A chiropractic college in Seattle? Bizarre. That’s what I first thought when I heard about it.

Chiropractic history has always fascinated me — especially when I come across a tidbit relatively unknown to most (and in my backyard to boot). In my book, the Seattle College of Chiropractic qualifies as a trivia-worthy datum.

Unearthing information on this forgotten chiropractic college has proven to be a real challenge. Interestingly, it seemed everyone had a chiropractic school in the early days. When DD Palmer first introduced chiropractic in 1895, he was very protective of it and was afraid others would steal his discovery.

However, following a near-death train wreck, he took up the wisdom promoted by his son, BJ, and decided to share his skill on a much grander level. For in his brush with death, he realized chiropractic could have easily suffered the same fate. Consequently, in 1897, he opened what would soon be known as the Palmer School of Chiropractic. Early graduates were licensed to both “ teach and practice,” and many did just that, advertising to patients and students alike.

Upward of 600 chiropractic learning institutions have been recorded since Palmer first started teaching — a number that can be whittled down to about 250 if name changes, mergers, acquisitions and satellite schools are taken into account. Today, there are 42 chiropractic colleges and universities worldwide.

The Seattle College of Chiropractic was open from 1918-1931, the same timeframe the number of chiropractic schools was at its peak. Unfortunately, the college seemed to have a spotty reputation.It was constantly on the move, having at least four different locations in the Emerald City. Its first location occupied two small rooms on the fourth floor of the People’s Bank Building on 2nd and Pike. Today, a parking structure occupies the space.

One graduate, whose first patients called “Dr. Wow,” recalled tuition was “$750 and a stack of books.” Apparently, they purported to teach “straight chiropractic only.” But another source said the college also taught degrees in naturopathic and sanipractic healing methods.

Certainly, the college’s biggest claim to fame lies with Dr. John Bastyr, the namesake of well-known Bastyr University. Known as the “Father of Modern Naturopathic Medicine,” many don’t know he first became a chiropractor at Seattle College of Chiropractic before going on to become a naturopath.

Some spoke highly of the college, calling it a “branch of the Palmer School at Davenport” instructed by its graduates. Another described the Seattle College of Chiropractic president’s disdain and feeling of superiority over BJ and the Palmer school. Perhaps this is why I noticed what seemed to be abrupt and unconventional rotation in faculty positions.

When I first started practice 17 years ago, many of my elderly patients wanted to know where I graduated. With such an array of chiropractic learning possibilities in the beginning — and lack of any kind of accrediting agency to set educational standards — it’s no wonder that question was top of mind for them. Thankfully, times have changed and chiropractic educational institutions have seen incredible advancement in this area.

And so while the Seattle College of Chiropractic is an interesting bit of trivia for this Northwest chiropractic history buff — and my quest to learn more about it is not over — it seems that its disappearance was inevitable and probably best.

I guess my first thought wasn’t too far off: bizarre.

— Dr. Thomas R. Lamar is a chiropractor at AnchorChiropractic.net in the Health Services Center and hosts the Internet radio program SpinalColumnRadio.com.