In 1912, John Hennessy, then Bishop of Wichita, visited Dodge City and viewed the defunct campus of Soule College.

Thinking that the campus would make an appropriate Catholic boarding school for young girls, Hennessy purchased the land and buildings for $8,500.

Operating a boarding school in Western Kansas, where the population was sparse, was never easy, but the academy struggled on and survived through the Great Depression.

With new construction materials severely rationed due to U.S. involvement in World War II, the Sisters of St. Joseph were unable to rebuild.

With new buildings, however, the sisters promised that the new campus would be an institution of higher education, serving both high school and college students.

The motto of St. Mary of the Plains College was, Sapientia Caritas Prudentia (Wisdom, Charity, Prudence).

[2] Campus and alumni records for St. Mary of the Plains College are housed today at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina.