Founded in 1854 as Galesville University and later known as Gale College, this institution was one of the earliest centers of higher education in Wisconsin and a notable effort to bring higher education to the newly recognized state. Over nearly 150 years it was affiliated with four religious denominations and played an important role in Wisconsin higher education. George Gale, born in Vermont in 1816, came to Wisconsin to practice law in 1841, served as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1847-48, and later became a state senator and circuit judge. In 1853 he purchased a large tract of land in the area and in 1854 platted Galesville, received a charter to establish a college there, and saw the first classes begin in 1859. Main Hall, built from 1859 to 1862 of locally quarried limestone and designed by a local architect, is typical of the early Italianate style. The college was first associated with the Methodist-Episcopal Church, then operated by the Presbyterian Church from 1877 until 1901, and was taken over by the Lutheran Church in 1901, which built two large dormitories. The tan brick St. Joseph's Hall, built in 1906, has neo-Classical decorative elements, and the red brick St. Ann's Hall, built in 1915, is an interpretation of the Collegiate Gothic style. George Gale's gravesite lies directly behind St. Joseph's Hall. The college closed in 1939 because of declining enrollment. In 1941 the Society of Mary bought the property, renamed it Marynook, operated the buildings as a novitiate, and later saw Marynook become an ecumenical retreat center; the rough-cut limestone St. Mary's Hall was built in 1965. In 1995 the City of Galesville purchased the entire former campus and buildings, and the Gale College Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.