Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary is located in Mequon, Wisconsin and trains pastors for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). The campus consists of twenty two buildings, including a library with over 58,000 volumes, including a collection of rare pre-18th century theological books. Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary has been located in several different places throughout its history. The origins of the school date to 1863, when the main sources of clergy in the Wisconsin Synod were the mission societies in Germany. As the Wisconsin Synod moved to a more conservative and confessional theological stance, the theological character of clergy from the German mission societies came into question. Furthermore, it became more and more difficult to provide pastors in adequate numbers. To alleviate these problems the Wisconsin Synod formed the Theological School of the Wisconsin Synod in Watertown, Wisconsin. The first students met in the professor's home. In 1864 the Wisconsin Synod in convention resolved to provide a permanent building for the seminary. 5 acres (20,000 m) of Watertown land were purchased for $600.00.