Library
Archives Historical Topics

The Newspaper clipping files include some history of the college as seen through Waukesha and Milwaukee area newspaper sources. Eventually, this index will be completely searchable online. In the meantime a few popular topics have been selected and are listed below. For more information, please email the archivist.

Frequently Asked Questions


First Soccer Game Played in the US
On Oct. 11, 1866, Carroll College students challenged the "young men of Waukesha" to a game of "foot ball," which researchers think was actually the pre-curser to modern soccer.

Football History- The First Forward Pass
On September 5, 1906, football history was made at Carroll College. In a game played with St. Louis (MO) University, the first legal forward pass, which was developed by St. Louis' coach Eddie Cochems, helped to defeat Carroll on their home field.

  • 09/21/1963 First forward pass event to celebrate (Waukesha Freeman)
  • 01/17/1981 First legal forward pass thrown here (Waukesha Freeman)
  • 06/06/1985 Portrait of the past: Passed it on (Waukesha Freeman)
  • 10/11/1990 Carroll College helped make football history in 1906 (Waukesha Freeman)
Native American Indian Mounds
Scholars estimate that more than 4,000 Indian mounds existed in Wisconsin, and a few of them are right here on the Carroll University campus. In the 1860s pioneer archeologist Increase Lapham mapped the Indian Mounds and proved that they were built by the ancestors of the Native American Nations.
  • See The Antiquities of Wisconsin as Surveyed and Described by I. A. Lapham (1973) found in the Library's book collection: E78.W8 L2 1973
  • 05/31/1906 A good meet : archeologists have an interesting field gathering : met at college Saturday (Waukesha Freeman)
  • 02/13/2003 Ancient history outside our front door (Library Currents, the Carroll University Library newsletter)
Jean Kilgour
Quality of instruction and personal attention are part of the heritage of Carroll's faculty, many of whom are part of the Carroll experience for two, three and four decades. Jean Kilgour, a Physical Education professor at Carroll for 43 years (1926-1969) is remembered by hundreds of Carroll graduates for her enthusiasm and competence. "Teach" introduced co-educational physical education classes to Carroll, and under her leadership, women's athletics became an integral part of college life. She was the first woman to enter the Carroll University Athletic Hall of Fame and has a residence hall named in her honor. The Jean Kilgour Fund for Women's Athletics is a lasting legacy, helping to extend Carroll's mission of educating students in a liberal arts context.
  • 02/26/1969 Teach looks back (Waukesha Freeman)
  • 04/27/1969 'The Teach' jogs into retirement (Milwaukee Journal)
  • 05/19/1969 Students urged to act fearlessly in society (Milwaukee Sentinel)
  • 09/14/1974 Carroll to rename halls (Waukesha Freeman)
  • 10/09/1974 Woman among seven new Carroll inductees (Waukesha Freeman)
Morgan Manor (the haunted house)
(now known as MacAllister Hall)
In 1895, George H. Wilbur built the house still resting at the southeast corner of College and East Avenues. Over the course of the next hundred years, the house became part of the Carroll University campus and has endured name changes reflecting those families who contributed to its renovation. For some years, the house served as a residence hall which some students thought was haunted.
  • 11/09/1895 Geo. H. Wilbur's new home (Waukesha County Democrat)
  • 10/31/1979 Ghost kept students jumpy (Waukesha Post)
  • 10/23/1984 Playful ghost haunts manor (Milwaukee Journal)
  • 10/23/1984 Eerie visions in Carroll's 'Morgue' (Milwaukee Journal)
Florizel von Reuter
Florizel von Reuter (1890-1985) retired to the Milwaukee area, ultimately moving to Waukesha in the early 1950s. A native of Davenport, Iowa, Mr. von Reuter spent his career playing his violin for the crown heads of Europe and ultimately headed the Vienna State Academy of Music. Among his students in Vienna was Milton Weber who later joined the Carroll College Music Department. Professor Weber was the first conductor of the Waukesha Symphony, which was founded in 1947 by Carroll President Nelson Vance Russell. When Florizel von Reuter retired to this area, a lengthy collaboration between the two musicians began. Mr. von Reuter was also a composer and an author.
  • 05/14/1949 Concert violinist, born here, is broke and hungry in Berlin, needs job to return to his native city (Davenport Daily Times)
  • 10/11/1950 A teacher and his pupil are reunited in Waukesha (Waukesha Freeman)
  • 07/25/1952 World-famed violinist, once child prodigy, visitor here (Davenport Daily Times)
  • [undated] Florizel Reuter accepts teaching post in Milwaukee (unknown Davenport paper)
  • 05/13/1985 Musician von Reuter dies at 95 (Waukesha Freeman)
  • 05/14/1985 A set of photos ... and an error (Waukesha Freeman)
  • See also the Florizel von Reuter Collection

Discover Carroll's historyReturn to Archives website

Panoramic View of campus