As the population of Minnesota increased following statehood, the demand for education rose significantly. More primary schools opened, and the need for trained teachers to staff them increased. During its first session, the Minnesota legislature passed a law to establish a publicly funded teacher training school, called a normal school.

The normal school model originated in 16th century France and was brought to the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries, where it spread across the country. They were called normal schools because these teacher training schools were establishing the “norms,” the standards for teaching. Horace Mann started the movement for an American common school system in the 19th century, which was a movement to fund schools in the United States with public dollars. With the arrival of publicly funded schools, the Normal Schools provided the training necessary to staff public primary schools (and later, high schools) with teachers.

The first three normal schools in Minnesota were:

• Winona, 1860, opening with 61 students

• Mankato, 1868, opening with 23 students

• St. Cloud, 1869, opening with 50 students

Additional normal schools opened in Moorhead (1888), Duluth (1902), and Bemidji (1919).

In the 20th century, teacher training at normal schools began to shift from secondary education to the level of higher education. In 1902, the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools created a minimum requirement that all high school teachers needed to graduate from a college belonging to the Association. Later, in 1908, the National Education Association set the standard that a high school diploma was required for admission to a normal school and that two years of post-secondary education was the minimum requirement for elementary school teachers, with four years required for secondary school teachers.

Aided by these developments, the normal schools were well on their way to becoming colleges. By 1921, all the normal schools were designated by the legislature and rebranded as State Teachers’ Colleges. In 1957 the Minnesota State Legislature changed the name of the State Teachers’ Colleges to State Colleges. While the colleges continued to stress teacher education in their missions, they expanded and developed liberal arts programs to meet regional needs in the state. The last state college to open, known today as Southwest Minnesota State University, admitted its first class of students in 1967 in Marshall, Minnesota. Planning took several years, and other sites such as Worthington and Granite Falls were considered.

In 1975, a bill was passed by the Minnesota State Legislature to change the name of the State Colleges to State Universities. In the 1990s, the seven state universities merged with the technical and community colleges under one governing board, known today as the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities or simply, Minnesota State.

While the new tax-supported normal schools were not embraced by all, many Minnesotans championed normal school development in the state. Quite a few early influencers settled in Minnesota from the eastern United States, bringing with them values of public education, as many of those states already had well-established school systems, including normal schools. Although originally from New Hampshire, Dr. John D. Ford is credited with the title “Father of the Minnesota Normal School System," and served on the state’s first Normal School Board. Another prominent early education leader in Minnesota was Reverend Edward D. Neill. He was a supporter of the founding of the first normal school in Winona. Neill also established public schools in St. Paul, founded the Baldwin School and Macalester College, and later served as chancellor at the University of Minnesota.

Portrait of Reverend Edward D. Neill, early minister and state historian of Minnesota

The first president of the Winona Normal School, William Phelps (1864-1876) served on the Minnesota Normal Board and also influenced the founding of the normal school in Duluth. Charles H. Berry, Resident Director of the Winona Normal School from 1885-1888, was a founding member of the Winona Society of Arts, Sciences, and Letters, which raised funds for the Winona Normal School.

George M. Gage was Mankato Normal School's first principal (1868-1872). Julia Ann Sears succeeded him becoming the first woman to serve as principal at Mankato Normal School from 1872-1873, and the first woman to lead a public college in the United States. Sears was replaced by the Normal School board, who ultimately offered the position to Cornelius Hyde. This led to controversy and 60 Mankato residents signed a petition asking the board to retain Sears. Known as the Sears rebellion, students walked out of classes in protest and 41 refused to attend school until the board agreed to listen to them. After her dismissal in 1873, Sears left Minnesota and went on to teach college mathematics in Nashville, Tennessee.

Though three people had served as head of the Mankato Normal School prior, Edward Searing was named as its first President, holding that position from 1880-1898. During his tenure, Mankato Normal School increased student enrollment (at 1,180 students in 1898), and faculty and curriculum also expanded.

Ira Moore was the first President of the St. Cloud Normal School (1869 - 1875). During his tenure funds were raised to construct the school’s first permanent building, and move from the temporary Stearns Hotel location in 1874. In 1879 Isabel Lawrence, a pioneering and beloved teacher at the college, began teaching at the St. Cloud Normal School, later serving as the acting president (1914-1916). Lawrence retired in 1921 after 40 years.

Students at the early normal schools attended to complete their high school education curriculum if they had not done so previously, and then took additional courses to prepare them to teach elementary education at public primary schools. In the very early years, to graduate, students at normal schools had to complete one to two years of study and pledge that they would teach for at least two years in Minnesota. Below are a few examples of requirements for admission and an example of the St. Cloud normal school curriculum.

In addition to instruction in reading, writing, math, and methods of teaching, normal schools also offered training referred to as laboratory, or model school. Elementary school children from the community attended the lab schools and the normal school students could get hands-on experience teaching in the classroom.

The majority of students at the first normal schools were women, but both women and men attended. Here are snapshots of some of the early graduates and classes.

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