Who was William Smith?
There’s a building on campus named for him. With its distinctive cupola and stained glass windows, William Smith Hall is an historically significant academic facility on campus. But who, exactly, was this Bill Smith? Washington College owes its very existence to this ambitious, hard-drinking Anglican priest who made his way to Chestertown from the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania) in 1780. He took up a dual position as rector of the Chestertown parish and headmaster of the Kent County Free School, which under his leadership would become Washington College. Some say the hot-tempered Scotsman was forced out of the provost’s position he held at Philadelphia for 25 years-from 1754 until 1779-before moving to Chestertown. Perhaps. But he also was well connected. As noted in Washington: The College at Chester: “He was either friend or enemy of every man of importance in the colonies between the Carolinas and Massachusetts. Vocally, his critics outnumbered his frien
