HistoricSiteMarkers
Civil WarReconstruction & Gilded Age

Irving Female College

Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

Marker Inscription

Site of the College that was chartered in 1857, and named for Washington Irving, a trustee. First women's college in Pennsylvania to grant degrees in arts and sciences. It closed in 1929.

Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

The Story

Chartered in 1857 and named in honor of the author Washington Irving, who served as a trustee, Irving Female College once stood on this site in Mechanicsburg. It holds a notable distinction as the first women's college in Pennsylvania to grant degrees in the arts and sciences, educating young women here until it closed in 1929.

Why it matters

At a time when higher education for women was rare, the college was a pioneering step toward women's full participation in American intellectual life.

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Related people

  • · Washington Irving

Themes & tags

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