History of Friends University

Friends University was officially founded in 1898, our history goes back to the mid-1880s when the Christian Churches of Kansas began to construct a building west of Wichita that would hold more floor space under one roof than any other educational facility west of the Mississippi River.

Garfield University opened its doors for classes in 1887. The University had 500 students enrolled for the first year and 1,070 for the second year. After graduating its first and only senior class, Garfield University closed its doors in 1890 due to financial difficulties. The school was reorganized and opened again in March 1892 as Garfield Central Memorial University. It closed for good on Nov. 18, 1893.

For five years, the building was a haven for owls, birds and bats until James M. Davis, a businessman from St. Louis, saw an advertisement in a St. Louis paper and purchased the building and surrounding lots. He immediately offered the entire holding to the Kansas Society of Friends (better known as the Quakers) on the condition that the group raise $50,000 for the permanent endowment of the college. The conditions were accepted, and Friends University officially opened its doors in September 1898. The enrollment for the first fall was 52 students; it would grow to 102 students during the first year.

The Davis Administration Building was built in 1886-1887.