In 1829, the Kentucky General Assembly chartered the Kentucky Baptist Education Society with the purpose of establishing a Baptist college in the state. 24 trustees under the leadership of Silas Noel selected the town of Georgetown as the site for the new school. College’s early years were defined by perseverance in the face of hardships. The first president hired by the college in 1829, William D. Staughton, died before assuming his duties. The second president, Rev. Joel Smith Bacon, stayed two years (1830–1832), fighting court cases to release funding for the college before leaving out of frustration. The third president, Benjamin Farnsworth, endured a power struggle with the Campbellites and resigned in 1837.