10. Columbia University
Columbia is located in New York City, New York, and was founded in 1754. Previously known as King's College, it received a royal charter from King George II of Britain. It was renamed Columbia after the American Revolution.
Source: Columbia
Columbia is currently ranked as one of the top schools in the nation.
It's also one of America's eight Ivy League institutions.
Source: Columbia
9. Washington and Lee University
Located in Lexington, Virginia, Washington and Lee University was founded in 1749. It used to be known as Augusta Academy and Liberty Hall, but it was eventually renamed for George Washington (the first benefactor of the school) and for Robert E. Lee, who was president of the university from 1865 to 1870.
Source: W&L
As noted in an email to Business Insider, there are apparently no original photographs of Lincoln Hall, as it burned down in 1803 — years before the invention of photography.
"Only a modern rendering and vintage shots of the ruins from around the turn of the 20th century are available," said Seth McCormick-Goodhart, assistant director of Special Collections and Archives at Washington & Lee.
8. Princeton University
Located in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton was founded in 1746 as the College of New Jersey. It was originally meant to train ministers by New Light Presbyterians, according to Top Universities.
Source: Princeton, Top Universities
Princeton University's oldest building, Nassau Hall, was even the temporary US Capitol in 1783, when Congress held meetings there.
Pictured above is a recent shot of Blair Hall, another historical building at Princeton.
Source: Princeton, Top Universities
7. University of Delaware
Located in Newark, Delaware, the University of Delaware was founded in 1743 as "Free School." It was not chartered until after the American Revolution — mostly because Delaware was then part of Pennsylvania, and given that Pennsylvania already had the University of Pennsylvania, they didn't want a rivalry between the two schools.
Source: University of Delaware
Today, the University of Delaware ranks within the top schools in the nation.
University of Delaware tied for No. 91 in US News & World Report's 2020 ranking of National Universities.
6. Moravian College
Located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Moravian College was founded in 1742, by 16-year-old Countess Benigna von Zinzendorf.
Source: Moravian College
Moravian started off as the Bethlehem Female Seminary school, which was, at the time, the first and only boarding school for young women in the US.
America's sixth-oldest college became coed in 1954.
Source: Moravian College
5. University of Pennsylvania
Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1740 and chartered in 1755. It was founded by Benjamin Franklin and was the first US college to offer both an undergraduate and a postgraduate education.
Source: University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania
In 1765, the University of Pennsylvania became the first US college to have a medical school.
Today, it's ranked No. 16 on US News & World Report's list of the Best Global Universities.
Source: University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania
4. Yale University
Now located in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale was initially established in nearby Saybrook in 1701 as the "Collegiate School." In 1718, is was renamed after Elihu Yale, a governor of the British East India Company, who had donated a gift to the school.
Source: Yale
Yale was once located in Connecticut's Middlesex and Hartford counties, before moving to the current location in 1716, where it still stands today.
It is currently ranked as the twelfth best college in the world, and was, as Top Universities reports, the first US college to offer a PhD, making it available starting in 1861.
3. St. John's College
Located in Annapolis, Maryland, St. John's was established in 1696, making it the third oldest college in the US.
Source: St. John's College
Originally known as King William's School, the school changed its name in 1784 and is now one of the top liberal arts schools in the nation.
It also has a campus in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Source: St. John's College
2. The College of William and Mary
Located in Williamsburg, Virginia, The College of William and Mary was officially established in 1693. It was named after William III of England and his wife Mary II of England, the reigning monarchs in Britain at that time, who signed the charter calling for a "perpetual College of Divinity, Philosophy, Languages, and other good Arts and Sciences" to be created in the then-British colony of Virginia.
Source: William & Mary
The College of William and Mary was also the first to receive a royal charter from Britain and is the oldest school in the South.
Today, it's ranked at No. 40 in the nation and has a total enrollment just under 9,000.
Source: William & Mary
1. Harvard University
Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard was founded in 1636 and chartered in 1650. It is the oldest known college in the US that still exists today. Pictured above is a rendering of what it looked like in 1638, only two years after it first opened.
Source: Harvard College Handbook for Students
Harvard was named for John Harvard, the university's first benefactor.
It has since become not only one of the most prestigious institutions in the country, but in the world.
Source: Harvard College Handbook for Students
