Complex sentence: Stowe State University traces its origin back to 1857 when it was founded by the St. Louis Public Schools as a normal school and thus became the first public teacher education institution west of the Mississippi River and the 12th such institution in the United States.
Split into simpler sentences: Stowe State University traces its origin back to 1857 when it was founded by the St. Louis Public Schools as a normal school. It was the first public teacher education institution west of the Mississippi River and the 12th such institution in the United States.