It began as The Literary and Theological Institute of the Lutheran Church in the Far West in Hillsboro, Illinois, in 1847.
John Tillson was the largest contributor, and he also guaranteed the full payment of the teachers and donated various equipment.
[1] In 1846, the academy's board of trustees petitioned the Illinois Senate to transfer its charter to the Literary and Theological Institute of the Lutheran Church in the Far West.
The academy continued to operate until January 28, 1880, at which time it passed into the control of the local public school.
The trustees accepted the proposal, despite the fact that the college was debt-free and the building in Hillsboro was worth $6,000.
They petitioned for, and received, a new charter as The Illinois State University that allowed the college to create departments not only of theology and of medicine and law, but also of "mechanical philosophy" and of agriculture.
On June 28, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected to a one-year term as a trustee, making him perhaps the most famous individual associated with the school.
Many of the pledges made by Springfield residents to encourage the school to relocate had not been paid; payments for the perpetual scholarships also lagged.
The trustees had hoped that the Illinois legislature would distribute money from the state's Seminary and College Fund to struggling schools such as theirs, but that aid never materialized.
W. M. Reynolds as president, conditions worsened, such that by 1858, an additional debt of $2,682 in unpaid faculty salaries had been incurred.
[11] Efforts to increase payments and donations allowed the school to continue operating although still in a precarious financial state.
A proposal that the college be moved to another city caused some Springfield residents to contribute more money, but that increase was only temporary.
At the final meeting of the board of trustees, the college building was leased to two Presbyterians, Rev.
[21] In August 1874, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod bought the property for $7,474.38 and moved the 29 pre-seminary students of its practical seminary, along with one instructor, from St. Louis to the Springfield campus.