Crown College

Crown College is a private Evangelical Christian college in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. History In 1916, The Alliance Training Home was founded by Rev. J.D. Williams in St. Paul, Minnesota. The initial class at the school was five graduates. In 1922, the name was changed to the St. Paul Training School of the Christian Missionary Alliance. In 1935, the school moved from Sherburne Avenue to Englewood Avenue, and in 1936 the name was changed again to the St. Paul Bible Institute. In 1956, St. Paul Bible added Men's Basketball and began their athletic program; in 1958, the school added a women's basketball program. In 1959, the name changed a fourth time to St. Paul Bible College. In 1963, some open property in the St. Paul suburb of Arden Hills, about five miles north of the existing campus came to the attention of the college's leadership. Arden Hills was then and is the home to Bethel University. The board studied the site and in 1963 purchased 35 acres of land for $70,000 with the intent to build a new campus on it. Plans were developed for the construction of a new campus, including a long, curving academic-administrative-gymnasium building, four tear-shaped dorms, and a circular chapel. However, due to high-interest rates, a lot of capital was needed to begin construction, and construction never began. The college, looking for a new home, finalized a deal to buy a Jesuit college with the main building in the shape of a cross in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota. The deal was completed in September 1969, when St. Paul Bible College bought the 173-acre campus for $3.1 million on an 8% contract for deed. In the autumn of 1970, St. Paul Bible College moved onto the land. This remains the main campus for Crown.