November 8, 1893 – The Iowa City Weekly Republican advertises the three business colleges of Iowa City – all owned by Willis & Williams and operating out of “two commodious buildings” on Washington Street.

Did you know that for most of Iowa City’s first century, there were many other schools in town – besides SUI – that were competing for students? Between the 1840’s and 1890’s, there were numerous private business colleges formed in Iowa City – The Athens of Iowa – all designed to train up hundreds of young men and women in the highly-marketable skills of short-hand, typing, and business administration.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS IOWA STORY HERE

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