Gale College Historic District | |
 Old Main Hall in 2023 | |
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| Location | Twelfth Street, Galesville, Wisconsin |
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| Coordinates | 44°4′43″N 91°22′2″W / 44.07861°N 91.36722°W |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| MPS | Galesville MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 84004020[1] |
| Added to NRHP | February 14, 1997 |
Gale College (also Galesville University and Marynook) was a private college in Galesville, Wisconsin. It was founded by George Gale, opening in 1854 and closing in 1939. Several religious denominations used the facilities as a college and later as a training school.
Judge George Gale went to college at the University of Vermont and moved to the western frontier in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in the early 1850s.[2] After finding little interest in starting a college in La Crosse, he bought 2,000 acres (810 ha) to start Galesville at a choice spot for his planned university.[2] The state of Wisconsin chartered the school in 1854 as Galesville University and Gale held the first classes in the county courthouse in Galesville.[2] The first class had 16 students including Gale's son, George Gale Jr.[2] Old Main was completed in 1862 and the campus was occupied in 1863.[3] Gale ran the nonsectarian college until 1865 and the school floundered when his health deteriorated during his involvement in the American Civil War.[4]
In 1865, the Methodist Episcopal Church took over the school and held classes until 1871.[4] The Presbyterians took over until 1901 and changed the name to Gale College in the 1890s.[3][4] The Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America purchased the college in 1901.[4] In 1915, they built a new dormitory and gymnasium.[5] They constructed a new heating plant in 1921.[6] The Lutherans suspended the school for the 1938-39 school year because of too small enrollment and closed it permanently in June 1939.[7][8]
The Society of Mary, Province of St. Louis purchased the buildings and 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land in 1941 for $10,000.[9] Its buildings included two dormitories, the main building, and a heating plant.[9] The Catholic order used the buildings to train novitiate brothers and priests.[9] They named the school Marynook and operated the novitiate until it became a retreat in 1973.[10] The retreat operated until June 1994, at which time the city of Galesville purchased it for $150,000.[3] The city granted a 50-year lease in 2000 to the Garden of Eden Preservation Society.[3]
Throughout the school's varied history, it held a "Founders Day" celebration on June 4.[2] A wreath was usually placed at Gale's tomb and the grounds were typically open to the public.[11] The day celebrated Gale's founding of the school, his platting of Galesville, and his work to develop Trempealeau County.[11]
Several buildings on the campus were listed as a historic district with the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 1997.[1]
The Old Main building is being restored by the Old Main Historical & Community Arts Center. The group rents out the building for events and holds fundraisers.[12] Volunteers are compiling the history of the area, building a digital database, and collecting local genealogy information.[12] Another building is being used as a kindergarten.
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