About
Elmira College is a private college in Elmira, New York, United States. Founded as a college for women in 1855, it is the oldest existing college granting degrees to women that were the equivalent of those given to men. Elmira College became coeducational in all of its programs in 1969. In fall 2024, the college has an enrollment of approximately 786 students.
The school's colors, purple and gold, are seen throughout the traditional campus, consisting mainly of buildings of the Victorian and Collegiate Gothic architectural styles. The colors purple and gold come from both the banners of the women's suffrage movement and the iris, the college flower.
The octagonal study in which Mark Twain wrote many of his most widely read novels is located on campus, as well as a research facility for Twain scholars.