In 1862, a congregation of of Swedish Lutheran immigrants in Red Wing, Minn., appropriated funds so their pastor, Eric Norelius, might start a school for their children. Other congregations in the Minnesota Conference of the new Augustana Synod were seeking “preachers and teachers” and appealed to Norelius to open his school to their students as well. The first student arrived in late September 1862, and so begins the storied history of Gustavus Adolphus College.