Concordia Missouri St. Paul's College

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In 1883, Paster Biltz, his congregation at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Concordia Missouri, as well as sister congregations in Emma and Alma Missouri, insisted on the need for a school in the western district of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod to train young men in the ministry. Their request was approved and the congregations called a Reverend Andrew Baepler to be the first teacher at the school. The first classes were held on January 3, 1884.

When classes started, there were 3 students who were instructed at Baepler's study at his home. By Easter, there were as many as sixteen students and the class moved to a building that had been an old post office. It was during this time, in the Spring and Summer of 1884, the school's board of trustees began building on land acquired from the Bruns family to the north of town. The first school building was completed on August 31, 1884, the day before the start of the second school year.

This building still stands today, but now functions as a museum on the south side of the greater St. Paul campus. The school has transitioned from its start as St. Paul's College to St. Paul's High School and Junior College to St. Paul Lutheran High School today. Today, the 40-acre campus has nine buildings including three dormitories. The school is still a boarding school and boasts a diverse student body with students from all over the world. Despite humble origins, the school has remained a fixture in the Concordia community for 137 years.