


In that year, following a gradual relaxation of academic separation, William Smith College was formally recognized as an independent college, co-equal with Hobart. The two student bodies were educated separately in the early years, even though William Smith College was a department of Hobart College for organizational purposes until 1943. Smith, however, was intent on establishing a coordinate, nonsectarian women's college, which, when realized, coincidentally gave Hobart access to new facilities and professors. Stewardson, who sought to redirect Smith's philanthropy towards Hobart College. The school arose from negotiations between William Smith, who sought to establish a women's college, and Hobart College President Langdon C. Its namesake and founder was a wealthy local nurseryman, benefactor of the arts and sciences, and philanthropist. William Smith College was founded in 1908, originally as William Smith College for Women. Geneva College was renamed Hobart College in 1852 in honor of its founder, Bishop Hobart. Roughly following this plan, Geneva Academy reopened as Geneva College in 1822 with conditional grant funds made available from Trinity Church in New York City. Bishop Hobart had a plan to reopen the Academy at a new location, raise a public subscription for the construction of a stone building, and elevate the school to college status. Yet, Geneva was a bustling Upstate New York city on the main land and stage coach route to the West. By the time Bishop John Henry Hobart, of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, first visited the city of Geneva in 1818, the doors of Geneva Academy had just closed.

After some setbacks and disagreement among trustees, the Academy suspended operations in 1817. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, private colleges located in Geneva, New York, began on the western frontier as the Geneva Academy. Hobart College (men) and William Smith College (women) are both liberal arts colleges offering the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, bachelor of science and master of arts in teaching. They trace their origins to Geneva Academy established in 1797. Hobart and William Smith Colleges are located on 195 acres in New York state's Finger Lakes region in Geneva, New York, United States.
