Ogden College was created pursuant to the will of Robert W. Ogden (April 1, 1815-November 10, 1873), a wealthy farmer and businessman who bequeathed the bulk of his estate for the establishment of an endowed school in Bowling Green to provide free education to young men of Warren County. His executors were designated regents, with power to appoint their successors as well as a Board of Trustees.

Ogden College opened on September 3, 1877, and was formally chartered on March 8, 1878. Its main building was Ogden Hall, formerly the Thomas C. Calvert house and site of the defunct Warren College. In 1922, a donation by C. Perry Snell made possible the erection of another classroom building, dedicated in 1924 as Snell Hall.

Ogden College offered both college and preparatory work, although college-level work was suspended from 1902 to 1904 due to declining enrollment. Ogden's largest enrollment was 162 in 1918. Endowment income, however, became increasingly inadequate to cover expenses, and in 1925 the college failed to achieve the accreditation necessary to allow it to compete with institutions like Western Kentucky State Normal and Teachers College.

On November 19, 1927, Ogden's governing board signed a merger agreement with Western Kentucky State Teachers College, effective January 2, 1928. The Ogden campus was leased to Western and the Ogden name was perpetuated in Western's Ogden Department of Science (now the Ogden College of Science, Technology and Health). The endowment was significantly enlarged in 1939 by a bequest under the will of R. C. P. Thomas and continues to be used to provide scholarships and awards to Western students.