Elementary and High Schools
Lincoln School
Lincoln School was built in 1923 on the site of the old Pleasant
Grove School at 110 Fulton Street. Lincoln served as a temporary high school
after Mankato High School burned down in 1941. After the new high school was
built, Lincoln was turned into a junior high school. It served this purpose
until 1981, when it was closed due to falling enrollment. Today the old Lincoln
School is the Lincoln Community Center and houses the Alternative High School.
Roosevelt School
The current Roosevelt School building was completed in 1927 at the
site of the old West Mankato School. During that year, Beatrice Marks, the
principal, led the staff and students from the 1885 building to the newer
structure. She carried a hand bell which sits in the principal's office to this
day.
Source
The Heritage of Blue Earth County. Curtis Media Corporation, 1990
Colleges
Mankato State Teacher's College
In 1921 the school became Mankato State Teachers College and was authorized by the State to offer a four-year curriculum. The institution’s first four-year degree, a bachelor of education, was awarded in 1927.
The school experienced near disaster in 1922, when the first Old Main building was destroyed by fire. The state legislature responded in 1924 by approving funds for a new building, which also became known as "Old Main."
In 1930, Frank McElroy became president, the first head of the institution to hold a Ph.D. In 1933, tuition was charged for the first time. The tuition fee replaced the pledge to teach which granted students free tuition. Students were charged $10 per quarter, and non-resident students paid an additional $5 per quarter.
Between 1930 and 1945 enrollment averaged from 600 to 700 students. Around 1943 the Extended Campus program saw its beginnings when classes were held off campus for the first time. At the same time evening classes were established so that working people who needed further training were able to attend classes.
Clarence Crawford was named president in 1946. He and state senator Val Imm were the catalysts in first optimizing Mankato State’s confined campus, blueprinting a new highland location that was a cornfield. (The winding scenic roadway to this new area was eventually named Val Imm Drive.)
For a timeline of the Mankato State Teacher's College, click here.
Taken from the History of Minnesota State University-Mankato <http://www.mnsu.edu/dept/univops/history/> hosted by Minnesota State University-Mankato
Mankato Technical College
Mankato Technical College got its start when a vocational school was organized in Mankato in 1945 to help train veterans returning from World War II. In 1947, Mankato Area Vocation-Technical Institute was approved as the first area vocational-technical school in the state. At that time it was housed in Kost Garage. In 1950, the Institute moved into its own building at 51 Park Lane. Additions were made to this building in 1960 and 1965, but it still could not house all of the pupils. In the spring of 1966, a bond passed to build a new school and construction began on the new vocational-technical school on North Mankato hilltop. Over the years, the building has had many additions and used several areas as satellite classrooms due to overcrowding. In 1989, Mankato Technical Institute became Mankato Technical College.
Source
The Heritage of Blue Earth County. Curtis Media Corporation, 1990
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