With a vision for educating Dayton's children in the post-Civil War years, Rev. Abram Paul Funkhouser and Jay Newton Fries began a primary school in 1875 with 20 young scholars and named it Shenandoah Seminary. A few years later, two teachers from the Joseph Funk Music School at Singers Glen joined the faculty, helping lay the groundwork for a strong music program. The United Brethren in Christ Church purchased the institution from its founders in 1884, and the next 25 years brought constant growth and expansion. In 1909, James H. Ruebush became general manager after leading the growing music department, and under his leadership the Administration Building was added in 1910 with a gymnasium, classrooms, washroom, and dormitory space for 17 men, needed for a student body of about 275. The music program was especially prosperous, including a 26-piece band that was organized and served on the Mexican border with the 22nd Virginia Regiment during the Pancho Villa uprising. Enrollment began to decline in 1922 and had fallen to 140 students by the 1925-1926 school year as competition from other private and state institutions increased. The college continued to struggle with enrollment and finances into the 1950s, and after the temporary boost of returning World War II veterans receiving free college education faded, Dr. Troy Brady began discussing a move to Winchester in 1953. With strong local support there, the college opened on its Winchester campus in the fall of 1960 after its Dayton properties were sold at auction in May 1959 and transferred to new owners in June 1960. The institution began offering four-year degrees in 1974, changed its name to Shenandoah University in 1991, and retained its church relationship, now with the United Methodist Church.