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The beauty and tranquility of the Blue Ridge Mountains led Congregationalist minister John C. Collins to form the Mountain Retreat Association in 1897 “for the encouragement of Christian work and living through Christian convention, public worship, missionary work, schools, and libraries.” By 1907, J. R. Howerton of Charlotte, NC, conceived and carried out the idea of purchasing Montreat for the Presbyterian Church in the United States. Then, in 1913, Dr. Robert C. Anderson, president of the Mountain Retreat Association, proposed that the grounds and facilities of the Association be used for a school during the academic year. In 1915, the General Assembly decreed “that the property of the Mountain Retreat Association be used for a Normal School and that the establishment of the school be referred to the Synods.” 
The Montreat Normal School, a four-year preparatory and two-year college combination, opened its first session in October 1916 with eight students. Throughout times of war, economic fluctuations, and rapid social change, the school sought to provide a Christian setting in which to prepare young women to be-come teachers.
In 1934, during Dr. Robert C. Anderson’s tenure as president, Montreat Normal School (College Department) was renamed Montreat College. The college grew as its academic program expanded. It began a four-year degree program in 1945. After 14 years as a four-year women’s college, the college was restructured in 1959 as a coeducational junior college and was given a new name, Montreat-Anderson College. In 1986, the college Board of Trustees, realizing the demands and changing circumstances in higher education, made the decision to become again a baccalaureate institution. The dream of its first president, Dr. Anderson, was for the college to serve as an accredited baccalaureate institution. The college has realized that dream. It returned to the original name of Montreat College in August of 1995, sharing the original vision and identity. The change reflects the Montreat College of today, a four-year college with several growing campuses and a graduate program.
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