In 1749 a group of Presbyterians established Augusta Academy. Inspired by the American Revolution, its trustees changed the school's name to Liberty Hall in 1776. It was initially located about 20 miles northeast of Lexington, but in 1780 the academy moved to Lexington. Two years later it was rechartered as Liberty Hall Academy. George Washington (Washington, George) presented the academy with a gift of $50,000 in 1796 after part of the school was destroyed by a fire; the academy showed its appreciation by renaming the institution Washington Academy in 1798. It became Washington College in 1813. Robert E. Lee (Lee, Robert E.) served as president of the college from 1865 until his death in 1870 and the following year the name was changed to Washington and Lee University.

The university became coeducational in 1972 when it admitted women to the school of law. Beginning in 1985, women were permitted to enroll in two undergraduate programs. Lee Chapel and Museum (1867), a national historic landmark, contains the crypt of the Lee family. Located in the chapel is a statue of Lee, and in the museum is the Washington-Custis-Lee collection of notable portraits of Washington and Lee.