Humble Beginnings
The Willimantic Normal School laid the foundation for Eastern Connecticut State University. Founded in 1889, the Willimantic Normal School’s goal was to educate adults on how to teach young children. The phrase “normal school” comes from the French term ecole normale. The French opened their first normal school in 1685 and the intention was to create the norm for teacher-training programs.
In the late 19th century there was a mass immigration from Europe. Education also became more formal in the North after the Civil War. This led to the need for more teachers. Education became a female dominated field by 1900 because women were willing to take less pay for the job. There were no men in the teacher-training programs until 1893. The Willimantic Normal School was founded as the second normal school in Connecticut. The opening of this normal school was a huge step in the progress of Northern education. Even The New York Times wrote about it on August 20, 1889, stating their excitement for a new school of the sort in our area. Connecticut ended up with four normal schools. They were located in Danbury, New Britain, New Haven and Willimantic. These schools all became the four state universities, Eastern, Southern, Central and Western.