The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a heritage of strong commitment to education. Its members expressed this commitment during the late 1800's and early 1900's by establishing schools and colleges near major population centers across North America. In 1874 the Church founded its first college in Battle Creek, Michigan. A few years later, the rapidly growing California church began looking for a good location for a school in Northern California. Fifteen miles north of Santa Rosa, in the vineyards of Healdsburg, the searchers found ideal property. For thirty gold coins, they purchased an imposing, fully furnished brick structure, just off Healdsburg's main street. The new school opened April 11, 1882, with two teachers and twenty-six students. In 1899, to reflect more accurately the school's purpose and expanding curriculum, the school's name was changed to Healdsburg College. In 1906 it became Pacific Union College. When the Angwin Resort, in the mountains above St. Helena, became available a few years later, the College Board sensed the opportunity to secure more adequate space for the rapidly growing school. They bought the land and its buildings for $60,000. Pacific Union College was dedicated at its present Angwin site on September 29, 1909. The resort's hotel, bowling alleys, and cottages became dormitories, classrooms, and faculty homes. Students and faculty worked together building other structures, often using lumber harvested from the College property.