In 1905, Maryville won a contest to get the Fifth District Normal School, which would become Northwest Missouri State University. It offered $58,672 and , including the Methodist Seminary, to the state. The college was on the northwest corner of the city, nearly adjoining the Wabash train station. The most significant structure on the land transferred to the state was the Thomas Gaunt mansion, which is also on the National Register and is the college President's residence. Gaunt owned an extensive nursery on his property, which was on a birch-lined street and is now the Missouri Arboretum. The most recognizable building on the campus today is the Administration Building, designed by John H. Felt. It is on the National Register and resembles Brookings Hall at Washington University, which was the Administration Building of the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.