John Work Scott, son of Andrew Scott and Mary Dinsmore, was the sixth and last president of Washington College before its merger with Jefferson College to form Washington & Jefferson College. A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, Scott graduated from Jefferson College in 1827 and worked as a Presbyterian minister. He was elected president of Washington College on November 10, 1852 and was inaugurated in 1853. He earned a salary of $1000 per year and received a raise to $1500 per year in 1859. In 1860, he was elected president of the Maryland Agricultural College, but was unavailable to serve. By 1862, Washington College's enrollment dropped by about two-thirds, as 90 students joined the armed services to fight in the American Civil War. Scott retired from the presidency in August 1865, oste