In the 1850s, granted by the state to establish an institution, a newly established Board of Trustees sought to create a ’first class’ school for women in Danville, KY.  Trying to secure funds to construct a building for the school was a preliminary challenge.  Henderson, a large player in the planning phase, was not willing/able to give enough money to both buy the proper lots and build a large enough building.  So they needed another loan, or another large donor.  This came in the form of Caldwell, who was one of five men to donate $1,000 to the cause.  Along with donors from Danville, who gave anywhere between $20 to $950 (3-4), the public was able to muster enough funds to build the school, still called Henderson Female Institute at the time.  It was later changed to Caldwell Female Institute to reflect the gratitude for their donor, opening in 1860 once the four story-brick building was completed.  It offered elementary and college prep content, educating girls and women for the entire lives.  Even after its establishment, the school struggled to pay off debts, with the trustees scrambling to gather together enough money to keep the school going (12), even going so far as to sell off furniture (23).  

The institute slogged through the Civil War, presidents cycling out almost each year before it came under the control of the Second Presbyterian Church in 1874 (35), renaming to the Caldwell Female College and taking on all of the college’s debts.  It was also that same year that the building, and most of the school’s assets, were destroyed by fire. Using insurance money, and some last minute donations from Danville residents, the school acquired, some years later, another property; formerly the Danville Military School (36), it is now the current site of the Danville High School.  

The Bell Seminary, a program run by Joshua F. Bell and his wife, Mary Bell Allen, who held the title of ‘Lady Principal,’ was also a significant Danville institute at the time.  It offered similar content to the Caldwell Female Institute, but was not affiliated with any church and was run primarily by a woman.  It only lasted about a decade, from 1876 to 1887, but it had a surprisingly large student body for its run-time, educating many local women while Caldwell recovered from fire.  The Bell Seminary taught classes that were primarily concerned with the arts; literature, art, grammar, etc., but courses in chemistry and arithmetic were also offered.  While the school had prayers and some religious ceremonies in its academic calendar, it was unique in that it never chose an official affiliation, instead welcoming all students into its ranks, letting them pick the church they wished to attend.  The two schools merged in 1886, sharing the Caldwell campus due to its larger size and better established history.  ‘Bell’ was quickly dropped from the school’s official name and Mary Bell Allen disappeared from faculty lists in 1887.  Since both schools had the same interest of educating women, the merge was logical for both, and both programs benefited from splitting the financial burdens that accompanied them, but it also meant that the college went back under the control of the male-dominated Board of Trustees.  

The school flourished under its new president, John. C. Acheson, in the early 20th century, eventually building up to offering Junior College work and establishing itself as a respected institution, able to compete on the same level as Centre College.  In 1913 it became the Kentucky College for Women, its final name change.  In 1920, the 19th Amendment, women's right to vote, was passed by the Supreme Court, reflecting the culmination of women's suffrage at the time, and shifting thoughts as to what a woman's place in society was. At KCW, values were still very conservative, tied to the Presbyterian Church, but women still wanted to have an education on par with what was being offered at Centre College. Letters addressed to Centre from as far back as 1887 show proof that women were applying to the school, but had to be turned away.

By 1922 KCW was offering full Bachelor of Arts programs.  Courses in the early 20th century included: Classics, Literature, College Prep, Latin, English, History, Math, Chemistry, Physics, and Botany.  There were no science degrees offered despite the existence of science classes.  It was considered more suitable for women to study the arts rather than the sciences -- a thought that carried through the next several decades, whose lasting effects can still be felt today. Despite this thought, women still had fairly active athletics programs. Students could compete in a number of sports, and gym classes were held, even having an indoor pool built on campus.

KCW never got over its financial issues, however, and in its entire history only one president had lasted more than one term -- Acheson, serving two.  So in 1925, out of funds and unable to deal with the instability and low enrollment, KCW formally merged with Centre College, letting them coexist for some time, separated, sharing social events and school culture.  Attitudes towards this were mixed, with many public responses to the merge highlighting the fact that the women were not fully considered to be Centre students, instead, in June of 1925,  KCW became the Women's Department of Centre College, stressing the fact that it was a coexistence, not a merge. Women still lived in and used buildings on the KCW campus, but as time went on, the divisions between the two become blurred, eventually leading to more interactions and merges between the two institutions.