This Kansas City area college has some surprising historical ties to the Civil War

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If the Missouri Baptist Convention had stuck to its original plan, William Jewell College would be in Booneville or Fulton.

But influential Missourians like Alexander Doniphan successfully lobbied the church to choose a parcel of land on a hill north of downtown Liberty instead. The school, one of the first colleges west of the Mississippi, opened its doors in 1849.

Work on Jewell Hall, started soon after. The building, and school’s, namesake was a physician, educator and politician. He even supervised the construction process until he died, reportedly of sun stroke, in 1852.

Though Jewell at times spoke favorably of abolition, he and some of the school’s other prominent backers, including Doniphan, did own slaves.

Ironically, during the Civil War, the completed Jewell Hall served as a barracks and hospital for Union soldiers. Accounts vary, but at least 17 who died in the Battle of Liberty were buried on the grounds.

The campus continued to grow, with buildings like Wornall Hall, which burned down in 1913, and Gano Chapel commemorated on postcards of their own.

In 2003, William Jewell and the Missouri Baptist Convention severed all ties. Today, the independent liberal arts school bills itself as the ”critical thinking college” and is best known for its Harriman-Jewell Arts series, which was launched on campus in the 1960s.

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