MacMurray College was founded as Illinois Conference Female Academy in 1846 by Methodist preachers, became Illinois Woman's College in 1899, and took its final name in 1930. It was a major presence in Jacksonville for 174 years until closing in 2020. Principal founder Peter Cartwright and first president James Jaquess were both acquaintances of Lincoln. In its early years it became a leading center for women's education in the Midwest and one of a handful of colleges serving women exclusively. For many years its only building was Main Hall on East State Street; fires destroyed the original building twice, and its final incarnation was erected in 1873 and razed in 1976. The campus's Georgian-style buildings were constructed in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s during the presidency of Clarence P. McClelland and through the generosity of Chicago businessman James E. MacMurray, for whom the college was renamed. The first class of men was admitted in 1957. The college was known throughout its existence for a strong liberal arts curriculum, and the MacMurray Plan of the 1960s received national recognition. Generations of women and men were educated there, and visitors and speakers on the campus included Jane Addams, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson.