Due West Female College

Due West was founded by a mixed group of lay men and local leaders from the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.

Its first president was John Irwin Bonner, who had founded the first ARP Church in the town.

The college's original mission was to educate women to become teachers in the Greater Abbeville County area.

Over time, however, Due West began to attract students from throughout the Southern United States, including from as far away as Texas.

When the better-known Erskine became fully coeducational in 1899, Due West experienced a decline in enrollment.