Maryville University of St. Louis is a private, coeducational university in Town and Country, Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1872 by the Religious of the Sacred Heart, a Roman Catholic order established in France by women dedicated to education. One of the oldest private institutions in Greater St. Louis, Maryville was originally an academy for young women, before becoming a four-year college in 1923 and a university in 1991. In 1968, a watershed year at Maryville, the University became a co-educational institution. In 1972, Maryville’s Centennial year, ownership of the college was transferred from the Religious of the Sacred Heart to a lay board of trustees. The institution's visionary grasp of the growth potential of West St. Louis County, Missouri, sparked its purchase in the late 1950s of 290 acres (1.2 km²) of land adjacent to U.S. Highway 40, St. Louis' main thoroughfare. The dedication of the new campus on this site in 1961 marked the beginning of Maryville's mission as a community-oriented liberal arts institution. Prior to 1961, Maryville was located in south St. Louis city on Meramec Avenue.