George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives

Leonard Woods Collection,
1818-1964, n.d.
0.75 linear feet

Catalog Number: M190

Series List:

• Correspondence, 1818-1874, n.d. 0.5 linear foot
• Images, ca.1845-1865
  .15 linear feet
• Articles, clippings, lectures, speeches and family materials 1839-1964, n.d.
  .10 linear feet

Agency History / Biographical Note:
Leonard Woods, the fourth president of Bowdoin College, was born in Newbury, Massachusetts, on November 24, 1807. Woods was the fourth of ten children of Abbie Wheeler Woods and the Rev. Leonard Woods, who served as the first professor in the Theological Seminary at Andover, Massachusetts.

After preparing for college at Phillips Andover Academy, Woods matriculated at Dartmouth in 1824. He later switched to Union College, where he earned a reputation as a Greek scholar. He was graduated from there in 1827. Woods then studied and taught at Andover Theologolical Seminary and Bangor Theological Seminary.

At the age of 32, Woods became one of the youngest college presidents in the United States when he accepted the position at Bowdoin in 1839, which he held until 1866. It was during his tenure that the College built Appleton Hall, the Chapel, and Adams Hall, which housed the Medical School and undergraduate laboratories.

Woods received advanced degrees from Colby (D.D., 1839), Harvard (D.D., 1846), and Bowdoin (LL.D., 1866). Leonard Woods died in Boston, Massachusetts, December 24, 1878.

Scope and Content:
Letters, images, articles, clippings, and other materials (1832-1964) relating to Leonard Woods. The bulk of the correspondence is between Woods and members of the Trustees, Overseers, and faculty of Bowdoin College. Most of the material in the collection concerns Woods' activities as president of the College, particularly his acceptance and resignation of this position, and the College's declaration of denominational status in 1846. For related materials, see the Leonard Woods Administrative Records.

Cite as: Leonard Woods Collection, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library.

Access Restrictions: None.