The Young Ladies Seminary was the first girls’ school in the far west. It was established on August 1, 1852, and was located at 153 West I Street. Susan Lord was the first principal of this Protestant school. Its board of trustees administered a strict and expensive institution. The tuition was $200 per 5-month semester, board included. Language instruction was available for an extra $20. Art and music lessons could be added for another $50. Students came from all over the state and different parts of the world. In 1865, Dr. Cyrus Mills and his wife Susan Mills purchased the school from Mary Atkins and renamed it Mills Seminary. They sold the building in 1871 and relocated to Oakland to establish Mills College. Rev. CH. Pope continued the Ladies Seminary in Benicia until it closed in 1886. California Historical Landmark 795 is located at the City Park and commemorates the seminary as the beginning of Mills College. This mural depicts a transitional time for Benicia. The street contains two horseless carriages and one man on horseback. These examples of the evolution of transportation are in front of a picket fence that borders the elegant girls’ school.