The story
Hartwick College traces its history to the will of Lutheran minister John Christopher Hartwick, who died in 1796. The following year, in 1797, the executors of his will decided to establish a seminary in his name. The first student graduated in 1803, and in 1816 the New York State Legislature incorporated the school—the first Lutheran seminary in America—as a classical academy and theological seminary in Hartwick, near Cooperstown. The college's ties to the Lutheran Church ended in 1968, and it has since had no religious affiliation.
The school moved to its Oneonta location in 1928, when the seminary's trustees voted to close it and incorporate there as a four-year college. The college was granted a permanent charter from the New York Board of Regents in 1931.
The land for the campus was donated by the City of Oneonta. Bresee Hall, the oldest building on campus, was designed by architect John Russell Pope and built in 1928. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
In 2016, the college secured more than $34 million through its latest capital campaign, exceeding the original goal of $32 million.
From Wikipedia’s article on Hartwick College, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5