George Washington Gale

This image depicts George Washington Gale's Grave at Hope Cemetery.

The image consists of a large tombstone that reads, Rev. G.W.Gale, DIED Sep. 13 1861, Age. 72 Years. 

The grave is surrounded by several other, smaller graves and trees surrounding the graves. 

George Washington Gale, born in 1789 in Standford, New York, came to Illinois and played a fundamental role in establishing Knox College and Galesburg, IL. Knox College was founded on the basis of providing equal opportunities to all students, regardless of the background they come from. Students who could not afford tuition would provide 3 and a half hours of labor per day, in exchange for tuition, room, and board. This provided students with the ability for affordable education, while also keeping their fitness in check. 

Legend says that Gale founded Knox College, with like-minded anti-slavery Presbyterians, as part of the Abolition Movement, to cover up underground railroads beneath the town of Galesburg. 

These values resonate deeply with members of the Knox College community, who embrace and celebrate diversity and believe education should be accessible to Knox. The bricks laid down by Gale have provided the institution with a core sense of values that they use as guiding principles, even today. The Gale Scholars Program, for example, is a way for Knox College to celebrate and propagate Gale’s mission for equal educational opportunities, by funding first-generation, low-income students. The Abolition for All Time Lab is yet another way in which Gale’s views on anti-slavery keep Knox College connected to each other, to provide a better present and future for the college.

However, it is important to acknowledge that this is only one version of the myth surrounding the formation of Galesburg and Knox College and that other communities might have different notions about the history of this legacy. 

The story associated with George Washington Gale and the founding of Knox College, have certainly created a strong identity revolving around diversity, equity, and inclusion which is a value that runs through Knox in its different functions as a higher-level educational institution.