Page "Williams College" Paragraph 5

After Shays ' Rebellion, the Williamstown Free School opened with 15 students on October 26, 1791.

The first president was Ebenezer Fitch.

Not long after its founding, the trustees of the school petitioned the Massachusetts legislature to convert the free school to a tuition-based college.

The legislature agreed and on June 22, 1793, Williams College was chartered.

It was the second college to be founded in Massachusetts.