The first issue of “The Chautauquan” in 1908 features a photo of people playing golf on the grounds of the Maryville Methodist Seminary (which had been given to the state of Missouri to start what would become Northwest Missouri State).
The Seminary (which was associated with what today is the United Methodist Church) was never fully used by Northwest as first classes were held in businesses and the old Washington High School as it was being renovated before Missouri would utlimately sell it off and concentrate on the land on its current footprint (including building the Administration Building). The Seminary was located the top of the hill at Memory Lane and 1st Street (hence the lane’s name) and was once land belong to Theodore Robinson, founder of Nodaway Valley Bank.
Maryville’s Chautauqua land was five blocks north of the Seminary in a landscaped forest by what today is the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts and the Chautauqua events which involved people camping in tents on the property. The Chautauqua, which initially was a Methodist movement, brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with speakers, teachers, musicians, showmen, preachers, and specialists of the day. The most prominent speaker in Maryville was William Jennings Bryan who ran 3 times for President. The featured speaker in 1908 was Walter Williams, who founded the Missouri School of Journalism and later served as president of the University of Missouri
