Georgetown is the oldest Catholic Church-related institution of higher learning in the United States. In 1787, John Carroll, Georgetown's founder, began to collect funds for an academy at "George-Town on the Patowmack River, Maryland." Construction of the first building began in 1789, the same year in which John Carroll—friend of Benjamin Franklin, with whom he had served on the Continental Commission to Canada in 1776, and a cousin of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, signer of the Declaration of Independence, became the first Catholic bishop in the United States.

 

In 1805 the College came under the direction of the Society of Jesus. On March 1, 1815, an Act of Congress granted the University the power of conferring degrees, and in 1844 the Congress formally incorporated the institution. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is Georgetown's second-oldest school. Founded in 1820 it granted its first graduate degree in 1821 and its first doctoral degree in 1897.

 

Prior to the Civil War Georgetown's enrollment was predominantly southern. After the Civil War it drew a larger portion of its student body from the northeast. During the war the University served as both a training ground and a hospital. After the war, the University's colors—blue and gray—were chosen to symbolize the healing and reuniting of the country.

 

The University's founder, John Carroll, chose to secure hilltop property in Georgetown. He was also offered hilltop land in a section of the city now known as Capitol Hill, the seat of the U.S. Congress. Georgetown (named for the English monarch, not for George Washington), was a thriving port in Carroll's day. Now it is a vital part of the city, known for its shops, restaurants, repertory cinema, galleries, and historic homes.