the first Praeses of the institution, and instructed that a new building be constructed on land donated by a local Lutheran congregation.
=== Founding and Addison campus ===
Concordia University Chicago marks 1864 as its founding in Addison, Illinois. Originally called Addison Teachers Seminary, the institution is the oldest in the Concordia University System. The West District School Society (today's St. Paul Lutheran Church) sold 6 acres (2.4 ha) to the college for the nominal amount of $10 in November 1863, and construction began on a new facility, with the cornerstone-laying service on June 15, 1864. Zion Lutheran Church donated $3,128 towards construction. The Civil War impeded construction, so a vacant nearby two-story tavern building was rented to ensure the new teachers' seminary could carry out its educational training as scheduled, beginning September 1, 1864. Forty-three men and boys, aged 14 to 33, were in attendance the first year.
The first building, a three-story structure designed for 60 students, …
