Washington & Jefferson College, also known as
W & J College or
W&J, is a private
liberal arts college in
Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States, which is south of
Pittsburgh. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in
Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to the
American frontier in the 1780s:
John McMillan,
Thaddeus Dod, and
Joseph Smith. These early schools eventually grew into two competing academies and colleges, with Canonsburg Academy, later Jefferson College, located in
Canonsburg and Washington Academy, later Washington College, in Washington. These two colleges merged in 1865 to form Washington & Jefferson College. The campus, located in Washington, Pennsylvania, has more than 40 buildings, with the oldest dating to 1793. While the college has historically had a difficult relationship with the city of Washington, including clashes over college expansion and finances, recent efforts have been made to improve those relations.