Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland, which is on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The college was founded in 1782 by William Smith, but is the successor institution to the earlier Kent County Free School which was founded in 1732. Modern college classes – freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior – were introduced in the 1870s by President William Rivers. At the same time, a class called sub-freshmen was created for students that did not meet the requirements to be freshmen. The college continued to admit sub-freshmen to the preparatory department until 1924.