Mount Holyoke College Acquires a Handwritten Letter Authored by Its Founder

Mount Holyoke College, the highly rated women’s college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, had acquired a handwritten letter, dated November 19, 1836,  authored by Mary Lyon, the founder of the college. The letter was from Lyon to the Merriam Brothers of Springfield. The letter requested the printing of 200 to 300 copies of a letter Lyon wanted to send to potential donors.

In the letter, Lyons wrote, “I have thought of having 200 or 300 copies of a private letter which I wish to send to a large number of my friends printed, to save the labor of transcribing.” At the time of the letter, the first buildings on the Mount Holyoke campus were under construction. The school enrolled its first students the next year.

A copy of the printed fundraising letter also is held by the Archives and Special Collections section of the Mount Holyoke Library.

A video discussing the acquisition of the letter can be seen below.