Downer College
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Downer College (previously Wisconsin Female College) was a women's college in Fox Lake, Wisconsin, chartered in 1855 and opening in September 1856.
It was founded in 1854 as Wisconsin Female College under the auspices of the Wisconsin Baptist Convention to prepare women for missionary service. It was poorly funded, and was reorganized in 1863, with control passing to the village of Fox Lake. For a while it operated as Fox Lake Seminary and was co-educational.[1] In 1883 Judge Jason Downer of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, a strong advocate of educational opportunities for women, died and left the college $80,000, putting the school on a firmer foundation. In 1889, its name was changed to Downer College in honor of trustee and benefactor Jason Downer.
