St Olaf College - Viking Yearbook (Northfield, MN)

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Early St. Olaf ffistary Back in the 0Ifl Day The early history of Northfield is characterized by roudy times and places including the famed Iesse james Raid and the Wenner Beer Gardens at the base of the hill on which Thorson Hall now stands. It was in North- field that Harold Thorson, a prominent merchant, of- fered to donate land to build the school advocated by Rev. B. I. Muus, the founder of St. Olaf. Muus, the founder of St. Olaf's School, advocated co- education from the beginning. Harold Thorson chose Manitou Heights as the home of the college. The first building on the campus was Old Main which Was dedi- cated on Nov. 6, 1878. This building housed the whole college-the first co-educational dorm on the hill. Study conditions differed somewhat from contemporary facili- ties! 18 ' A i KT.