Illinois College

Illinois College is a private, liberal arts college, affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Presbyterian Church , and located in Jacksonville, Illinois. It was the second college founded in Illinois, but the first to grant a degree . It was founded in 1829 by the Illinois Band, students from Yale University who traveled westward to found new colleges. It briefly served as the state's first medical school from 1843–1848, and became co-educational in 1903. Beecher Hall, the first college building erected in Illinois, is named after its first president, Edward Beecher, sibling... to Henry Ward Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The first floor of Beecher Hall is the home of Phi Alpha Literary Society. The second floor is the home to Sigma Pi Literary Society. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places. In fall 2006 Illinois College opened Abraham Lincoln Residence Hall with a LEED certification for energy efficiency. The campus is divided into two quadrangles. The North "upper" quad is home to several historic buildings including Sturtevant Hall where William Jennings Bryan carved his initials while he was a student.
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