The land upon which Concordia University stands was once home to the Chippewa, Ottawa, Pottawatomie, Huron, and Miami nations. Back then, Geddes Road was an old Native American highway called the Pottawatomie Trail. In 1917, Harry Boyd Earhart purchased the property. A philanthropist, Mr. Earhart’s interests focused on education, religion and charity. In the late 1950’s, the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod began a search for a site to build a college. They purchased the Earhart estate in the early 1960’s, began construction, and Concordia College, Ann Arbor was dedicated as a junior college in 1963. That same year, Concordia was granted the right to award the Associate of Arts degree by the State of Michigan. In 1976 the State approved the expansion of the College to a four-year institution with the right to award the Bachelor of Arts degree.