Like many historic buildings in southeastern Wisconsin, the Racine College structures are largely composed of Cream City brick.

Prominent citizens of Racine, including Marshall Strong and Dr. Elias Smith, successfully lobbied to have the college built in their city and raised funds for a rural six-acre site on a bluff overlooking the lake.

Lucas Bradley, one of Racine's most prominent architects, was chosen to design the building, which he chose to make "a twin to the first".

Most of the campus buildings were inspired by the architecture of St. Peter's College, a high-church public school founded at Radley in 1847.

[6] When the American Civil War drove Saint James out of business, several important teachers and professors joined DeKoven at Racine.

Because of this, the building was able to be restored for less than half the cost of the original construction, although collegiate education was forced to be canceled for several weeks and did not fully return to its prior state for over a year afterward.

They agreed to support the college's mission by helping it open grammar schools across the Midwest that carried on its educational philosophy.

[14] His work in theology and education was compared to that of John Keble, and like him, DeKoven's grave was considered a shrine by Anglicans.

In closing the college, its trustees explained that with its lowered funding, it could no longer maintain a high educational standard.

[17] During this time, most boys enrolled at Racine College were secondary (or grammar) school students preparing for the Bachelor of Arts course.

The campus continued to be a major location for the Episcopal Church, which held a number of conferences there in the early 20th century.

Sidney T. Smythe, the founder of St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, was prepared at Racine and remained a devotee of DeKoven's.

[21] The Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee lost ownership of the grounds after the school's closure, but Bishop Benjamin Ivins was able to arrange a summer camp at the property, run by the Community of St. Mary, in 1934.

Originally opened in a single room in the East Building and educating only 32 students,[23] the school continually grew to rent a larger space and enroll over two hundred.

In addition to fine art shows, the Spectrum Gallery, opened in 1996, still holds regular classes and exhibitions of students' artwork.

[27] The DeKoven Natatorium, a community swimming pool located in the gymnasium, closed on March 1, 2013, after 100 years of operation.

[28] The pool had been added to the gym building in 1913, one of the few architectural additions since the death of DeKoven, and had previously closed in 1979 because of structural problems.

in the past, one of the largest annual events, that took place in St. John's Chapel and the Great Hall, was the madrigal feast put on by the choir and theater departments of Horlick High School.