What is now Siena University was established in 1937 by the Order of Friars Minor, a modest institution with a faculty of seven friars and one layperson operating out of the former Garrett estate in Loudonville, New York. Initially named St. Bernardine of Siena College, it received its provisional charter from the University of the State of New York in 1938 and was granted a permanent charter in 1942. The university is named for Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher.
In the late 1930s, Thomas Plassmann, president of St. Bonaventure University in Western New York, sent seven Franciscan friars to New York's Capital Region to found another college.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Siena College.
1986Albany sheet · 1:100,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Siena College.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Siena College
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Siena College
Nobody well known was born in Siena College itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
