Emory & Henry University
private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Emory, Virginia, United States
Emory & Henry University (E&H or EHU) is a private university in Emory, Virginia, United States. The campus lies on 335 acres (1.36 km2) of Washington County, which is part of the Appalachian highlands of Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1836, EHU is the oldest institution of higher learning in Southwest Virginia. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
History
Emory & Henry University is named after John Emory, a renowned Methodist bishop, and Patrick Henry, an American patriot and Virginia's first governor, though some research suggests the name honors Henry's sister Elizabeth Henry Campbell Russell, who lived in nearby Saltville and Chilhowie. The college was founded upon the principles of vital faith and civic engagement by Creed Fulton, a Methodist minister; Colonel William Byars; Tobias Smyth, a Methodist farmer; and Alexander Findlay, a Methodist businessman.
The foundation for Wiley Hall was laid on September 30, 1836. The board of trustees hired Charles Collins as the institution's first president (1838–1852), with classes beginning in the spring of 1838 with 60 students enrolled.
The college closed in April 1861 during the Civil War and was commandeered by the Confederate States of America in 1862, operating as a hospital until 1865. During this time, the campus saw battle during the Battle of Saltville.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5373734. VIAF identifies the subject as 153640349. The Library of Congress control number is n83030612. Authority coordinates are 36.773, -81.832. 1 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1836, 1838, 1852 and 1861.
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This entry incorporates text from “Emory & Henry University” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.