Washington and Lee University This postal card honors the 250th anniversary of Washington and Lee University. Founded in 1749 in Lexington, Va., it is the sixth oldest institution of higher learning in the U.S. The university was named in 1871 for George Washington, who contributed to its endowment in 1796, and for Robert E. Lee, who served as its president from 1865 until his death in 1870. Designed by Derry Noyes, the postal card features a reproduction of a photograph, taken by Patrick Hinely, of the university's neo-classical Colonnade. The Colonnade is a group of buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.