Abigail Rogers: Founded first Female College

   Described by the Lansing Republican newspaper as "the leading champion of the higher education of women in Michigan," Abigail Rogers let nothing stop her quest to better the lives of young women.
    Born in 1818 and educated in New York, Abigail and her sister, Delia, taught in Albion and Ypsilanti before asking state lawmakers to create a college for women in Lansing.
   At that time, the state's largest universities did not admit women.
    When they met with great resistance, the sisters established the first college for women in the state, Michigan Female College. They invested their own funds, as well as those from several prominent investors.
    The College opened in 1855, holding classes in the state capitol. A building was obtained two years later.
     Until Abigail's death in 1869, the school educated students from all around Michigan, as well as neighboring states.
    That same year, the Michigan Agricultural College (Michigan State University) began accepting women students; the University of Michigan followed suit a year later. Delia Rogers eventually donated land and a large library to the Odd Fellows Institute in Grand Rapids.
    Today, Michigan Female College no longer exists; the property serves as a school for students who are blind.