Marion College was the first college to be chartered by the Missouri state legislature, and the second educational institution in Missouri to be granted the right to confer college and university degrees. Founded in 1831, Marion College was originally planned as a manual labor college focusing primarily on agriculture, while also teaching classics. From 1835, it also incorporated a theological seminary. The school was founded by private individuals, but was strongly Presbyterian. Its three schools were located in Philadelphia, East Ely and West Ely in Marion County, Missouri. The college attracted many investors, faculty and students from the East. It was opposed by proslavery residents of northeastern Missouri, who were particularly critical of founder and president David Nelson, an antislavery activist. Marion College was also part of a speculative bubble in Marion County, involving investment in Marion City, Philadelphia, and a planned railroad line. Enrollment dropped following the financial crisis of 1837, and by the spring of 1844, the college had closed. History Marion College was originally conceived as a manual labor college, where each student would be assigned several acres of land to farm, working under a professor. By working the land a few hours each day, each student would be able to pay their tuition and room and board. The founders were the Reverend Dr. David Nelson, William Muldrow, and Dr. David Clark. Nelson served as the college's first president, as well as its first teacher. The institution was organized with an "upper" campus in Philadelphia, Missouri, and a larger "lower" campus located about twelve miles southeast at East Ely and West Ely. The college had three departments: the preparatory school, a literary or "collegiate" department which focused heavily on classics, and a theological seminary established on May 11, 1835. Marion College was described as having the "airs of Yale and Harvard" and was called "a western Andover" by its proslavery opponents. In 1835, William S. Potts, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri agreed to serve as president after Nelson stepped down. Nelson was unpopular within Marion County due to his abolitionist views, and was famously driven out of the state in 1836. In 1838, Reverend Hiram P. Goodrich joined as vice president and took over from Potts as president in 1839. Reverend John Blatchford served as president from 1843 to 1844. The first yearbook for Marion College appeared in 1835 and lists 80