This postcard shows buildings on the Washburn Campus in Topeka, Kansas. From left to right the structures have been identified as follows: Crane Observatory, Boswell Library and MacVicar Chapel. The campus is located on 160 acres of land, donated by abolitionist John Ritchie, in the central portion of the capital city. Established in February of 1865 by the Congregational Church, the school was named Lincoln College in honor of President Abraham Lincoln. In 1868, the board of trustees changed the institution's name to Washburn College to honor Ichabod Washburn, a wealthy industrialist from Worcester, Massachusetts, who gave a $25,000 donation to the college's endowment program. The school was later renamed, in 1952, Washburn University of Topeka.
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