Williamston Female College was founded February 12, 1872, by the Reverend Samuel Lander, D.D., a Methodist minister. The college building stood on this site until 1939. On September 27, 1904, the school was moved to Greenwood, S.C., and became Lander College in honor of its founder, who had died on July 14, 1904. From humble beginnings, a Christian institution of expanding influence arose here, keeping faith with its motto, Puritas et Scientia.