Frances W. Shimer College Collection (Mt. Carroll)

Frances Shimer College, now located in Waukegan, Illinois, traces its origins back to 1852 when Mount Carroll, Illinois residents, lacking public schools, sought to provide education for its citizenry. John Wilson and William T. Miller successfully led the attempt to get the State Legislature to incorporate the Mt. Carroll Seminary, which officially opened on May 11, 1853 in the town's Presbyterian Church. Two women, Frances Ann Wood and Cinderella Gregory, were invited to come from New York to operate the school. After shares were sold and a site chosen, a new building opened in October 1854. The Board then offered to sell the property to Wood and Gregory, who became full proprietors. From 1854-1896 the Mt. Carroll Seminary continued under the direction of Frances Wood, who married Henry Shimer in 1857. From its inception it was a coeducational institution which offered the same six year program to student of both sexes. Intellectual, cultural, character, and spiritual development were stressed. In 1866 shortage of space led the Seminary to refuse to accept male residents. While there were male day students afterwards, the school became noted as a woman's school. In the mid and late nineteenth century few woman received formal education and few institutions granted women the right to a higher education. A rarity, especially West of the Appalachians, Mt. Carroll Seminary was therefore historically significant. In 1896 the school was transferred to the University of Chicago and renamed the Frances Shimer Academy of the University of Chicago. Its Baptist Church connections and its orientation toward liberal arts were accordingly strengthened. One year later Shimer reestablished its autonomy but continued a cooperative working relationship with Chicago. Throughout the twentieth century Shimer has enjoyed a reputation for innovation and for its emphasis on liberal arts. In 1920 it received accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, and from the 1930's it offered an expanded junior college program for grades 11-14. A distinctive feature of the Shimer Plan, instituted in 1939, was its advocacy and use of primary sources in general education curriculum. Renewed affiliation with the University of Chicago in 1950 brought a return to co-educational status and led to the awarding of the first B.A. degree in 1952. Shimer's curriculum was now directly modeled on that of the University of Chicago. Formal affiliation between the two institutions however, ended in 1956. Shimer celebrated its centennial from May 1952 to May 1953. In 1959 it became accredited as a four year college. For a brief period, 1959-1973, it was affiliated with the Episcopal Church. Like many private liberal arts colleges, Shimer was beset with financial difficulties in the 1970's. Various attempts were made to keep the school running. Bankruptcy proceedings eventually ended in a court agreement by which the Trustees agreed to sell the 36 acres Mt. Carroll site to pay off a $2,000,000 debt. In October 1979 a Restoration College Association bought the main facility at the bankruptcy auction. During the preceding in January Shimer College moved to smaller quarters in Waukegan, Illinois. In September 2006 the college moved to the Chicago campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology.

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