Martha Washington College

The McCabe Lodge No. 56, Independent Order of Odd Fellows decided in 1853 to establish a women's college named after Martha Washington. The Holston Conference of the Methodist Church assumed control of the project by 1858. That same year the conference purchased the Gen. Francis Preston House (ca. 1832) to house the college. In 1860, the first classes were held at Martha Washington College. Several additions were made to the college's main building over the next 70 years. The school merged with nearby Emory & Henry College in 1918. In 1921 Martha Washington became a junior college but closed in 1931. In 1937, the former main college building was converted into the Martha Washington Inn.