This is a history of Wilson College, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, from 1868 until 1981. It attempts to discover why Wilson, a small, private liberal arts college for women, managed to survive despite financial and enrolment problems which forced many other institutions to close in the 1960s and 1970s. / This thesis locates Wilson historically among institutions of higher learning in the United States; traces the development of the College in terms of its founding, governance, curriculum, and campus life; and examines events leading up to Wilson's near demise in 1979. Wilson's small size, its practice of encouraging congenial interaction between students and faculty, its commitment to teaching, its long term affiliation with the Presbyterian Church, and its close ties with the community of Chambersburg are cited as factors contributing to Wilson's renaissance. / What makes Wilson more interesting than other small women's colleges of its class was the fact that its alumnae, students, and faculty successfully fought the Trustees' decision to close the College because of financial pressures and dwindling enrolment. In 1979 Wilson became the only college in the United States ever ordered to remain open by a court of law.

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