Bethany/Bethany College

Here Scots-Irish Alexander Campbell founded a religious movement which he called the Disciples of Christ. In this place Amos Dolbear perfected parts of the telephone, and longtime Speaker of the House "Champ" Clark, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Lamar and benefactor Earl Oglebay studied. Here James A. Garfield was a Trustee and John F. Kennedy affirmed belief in separation of Church and state.

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Oldest degree granting institution in West Virginia, the College was chartered in the Old Dominion in 1840, succeeding Buffalo Seminary established by Alexander Campbell in 1818. Remaining open through the Civil War, it was the only college operating in the new state in 1863. Women were admitted in 1877 and the school was among the earliest accredited colleges in the nation.