# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1911_S80
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

80 Proceedings of the 28th General or

sent out to the congregations of the district, in which the
congregations were asked to deliberate and vote on whether an
institution of its own should be founded in our district, and then,
how many students could be registered to enter this institution, were
it to be founded.

The result of the congregations' vote was that an institution of the
Oregon and Washington District should be called into being in
September 1905. It was also further resolved that, from the outset,
a teacher of its own, a professor, should be called for the
institution.

On Sunday, September 10, 1905, by God's grace, the called professor
could be installed in a solemn worship service at Trinity
congregation in Portland, and the institution opened on Monday,
September 11, with 17 students.

For two years the students were housed in a private home, and
instruction was given in the old schoolroom of Trinity congregation
in Portland. It then became clear, however, that the space for the
students had become too small, and that thought would have to be
given to acquiring property of its own and erecting a suitable
building on it. This was accordingly resolved at the district
synodical meetings in 1906 and 1907. It was also determined by
resolution that this institution's name should be "Ev. Luth.
Concordia College at Portland, Oreg.," and that the district would
take over this institution as its own. (Report 1906, p. 53ff.; 1907,
p. 77.)

The district now owns a fine property that fully meets the
requirements for such an institution, as all who have seen it so far
have always attested, and of which the "Lutheraner" (No. 20, 1910,
p. 319) says: "Our institution was opened in 1905, and so begins its
sixth school year this year. It now has a very beautifully situated
site, about ¾ mile from the Columbia River, within the city limits
and two blocks from the streetcar line. The property is about 5½
acres in size. In front it has a finished street with a cement
sidewalk. It lies in the midst of a beautiful fir forest, in an
extremely healthy location. In front of the building is a fine, large
lawn with spruce, cedar, and other trees. Behind the building is a
fine, large garden that saves the college kitchen several hundred
dollars a year; behind that is a spacious playground. The building is
extremely simple, but, as visitors always say, well suited to its
purpose. It offers room enough for the domestic staff (maids and a
hired man) and 25 students. The rooms and halls are high-ceilinged
and bright. Ample provision has thus been made for air and light. It
is heated by a double furnace. The entire property is now worth
probably as much as $20,000.00. The expenses for the institution are
for the most part, indeed almost entirely, borne by the Oregon and
Washington District