Tennis began at Penn College in 1887. It started taking off in the 1890's when tennis clubs were formed, and two tennis courts were built on campus. Around the year 1900, Penn really began gaining recognition in tennis, with championships being won,…
Penn College was founded by Quakers, who believed education to be a necessity in their lives, but public schooling had not yet come to Iowa in the late 19th Century. Oskaloosa seemed like the perfect location for a Quaker college due to the two…
Basketball at Penn really started taking off in 1900. They became Hawkeye Conference champs in 1914-15, and Iowa Conference champs in 1970-71. Both men's and women's basketball went on to become state champs multiple times during the 70's and 80's.
The first Commencement was in 1875 with Linda Ninde Dorland graduating. Commencement typically lasted all day starting with the Baccalaureate, and ending either with the President or a professor hosting the Commencement Dinner. In later years, it…
The first C. L. Barnhouse Company building. C. L. "Chuck" Barnhouse came to Southeast Iowa in the 1880's, where he took leadership positions in bands in Mt. Pleasant and Burlington. Barnhouse’s first publication was “The Battle of Shiloh in 1886. He…
The first football team at Penn was formed in 1892, with James R. Howard serving as captain. The first full season of football was in the year 1896. Penn's first undefeated football team was in 1904 (7-0), and Penn's first Iowa Conference…
Penn College was founded by Quakers, who believed education to be a necessity in their lives, but public schooling had not yet come to Iowa in the late 19th Century. Oskaloosa seemed like the perfect location for a Quaker college due to the two…
