It began in an era when the education of women was an unconventional notion. But idealism was rampant in the 1840s, and an unshakeable belief in the capacity of women to learn, to lead, and to make a difference in the world prevailed.

Founded as Augusta Female Seminary in 1842 by Rufus W. Bailey, Mary Baldwin College is the oldest institution of higher education for women in the nation affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. Among its first students, totaling 57 young women (paying as much as $60 per semester to attend), was Mary Julia Baldwin.

Lauded by the school's board of trustees for her boldness, intellect, and philanthropic characteristics, Ms. Baldwin was given the challenge of leading the seminary through a turbulent era. In 1863, she was named principal of the seminary and saw the institution through the Civil War, even though all other schools in the area had closed due to the depressed economy and dangerous conditions of the wartime South.