In 1864, the Mills resettled in California and bought the Ladies Seminary in Benicia from Miss Mary Atkins the following year for $5,000. The school included three lots of land, a residence, and a cottage, and enrolled ninety students. They improved the school by increasing the number of course offerings and recruiting new qualified teachers, several of which were from Mount Holyoke. They sold the property in 1871 for $10,000 and relocated to the Oakland foothills, where Mills Hall was built. Cyrus Mills served as head of Mills Seminary and Susan Mills was lady principal until Cyrus's death in 1884. The school was incorporated in 1877 and became Mills College in 1885, the first women's college on the Pacific Coast.
In 1864, the Mills resettled in California and bought the Ladies Seminary in Benicia from Miss Mary Atkins the following year for $5,000. The school included three lots of land, a residence, and a cottage, and enrolled ninety students. They improved the school by increasing the number of course offerings and recruiting new qualified teachers, several of which were from Mount Holyoke. They sold the property in 1871 for $10,000 and relocated to the Oakland foothills, where Mills Hall was built. Cyrus Mills served as head of Mills Seminary and Susan Mills was lady principal until Cyrus's death in 1884. The school was incorporated in 1877 and became Mills College in 1885, the first women's college on the Pacific Coast.
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