Hopkins is the third-oldest independent secondary school in the United States. In 1660, Edward Hopkins, seven-time governor of the Connecticut Colony, bequeathed a portion of his estate to found schools dedicated to "the breeding up of hopeful youths." With a portion of the bequest, Hopkins Grammar School was founded in a one-room building on the New Haven Green. The school relocated to its current campus on a hill overlooking New Haven in 1926. Hopkins has been coeducational since merging with Day Prospect Hill School in 1972.