Columbia College Facts: Week 4

It's time for this week's five Columbia College facts:


1. Williams Hall was originally a five-room house before being transformed into 16 rooms.

2. In the beginning years of Christian College, the girls would often sleep 7 or 8 to a room.

3. Old Main or Practice Hall was officially named Williams Hall in honor of the college’s first president, John A. Williams.

4. Christian College opened more than a decade before the founding of prestigious eastern women’s colleges such as Vassar (1865), Wellesley (1875) and Radcliffe (1894).

5. By the time that Joseph K. Rogers stepped down as president for health reasons in 1877, Rogers tripled the value of the college property and ensured an annual enrollment of more than 100 students.

Joseph K. Rogers
President 1858 to 1877