Through the Methodist Church, a charter was secured in 1838, an event which makes the college one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States. The cornerstone of the first building was laid in 1843, and in 1846 the institution opened its doors to students. Young women came from many southern states to become the first classes of the new president, the Rev. Solomon Lea, and his faculty.Arnett, Ethel Stephens. Greensboro, North Carolina; the County Seat of Guilford. Chapel Hill: UNC Press, 1955. p. 102
