From Oxford to Williamsburg: Part 2 – The College of William & Mary Law School and Wolf Law Library

Abstract

William & Mary, chartered in 1693 by King William III and Queen Mary II, is the second oldest college in America. When George Wythe was appointed Professor of Law and Policy in 1779, the College opened the first American law school. This article, written by Jim Heller, traces the development of the law school and its library in four stages. The Founding Stage, from 1779 until the commencement of the Civil War in 1861, shows gradual growth for the young law program. The Stage of Decline lasted from the closing of the College in 1861 to the reinstitution of the study of law at the College in the early 1920's. The fifty-year Struggling Revival Era runs from the early 1920's through to the 1970s. The Modern Era, from 1980 to the present, shows maturation and growth of the law school and the law library.