Todd Walsh collection, 2023

From its enviable perch overlooking the Mississippi River, Lutheran Ladies' Seminary brought to mind medieval castles that once guarded Europe's major waterways. As the seminary opened on this scenic campus in 1894, less than 10 percent of America's youth continued schooling beyond eighth grade. Academies such as LLS served as high schools. Girls could enroll at 14. Students and teachers alike dealt with a delicate issue: How to educate American females of the Victorian Age while reckoning with the 1890s debut of the dynamic "New Woman." Conflicting messages sent by parents, teachers, clergy and culture besieged the girls. They trained for their traditional "true place" as wives and mothers, while also learning occupational skills that could make them more independent. World War I anti-German sentiment, the 1917-1919 influenza pandemic and financial issues challenged the seminary during its short existence. But two fires within six months of each other snuffed life from the school. For decades to come, the seminary's ghostly hilltop remains overlooked Red Wing, serving as reminders of a once vibrant school and its bright, spirited young women.