Saint Michael's College is a private, residential liberal arts Catholic college. The 440-acre (1.8 km) campus is located in Colchester, Vermont. It was founded in 1904 by the Society of Saint Edmund, a French order of Catholic priests. In 1889, priests from the Society of Saint Edmund fled to the United States after widespread anticlericism seized France. In 1904, they opened Saint Michael's Institute with an initial investment of $5,000. Thirty-four students aged 10 to 22 enrolled, with a tuition and board fee of $105. Slowly, the school discontinued its high school program. Gradually, the school transitioned from an academy with old military barracks as dormitories to a traditional residential college. In 1939, graduate programs were offered for the first time. Saint Michael’s Playhouse was opened in 1947, bringing professional summer theater to Vermont and giving students the chance to work behind the scenes. Before the 1950s, classes at Saint Michael's were small, just a few dozen Michaelmen in any class. In the 1950s, the college expanded to hundreds of students per class.