[1] Montana Wesleyan University opened its doors to students in 1890 after completing a building in the valley about 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Helena.

After streetcar service was discontinued to the Prickly Pear Valley, the location was isolated, but the school did not close its doors.

The panic of 1893 and the slow population development of the state were the principal reasons why the institution did not sooner realize the hopes of its projectors.

Against many adverse circumstances, it continued its work until January 1914, when the school moved to its present location at Klein Campus.

[2] From 1916 to 1921, despite rising costs and other difficulties that confronted trustees of educational institutions all over the country, Montana Wesleyan reached a degree of building and other equipment that enabled it to fulfill the purposes and ideals of the founders thirty years prior.

Other buildings convenient to the campus were utilized for dormitory and other purposes, and the students also had access to the many advantages of the capital city, including the State Historical Library, the State Laboratories, the City Library, the YMCA, and all the varied social, religious and civic advantages of Helena.

[1] Montana Wesleyan had a complete faculty organization of specialists in their lines of work, and the educational facilities embraced not only the general academic and college courses but also scientific, domestic science, music, and commercial departments.