council. Image from the 1930 Croaker
There were Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A. chapters along with service and ministerial organizations. In addition to the Croaker, students published a newspaper (IW News) and a humor magazine (Woofus).
Citing “a combination of financial challenges,” the trustees voted unanimously to close Iowa Wesleyan University on May 31, 2023.
Bricks and Mortar
The initial I.W.C. campus consisted of twenty acres—donated by four Mt. Pleasant reside—and one two-story brick building now known as Pioneer Hall. Measuring 28 by 54 feet, it had nine class rooms on the ground floor, with the president’s residence above. A second building, “Old Main,” opened for classes in 1855. Constructed of locally fired bricks, this classical style building measured 100 by 55 feet. The lower two floors contained classrooms “of various sizes.” The top floor housed the library, the chapel, a natural history museum, and rooms for student organizations. The Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.) was founded in this building in 1869.
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In 1896 a third building was added. University Chapel was a four-story Gothic structure which now contained the chapel and the library.
In 2023 after the college closed, its campus was sold piecemeal, the largest part including Pioneer Hall, Old Main, the Chapel and the gymnasium—was purchased by the local school district.
"Old Main" Image from the Library of Congress
Sports
Team name: Tigers
School Colors: Purple and White
The Dr. Roger B. Saylor website shows football between 1890 and 2011. But the 1915 Croaker indicates that 1914 was the school’s first year with a hired coach. In 1923 I.W.U. became a charter member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Conference with other smaller Iowa colleges. The Tigers won the conference in 1929 and were co-champions in 1930. In both 1952 and 1953 they were Southern Division winners, and conference playoff winners in 1953. In 1965 I.W.C. withdrew from the conference and pursued a non-scholarship path through NAIA and NCAA III affiliations.
The most successful sports program at Iowa Wesleyan was women’s basketball. In 1943 under coach Vern Ruble, the Tigerettes began a 21-year run as participants in the AAU national tournament. From 1956 through 1964, teams reached the semifinals each year, finishing runners up to the Wayland TX Queens in 1957 and Nashville Business College in 1958.
After 1995 Iowa Wesleyan fielded teams in eight men’s and eight women’s sports as members of the Midwest Collegiate Conference, the St, Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference or the Continental Athletic Conference.
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