It was on January 15, 1847, that Lawrence Institute was granted a charter, one year before Wisconsin became a state and six years before Appleton would be incorporated as a municipality. The private college took its name from Amos A. Lawrence, the Boston merchant who pledged $10,000 to endow the school. The campus was built on land purchased from the Menominee tribe, the ancestral homelands of the Menominee and Ho-Chunk people. It became one of the first co-educational colleges in the country. In 1874, the Conservatory of Music was established. In 1913, the institution adopted the name Lawrence College to underscore its commitment to undergraduate liberal education. And in 1964, Lawrence again assumed the name Lawrence University when it was consolidated with Milwaukee-Downer College for Women. Now marking its 175th year, with an enrollment of nearly 1,500 students, Lawrence continues to honor the vision of its founders and build on the heritage of excellence in undergraduate education.