Founded by Benjamin Godfrey, a wealthy New England minister in 1838, Monticello Women’s College lasted until 1971, when it closed in a wave of all-female college closings. The current buildings were constructed in august Romanesque Revival style in 1890, until two years after the original buildings’ destruction in a great fire. A foundation now maintains the memory of this college, as the buildings are now part of the Lewis and Clark Community College campus.
Great photos (what’s new?) of an impressive building!
I’d forgotten about Monticello. My impression back in the ’50s is that it was more of a “finishing school” than one of “higher learning.” Kinda like how Stephens College in Columbia was also regarded (I understand it has morphed into something much more academically-oriented now). The old Christian College, also in Columbia was in a similarly-regarded position – although it has undergone a renaissance similar to Stephens, emerging as Columbia College with a similar 4-year program..
My great-grandmother attended Monticello in the 1916-1920 timeframe and she did refer to it as a finishing school.