Hobart and William Smith Colleges, located in Geneva, New York, are together a liberal arts college offering Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Teaching degrees. In athletics, however, the two schools compete with separate teams, known as the Hobart Statesmen and the William Smith Herons. Legally, the combined corporation of the two colleges, Hobart College and William Smith College, is The Colleges of the Seneca. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, private colleges located in Geneva, New York, began in 1796 as the Geneva Academy, a frontier school initially funded by the State of New York and founded by Rev. Henry Axtell. After some setbacks and disagreement among trustees, the Academy suspended operations in 1817. By the time bishop John Henry Hobart, of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, first visited the city of Geneva in 1818, the doors of Geneva Academy had just closed. Yet, Geneva was a bustling Upstate New York city on the main land and stage coach route to the West. Bishop Hobart had a plan to reopen the Academy at a new location, raise a public subscription for the construction of a stone building, and elevate the school to college status.