The collection was created by John L. DeMilly.

On February 7, 1857, the first meeting of the Board of Education of the State Seminary West of the Suwannee River (one of Florida State University's precedessor institutions) was held. That year, the institution began offering postsecondary instruction to male students. The school became co-educational the following year (1858) when it absorbed the Tallahassee Female Academy, established in 1843.

According to William G. Dodd's West Florida Seminary, the 1873 appointments of James D. Wade and Susan S. Williams, Principals of the Seminary's Male and Female Departments, respectively, brought a measure of stability by retaining for seven years the same staff of teachers. At the same time, the Seminary was a financially troubled institution. At no time was its income sufficient for the School's needs, and there was uncertainty from year to year about the amount of funding the Seminary's Board would receive. After 1875, the interest on the Seminary's fund was its only resource, however its payment by the State of Florida was not always dependable. Salaries paid to teachers decreased from year to year.

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