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Peru State College, established in 1867, holds the distinction of being Nebraska’s first and oldest institution of higher education. Originally founded as a teacher training school, it was part of a nationwide movement to improve public education by creating institutions dedicated to training educators. The college began as the Mount Vernon School, a small one-room schoolhouse in Peru, Nebraska, before it was selected by the state legislature to become the Nebraska State Normal School. This transformation began its long-standing commitment to excellence in teacher education.