The impact of the following private colleges in the Pacific Northwest is examined: Willamette University (Salem, Oregon), Pacific University (Forest Grove, Oregon), Linfield College (McMinnville, Oregon), Lewis and Clark College (Portland, Oregon), Whitman College (Walla Walla, Washington), University of Puget Sound (Tacoma, Washington), Whitworth College (Spokane, Washington), and Pacific Lutheran University (Parkland, Washington). In addition to a Protestant connection, each of these schools had in common devotion to the liberal arts and small size, emphasized campus traditions and close student-faculty relationships, and housed large percentages of students on campus. All eight schools also prepared teachers, stressed music, listed preprofessional programs, and suggested varieties of field work off campus. Eight ways of measuring the impact of these colleges through time are addressed: curriculum, campus cultural events, spirit of community, services, local expenditures, distinctive architecture, faculty, and alumni. As small residential colleges, these institutions believed that much of a student's education came from campus cultural events. Such events also brought enriched appreciation and understanding to the town as well as to the campus. The main ingredients of school spirit are small size, close student-faculty relations, and traditional campus activities, especially songfests. The colleges also offered services to the community, such as hearing and optometry clinics at low prices, and the college as a whole injected money into the local economy. Distinguished teachers, performers, researchers, and alumni of the college are identified. (SW)