A defunct Baptist college founded in 1846 that closed in 1860 after railroad competition.
Judson College was founded as Mount Palatine Academy in 1846 under Baptist denomination auspices. It was chartered by the state of Illinois as a university in the winter of 1850–51 and began operations under its first president in 1853. The institution faced rapid decline after the Illinois Central Railroad was built with a stop in Tonica, Illinois, six miles away, which diverted enrollment and made the college unprofitable. The college was sold under fiscal duress by the Sheriff in 1860 to the local Catholic community, with the condition that the property be maintained as a school in perpetuity.
Judson College has no connection to the present-day Judson University, an evangelical Christian liberal arts institution located in Elgin, Illinois, which was founded in 1963. The original Mount Palatine institution is now defunct.