Randolph-Macon College history

In 1847, Randolph–Macon College established a relationship with the Hampden–Sydney College.

Randolph–Macon was founded in 1830 by Methodists Rev. It was originally located in Boydton, near the North Carolina border; but as the railroad link to Boydton was destroyed during the Civil War, the college's trustees decided to relocate the school to Ashland in 1868.

In 1891, on 20 acres of rough, hilly, land in what was then Campbell County, William Waugh Smith built the foundation for his vision—a dream that was years in the making.

In 1892, two preparatory schools — both called Randolph–Macon Academy — were founded.

14, 1893, with 11 other faculty members by his side, Smith opened the doors of the partially finished building (eventually called Smith Hall and later Main Hall) to the first class of 36 pioneering women.

In 1902, R-MWC was the first women’s college to be admitted to the Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of the Southern States.

In addition, R-MWC was the first college in the south to have a psychology laboratory, and in 1916, R-MWC was also the first women’s college south of the Potomac to receive a Phi Beta Kappa charter.

In 1953, R-MWC officially separated from the Randolph-Macon Board of Trustees, and held its first meeting on March 27.

In 1961, R-MWC became the first college in Lynchburg to allow students of all races to enroll.

The students themselves raised most of the funds to construct the first major building on the new campus, Washington and Franklin Hall, now a national historic landmark, which was renovated in 1987.

In 2004, the College’s Board of Trustees began a multi-year strategic planning process.

After years of debate, research, and deliberation, the College’s Board of Trustees addressed enrollment issues by making the decision in September 2006 to adopt coeducation and change the College name.

R-MWC officially became Randolph College on July 1, 2007, and John E. Klein began his presidency in August of that year, just days before the College welcomed its first fully coed class.

In 2014, the College began a partnership with the National Gallery, London, as part of the sale of the “Men of the Docks” painting by George Bellows.