A pioneering co-educational college in Illinois (1908–1918) founded to provide classical and practical education.
William & Vashti College was established in 1908 by William Drury, who named the institution in his will to honor himself and his wife, Vashti Lewis. The college was located in Aledo after the city offered the largest bonus among Mercer County municipalities. Notably, Vashti Lewis's name appeared on the college in 1908, twelve years before women gained the right to vote in the United States. The institution was designed as a non-denominational school offering both classical and scientific education alongside practical instruction to prepare students for employment.
The college occupied approximately 16 acres and featured a main instructional building, boys' dormitory, gymnasium, heating plant, and presidential residence. The curriculum combined classical and scientific studies with vocational training. The college was co-educational and maintained membership in the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Despite rapid enrollment growth in its early years, William & Vashti College closed in 1918, largely due to student losses caused by World War I and U.S. military conscription beginning in 1917. The campus was subsequently used by Aledo High School (1918–1919) and later purchased in 1924 by the Roosevelt Military Academy, which occupied the site until 1973. Most buildings were eventually demolished, with the final structures razed in 2018.