J.D. Williams Collection

Rev. Joseph D. Williams founded Crown College in 1916.  At that time, the school was simply called the "Alliance Training Home" and was located in St. Paul.  J.D. Williams and his wife Harriet led the school until 1925, when they left to be missionaries.  The school started with just four students, and 100 years later the college has grown to over 1,300 students!

Rev. and Mrs. J. D. Williams:
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First Graduating Class:

This picture depicts the first graduating class of the Alliance Training Home.

​Left to right: Harold Freligh, Ira Root, Ella Holsted (later Mrs. Harold Freliegh), Ezra Gerig, and Grace Johnson.

Harold Freligh stayed on as a faculty member and later principal until 1932. He and Ella Holsted married in 1925. In 1939, Ira Root returned to serve students as a maintenance worker after having been a pastor. Ezra Gerig was the farmer who asked J.D. Williams to teach him the Word of God. This request eventually led to the beginning of Crown College.

Students and Faculty of the Alliance Training Home:

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