Revolutionary College Project: A Digital Archive Documenting the History of Washington College

Washingon College in Chestertown, MD maintains an extensive digital archive of materials on the institution's history known as The Revolutionary College Project.  The effort to document and share information traces back over a decade and reflects the work of students, alumni, staff, and faculty.  

The project was named to reflect the "...fact that Washington College was the only American institution chartered during the Revolutionary War; it was established literally while the Continental Army, under George Washington, was still in the field fighting for the nation's independence. And its founders harbored revolutionary ideas about education, which they - unlike most 18th-century educators - believed must prepare students to serve their communities, nation, and world. "The souls of our youth," William Smith wrote, "must be nursed up to the love of LIBERTY and KNOWLEDGE..."

The archive is divided into separate sections that focus on the founding of the institution, student life, connections to U.S. presidents, alumni, the successful struggle for integration, the history of the Chesapeake and Maryland's Eastern Shore where Washington College is located, and various curiosities.