At the time, the LCMS was not able to undertake the project financially because it was building Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.

Classes for St. Paul's College first met in a private home on January 3, 1884, with Andrew Baepler, the English-language missionary for the Western District, as the instructor.

Initially, only the first four years of the six-year gymnasium curriculum were offered at St. Paul's, equivalent to a high school.

[2] The school was temporarily closed in 1919 due to an outbreak of typhoid that claimed the lives of three students.

Instruction was originally in German, but switched to English as a result, in part, of anti-German sentiment during World War I.

A new dormitory named Biltz Hall was added sometime thereafter; it now houses the St. Paul Institute for Education.

While it still offered pre-seminary training for young men entering the pastoral ministry, it began to broaden its offerings, Courses for men and women wanting to become Christian day school teachers were added in 1954, with eleven women being in the first class.

[9] Boys teams include baseball, basketball, cross country, 8-man football, golf, soccer, and track and field.

Girls teams include basketball, cross country, soccer, track and field, and volleyball.

[10] In the 1920's, baseball was the primary sport, with games played against area town, American Legion, high school, and college teams.