Anthony Colby also purchased the original New London town meeting house and moved it to campus, where it was renovated to provide 20 double rooms for the male students.

Colgate Hall housed female students, administrative offices, a library, dining room, kitchen, chapel, classrooms, and laundry.

In 1931 Shepard Hall was built in honor of one of the original New London families who were trustees of the Academy and the College.

On Oct. 18, 1941, Eleanor Roosevelt visited the college and gave a speech to the community at the Baptist church.

In 1943, the college charter was amended by the New Hampshire General Court to allow the granting of baccalaureate programs.

In 1974, the unrelated Colby College in Waterville, Maine filed a lawsuit arguing that the name change would cause confusion between the two.

The New Hampshire school then settled on Colby–Sawyer College, honoring the institution's longtime president H. Leslie Sawyer, who had died in 1972.

The college began its transition to a senior institution during the administration of Louis C. Vaccaro (1972–1978) and completed this change under the presidency of H. Nicholas Muller III (1978–1986).

Stock (1986–1995), sixth president of the college, increased enrollment, completed a successful capital campaign, and constructed or renovated several buildings, including Rooke Hall.

The 33,000-square-foot (3,100 m2) building houses the Community and Environmental Studies and Biology Programs, as well as faculty in the Natural Sciences Department.

The Center includes Clements Hall, the 182 seat auditorium, and the geographic information systems (GIS) laboratory.

In addition to institutional records, the Archives maintains the college's Special Collections which consists of rare books as well as manuscript collections of notable men and women from New Hampshire, including the late New Hampshire Congressman James C. Cleveland's papers and the Pillsbury Family papers.

[11] The Colby-Sawyer athletics program consists of intercollegiate, club, intramural and recreational sports.

[16] Colby-Sawyer offers 10 varsity men's sports: alpine skiing, baseball, basketball, cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, and volleyball.