In 1836, the citizens of Georgia began a campaign, especially in Macon, to educate their young women. The newspapers carried articles of protest that women remained ignorant for a want of eduction. On 23 December 1836, the Georgia Female College was chartered. It opened its doors on 7 January 1839, with 90 young women enrolled. The course of study was liberal arts, and sciences, including philopsphy, astronomy, botany, chemistry, physiology, geology, history and ancient modern languages.
The first class was graduated in 1840, its first graduate being Miss Catherine Elizabeth Brewer.
When the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Church assumed responsibility in 1843, it was renamed, called Wesleyan Female College.
In 1917 the word "female" was eliminated from its title.
Wesleyan was the birthplace of the first two Greek societies for women --- the Adelphean Society in 1851 (now Alpha Delta Pi) and the Philomathean Society in 1852 (now Phi Mu).