Dwight L. Moody returned to Northfield (the town of his birth) in 1875, after a 20-year absence. He had founded a church in Chicago, and along with his partner, Ira Sankey, had led a religious awakening in Great Britain. He brought an evangelical fervor to Northfield, Massachusetts, which threatened to split the town along religious lines. In 1879, after recognizing how few educational opportunities existed for Northfield girls, he founded Northfield School for Girls. The school/seminary was self-supporting (tuition was $100) and stressed the importance of Bible study.

D.L. Moody’s home served, for a time, as a dormitory, boarding as many as twenty-five girls at a time. The building next door functioned as a recitation hall for daily lessons. He added to the house to accommodate students, and improved what was a plain but substantial farmhouse by adding bay windows and a piazza, features more in keeping with the styles of the time.