Founded in 1901 through the bequest of Indiana Fletcher Williams, on a large campus just south of Amherst in Amherst County, the nationally renowned liberal arts Sweet Briar College for women boasts a distinguished complex of buildings by Ralph Adams Cram, one of America’s foremost architects. During his long career Cram produced a remarkable body of work, all of impeccable quality. His collegiate commissions include West Point Chapel, Princeton Chapel, and the campuses of Rice Institute and the University of Richmond. Appointed Sweet Briar’s architect in 1901, Cram departed from his usual Gothic Revival scheme and produced an elegant Georgian-style layout realized in part between 1902 and 1942. In establishing the school’s image, Cram was influenced by Virginia’s Georgian architecture. He stated: “history, tradition, and architectural style predetermined the course to follow.” Richmond landscape architect Charles Gillette provided the park-like setting for Cram’s scheme. The Sweet Briar College Historic District consists of twenty-two contributing buildings, including the individually listed Sweet Briar House, which houses the college’s president.