Marymount was founded in 1950 by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM) as Marymount College, a two-year women's school. It was a member school of the Marymount colleges operated by the sisterhood in New York, California and several other states. The campus was located on the former estate of Admiral Presley Marion Rixey, Naval Surgeon General and personal physician to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William McKinley.