Trinity College

19th century

Bishop Thomas Brownell opened "Washington College" in 1824 to nine male students and the vigorous protest of Yale alumni. A 14-acre site was chosen, at the time about a half-mile from the city of Hartford. The banker Charles Sigourney was instrumental in helping to establish the college, and was Secretary of the Board of Trustees for many years, corresponding with notable figures such as Thomas Jefferson on matters related to the college.

The college was renamed "Trinity College" in 1845; the original campus consisted of two Greek Revival buildings. One of the Greek Revival buildings housed a chapel, library, and lecture rooms. The other was a dormitory for the male students.

In 1872, Trinity College was persuaded by the state to move from its downtown "College Hill" location (now Capitol Hill, site of the state capitol building) to its current 100-acre (40 ha) campus a mile southwest. Although the college sold its land overlooking the Park River and Bushnell Park in 1872, it did not complete its move to its Gallows Hill campus until 1878. The original plans for the Gallows Hill site were drawn by the noted Victorian architect William Burges but were too ambitious and too expensive to be fully realized. Only one section of the proposed campus plan, the Long Walk, was completed.

By 1889, the library contained 30,000 volumes, and the school had graduated over 900 students. Enrollment reached 122 in 1892.

20th century

President Remsen Ogilby (1920–1943) enlarged the campus, and more than doubled the endowment. The faculty grew from 25 to 62, and the student body from 167 to 530 men. Under President Keith Funston (1943–1951), returning veterans expanded the enrollment to 900.

In 1962, Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) began its first broadcasts in the Trinity College Public Library, and later in Boardman Hall, a science building on campus.

In 1968, the trustees voted to withdraw from the Association of Episcopal Colleges. Also in 1968, the trustees of Trinity College voted to make a commitment to enroll more minority students, providing financial aid as needed. This decision was preceded by a siege of the administrative offices in the Downes and Williams Memorial buildings during which Trinity students would not allow the president or trustees to leave until they agreed to the resolution.

Under the leadership of president Theodore D. Lockwood and Dean of Faculty Robert Works Fuller, the college entered on a period of reform. In 1969, Trinity College became coeducational and admitted its first female students, as transfers from Vassar College and Smith College.