Lindenwood University history

In 1829, the Sibleys purchased 280 acres (113.3 ha) of land, known as the "Linden Wood" because of the numerous linden trees.

Her 12-year-old sister, Alby, became the first student at Linden Wood in the fall of 1830.

In 1853, the school was incorporated by special act of the Missouri Legislature and became known as the Lindenwood College for Women.

The new building, Sibley Hall, was completed in July 1857, and at the time contained the entire school.

George Sibley died in 1863.

Following his death, the college charter was amended in 1870 to provide that the appointment of directors for the management of the college would be under the control of the Synod of Missouri instead of the Presbytery of St Louis.

Lindenwood designated the field daisy as its official flower in 1914 because it matched the original colors of the college: yellow and white.

Lindenwood received a $4 million bequest in 1918, the entire estate of the late Margaret Leggat Butler, wife of Colonel James Gay Butler, a Civil War veteran and philanthropist.

Left: a linden tree known as “King of the Campus” after it was cut down in the 1920s.

In 1940, Missouri governor Lloyd C. Stark gave Lindenwood several lindens from his family business, Stark Bro’s Nurseries & Orchards Co.

The college became a co-educational institution in 1969 and changed its name from Lindenwood College for Women to Lindenwood Colleges, with a separate college for men and women.

Lindenwood Colleges, Lindenwood College for Men and Lindenwood College for Women were merged into Lindenwood College in 1983.

By 1989, Lindenwood College was bankrupt with student enrollment below 800.

The college became a co-educational institution in 1969 and changed its name from Lindenwood College for Women to Lindenwood Colleges, with a separate college for men and women. It was known as Lindenwood College until 1997, at which time the school changed its name to the current name of Lindenwood University.

A change that caused controversy for the school was the "Pork for Tuition" program begun in 2002 and designed to help rural families pay for tuition by the university accepting livestock in return for discounts.

Born and raised in Ohio, a deployment to Iraq in 2005 with the United States Army sparked an interest in the history and cultures of the region which led to subsequent travels in Israel-Palestine and Jordan.

In 2006, Dennis Spellmann died by which time the university had seen its endowment grow to more than $50 million.

Doctor James Evans became Lindenwood's 21st president on February 9, 2007.

The J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts, a performance and fine arts center, opened in late 2008 at a cost of $32 million.

By 2010, Lindenwood University's endowment had reached $148 million Early the following year, Lindenwood began construction of a new parking lot to ease congestion on campus.

In the fall of 2012, the university announced it had purchased the 28-acre (11.3 ha) property that was previously home to the Barat Academy.

The building became the home of the Lindenwood Nursing and Allied Health Sciences program opening in fall 2013.

In May 2014, the Lindenwood University Board of Directors approved plans for a 100,000-square-foot Library and Academic Resources Center off First Capitol Drive, adjacent to the Welcome Center on the St Charles campus.