On WGIL Galesburg’s Morning News, local historian Rex Cherrington shared the vibrant history of Lombard College, a Universalist-founded institution that shaped Galesburg until its closure in 1930. Unlike Knox College, founded by Presbyterians and Congregationalists like Rev. George Washington Gale, Lombard pioneered co-education, admitting men and women to the same classes. Rex highlighted key figures, including Benjamin Lombard, whose donation rebuilt the college after a 1855 fire, and presidents Paul R. Kendall and Jonathan Blanchard, whose clash over a horse fair sparked a “friendly rivalry.”
Notable graduates like diplomat Edwin Hurd Conger, broadcaster Ken Carpenter, athlete Evar Swanson, and poet Carl Sandburg, mentored by professor Philip Green Wright, brought Lombard fame. The college’s legacy lives on in Galesburg’s street names and the Ryder Divinity School. Join Rex and the Galesburg Historical Society for a walking tour, “Lombard College and Knox College: The Friendly Rivalry,” at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at Lombard School, 1220 E. Knox St. This 90-minute tour explores Lombard’s “ghosts,” including the lost Lombard Elm and Old Main.
