Discover how Eastern religious roots shaped life on the frontier. This volume examines how Puritan and Congregational traditions transplanted to the Midwest influenced churches, education, and community life. In these Centennial Lectures, Hermann Richard Muelder explores the rise of Knox College and its religious communities, contrasting East Coast institutions with frontier realities. The book traces how ministers, church governance, and daily practice adapted to new environments, while showing how social values and local politics affected church life from the mid-1800s through the post-Civil War era. A careful, documentary style grounds broader questions about American religion, education, and regional development. How old-world church governance met frontier practicality in the West. The roles of Congregationalists and Presbyterians in shaping early Midwest institutions. Challenges of funding, education, and ministerial training across a developing region. Social norms, moral codes, and the gradual evolution of community life in Galesburg and beyond. Ideal for readers interested in American religious history, frontier society, and the cultural forces that built regional colleges and churches in the Middle West.