Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS) is a post-secondary school that trains men to become pastors for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). It is located in Mequon, Wisconsin. The campus consists of 22 buildings, including a library that has over 58,000 volumes and a collection of rare pre-18th century theological books. History Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary has been located in several different places throughout its history. Origins in Watertown The origins of the school date to 1863, when the main sources of clergy in the Wisconsin Synod were the mission societies in Germany. As the Wisconsin Synod moved to a more conservative and confessional theological stance, the theological character of clergy from the German mission societies came into question. Furthermore, it became more and more difficult to provide pastors in adequate numbers. To alleviate these problems the Wisconsin Synod formed the Theological School of the Wisconsin Synod in Watertown, Wisconsin. The first students met in the professor's home. In 1864, the Wisconsin Synod in convention resolved to provide a permanent building for the seminary. of Watertown land were purchased for $600.00. Ground was broken on July 22, 1864, on what is now the campus of Luther Preparatory School. The building was dedicated on September 14, 1865. The third floor of the building was used for the seminary classes, and the first two levels were used for the synod's college, Northwestern College. Merger with Concordia Seminary Because of small enrollments and an increasing desire to enter into fellowship with the Missouri Synod, the school merged with that synod's Concordia Seminary in 1870. As part of the merger, it was agreed that the Missouri Synod would actively participate in Northwestern College by providing a professor for the school and assisting the school with financial support. Wisconsin was to send students to St. Louis, provide a professor, and contribute financial support for Concordia. Each synod was to retain management of its own institution. Six Wisconsin Synod students began study in St. Louis in March 1870. Reopening in Milwaukee In 1878, the WELS reopened a seminary in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to help prevent the assimilation of the entire synod into the Missouri Synod. Wisconsin Synod leaders stressed that doctrinal fellowship was possible with the Missouri Synod without organizational unity. Two small houses were rented at the corner of Hubbard Street and Garfield Avenue and served as the school's campus for two years. Prof. Eugen Notz also served