Gustavus Adolphus College, the dream of Swedish immigrants, began as a humble secondary school in Red Wing with one student in 1862. Relocated to St. Peter in 1876, it has flourished as one of Minnesota's private liberal arts colleges.
In 1862, Swedish Lutheran immigrants donated twenty dollars to establish a church school in Goodhue County. The coeducational Minnesota elementarskola—Swedish for "secondary school"—opened in a Lutheran Church in Red Wing that fall. Reverend Eric Norelius served as the sole instructor of a single pupil.
The school moved to East Union in Carver County in 1863. It expanded in 1865 and became St. Ansgar's Academy. The churches within the Augustana Synod provided funding for the school, but resources fell short. In 1873, the Lutheran Minnesota Conference considered moving the school to Minneapolis in the hope of increasing church support. A financial panic that year caused the conference to move it to St. Peter instead.
The school reincorporated as the Gustavus Adolphus Literary and Theological Institute (later Gustavus Adolphus College), named for King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden. Educating teachers and clergy remained the school's primary focus. Classes began October 16, 1876, in a new stone building (later "Old Main") with fifty-one students and two teachers. Eight male students received the first bachelor's degrees awarded by the school in 1890.
Rising enrollment and more course offerings prompted ongoing construction. By the 1920s the college had added dormitories, an auditorium, a central heating plant, a student union, and a gymnasium. The post-World War II housing crunch called for temporary living space for veterans and more residence halls. The first coed dorm, later called Norelius Hall, welcomed students in 1967.
The Alfred Nobel Hall of Science, completed in 1963, hosted the first annual Nobel Conference two years later. During the 1970s–1990s the college renovated several older buildings, expanded student housing, built the Schaefer Fine Arts Center, enlarged the Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library, and much more. More recent additions include the Curtis and Arlene Carlson International Center and Beck Academic Hall.
Extracurricular activities in the early years consisted of literary and forensic societies. In the 1920s, these groups became fraternities and sororities with social and service functions. The Greys and the Reds, secret societies once banned from campus, became fraternities with official recognition from the college. In the wake of a harsh hazing incident in 1988, the Board of Trustees voted to revoke the charters of all Greek societies. Most frats and sororities were reinstated in 1993, with stricter rules governing activities.
Sports teams at Gustavus gained popularity in the early 1900s. The Golden Gusties football team won their first official game in 1902 against Mankato Normal School. The college's first basketball team—a women's team—lost its first game to Mankato in 1903. Admission to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1920 prompted the construction of a football stadium and fieldhouse. Newer athletic facilities include the Lund Center for Physical Education and Health, the Swanson Tennis Center, and a new football stadium.
Gustavus has been closely identified with the Lutheran Church throughout its history. To appeal to a more diverse student population in the 1960s, the church connection became just one part of the school's mission. Student attendance at daily chapel services, formerly held in the old auditorium, became optional when Christ Chapel opened in 1962. Religion classes, reduced in number, reflected a variety of beliefs.
International students started coming to Gustavus in the 1940s. The Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s highlighted the need to further diversify the student body. School officials worked to recruit black students in southern states. The Black Student Organization, started in the late 1960s, provided a welcoming community for African American students and encouraged others to enroll. A Diversity Center opened on campus in 1999. ACT and SAT scores became optional for admission in 2006 partly to encourage diversity.
During spring break in March 1998, an F3 tornado devastated the St. Peter community. The storm downed more than 2,000 trees on campus and caused serious damage to many buildings. The college rebounded quickly, resuming classes within three weeks.
Gustavus celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2012. A visit from King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Sylvia of Sweden kicked off the event in October 2011.