Set upon the rise west of Cedar Falls, Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa traces its beginnings to the Iowa State Normal School, founded in 1876 to train the teachers who would serve the growing towns and rural districts of the state. What began as a modest enterprise in the former Soldiers' Orphans' Home soon gathered momentum, its halls filling with students drawn to the promise of professional instruction. Over the decades the campus expanded across the prairie, with Lang Hall — completed in 1900 and now the oldest surviving classroom building — standing as a testament to the school's early ambitions. - AsNotedIn