Principia didn’t start out as a school and college, each with its own campus. Its first students were the two young sons of the school’s founder, Mary Kimball Morgan. A Christian Science practitioner and teacher, Mrs. Morgan chose to home-school her sons out of concern for the moral and spiritual dimensions of their education. Word spread quickly among other Christian Scientists, to the point that she had to move her classroom from the carriage house of her home to a two-room storefront in order to accommodate the growing demand. In 1898, only a year after she began home-schooling, fifteen students were enrolled, a second teacher had been hired, and the new school was officially named Principia.  

In 1906, the first high school class graduated, and in 1912, a junior college was added—one of the first in the nation. In 1934, Principia’s new four-year liberal arts college in Elsah, Illinois, graduated its first class.

From those early days, Principia has grown to two modern campuses enrolling about 1,100 young Christian Scientists from nearly every state and many other countries. More than 14,000 Principia alumni live throughout the world.

The inspiration that led Mary Kimball Morgan to establish Principia and dedicate more than 50 years to its orderly expansion is a lasting legacy of love for thousands of current and future Principians.