Wesleyan Female College of

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, USA, was a college for women that operated from to . Reverend Solomon Prettyman founded the institution in 1837 as the Wesleyan Female Seminary, with the support of the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Conferences of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

. The school started on Market Street in 1837, moved to a new building at Ninth Street and Market Street in 1838, and built a building of its own in 1839 on French Street near Sixth Street. The general location of the school is now occupied by One Alico Plaza. In 1841, the school was chartered under the name of "Wesleyan Female Collegiate Institute". By 1842, it had 111 students and nine instructors. Some complained about the growing intellectual rigor of the school. For example, an 1847 editorial in ''

The Delaware Gazette ''The Delaware Gazette'' is an American daily newspaper published in Delaware, Ohio. It is owned by AIM Media Midwest. The newspaper is published on weekday and Saturday mornings and is the only daily newspaper in Delaware County, Ohio. The pape ...

'' noted the many courses in academic subjects but "heard nothing of the class upon making bread, puddings, and pies..." A literary magazine called ''The Female Student and Young Ladies Chronicle'' was published by the school from 1844 to 1849. In 1851, after a period of decline, the board of trustees took over control from Prettyman for the Methodist Episcopal Church. The school was renamed the "Wesleyan Female College" in 1855. Enrollment started to decline during the 1870s, probably due in part to the opening of the Wilmington Conference Academy, a secondary school which went co-educational in 1874. By 1879, enrollment had dropped to 66 students. A smallpox outbreak also decreased enrollment in 1880. Between 1855 and 1881, the school had 228 graduates. In 1882, the college was sold at a sheriff's sale to William Bright, who renamed it Wesleyan College and operated it as a non-sectarian school. Despite support from local prominent businessmen, the school closed in 1885. One of its three buildings became the Central Hotel.
- After its closing, no college option for women existed in Delaware until the Women's College of Delaware (now part of the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

} opened in 1914.

Presidents

* Solomon Prettyman (1837–51) * T.E. Sundler (1851–52) * George Loomis (1852–57) (later president of

Allegheny College he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת , mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1) , faculty = 193 ...

) * Lafayette C. Loomis (1857–58) * John Wilson (1858–78) * James M. Williams (1878–82) * John Wilson (1882–85)

Notable alumnae

* Josephine White deLacour (1849–1929), class of 1875, one of the first women physicians in Delaware *

Evalyn France Evalyn Smith Nesbitt Tome France (1855 – April 22, 1927) was the first woman president of a national bank. Early life Evalyn Smith Nesbitt was born in 1855 in Port Deposit, Maryland, to Henry C. Nesbitt, a merchant who owned a general store in ...

(1855–1927), class of 1873, Maryland banker and philanthropist *

Mary Jones Mary Jones may refer to: People American * Mary Alice Jones (1898–1980), American children's writer *Mary Cover Jones (1896–1987), American psychologist * Mary Ellen Jones (chemist) (1922–1996), American biochemist * Mary Ellen Jones (politi ...

(1828–1908), class of 1845, physician *

Beulah Woolston Beulah Woolston (August 3, 1828 – October 24, 1886) was a pioneering American missionary teacher in China. With her sister, she founded schools, translated textbooks, and edited a Chinese-language newspaper. Early life and education Beulah Wools ...

(1828–1886), pioneering missionary teacher in China

References

{{coord, 39.74162, -75.54821, type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-DE, display=title Defunct private universities and colleges in Delaware Educational institutions established in 1837 Former women's universities and colleges in the United States 19th-century establishments in Delaware Wilmington, Delaware