Coe College was founded by Presbyterian minister Williston Jones in 1851. Its buildings and grounds were established beginning in 1853. The college went by different names, including “Cedar Rapids Collegiate Institute” and “Parsons Seminary,” before being named Coe College in 1881 after benefactor Daniel Coe. From its earliest days, Coe has been open to and attended by men and women from many backgrounds, races, and religions. Though its initial structures no longer stand, much of Coe’s present main campus dates to the first half of the twentieth century—including its distinctive central “quad.”
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