Founder's Day

Students in a horse-drawn carriage for the Founder's Day parade
Students in a horse-drawn carriage for the Founder's Day parade
Nine-pin game, set up by students in costume
Song contest
Spectators at the Founder's Day contests
Students performing in the song contest
Woman with a child at the song contest
Students lined up for a bicycle contest
Students at the song contest
Students in costume, two in stereotypical Native American dress, one in dark makeup
Spectators and judges at the Founder's Day contests. One of the judges may be Professor Frances Gertrude Wick or Dean C. Mildred Thompson
Students in costume playing a bocci-like game
A student riding in the bicycle contest
President MacCracken at Matthew Vassar's grave in the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery
An unidentified woman placing a wreath on President James Monroe Taylor's grave at the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery, which was visited by a contingent from Vassar on Founder's Day
Song contest
Spectators at the Founder's Day contests
President MacCracken at Georgia A. Kendrick's grave in the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery
President MacCracken dressed in a stereotypical Middle Eastern costume and Dean C. Mildred Thompson at the festivities after the Founder's Day parade
President MacCracken giving the Founder's Day address on the steps of the President's House
Students with doughnuts and programs
Here you will find digitized archival collections, oral histories, and more. We are continually expanding the collections and improving access. You may find additional digital resources that reside outside the digital library here, and a selection of Online Exhibitions here.
Collections Overview
The Archives & Special Collections Library is part of the Vassar College Libraries system. It holds the rare book, manuscript, and archival collections of the college. It collects, preserves, and makes available rare and unique collections, and also engages in teaching and outreach activities. This collection of finding aids describe items in both the Virginia B. Smith Memorial Manuscript Collection and the College Archives.
The Vassar College herbarium holds over 8,000 specimens of vascular plants, bryophytes, and algae. Holdings are primarily from northeastern North America, and include collections made by several notable 19th century botanists. To learn more about this project visit the website here.
Vassar College's institutional repository reflects the research and scholarly output of the Vassar College community. It provides access to senior theses, peer reviewed open access articles, and projects from a wide range of disciplines.