Mahinda College was founded by the Buddhist Theosophical Society which was established with the arrival of Col. Henry Steel Olcott who was a pioneer member of the Theosophical Society of New York. Buddhist Theosophical Society was responsible for the Sinhala - Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka at a juncture where the Buddhism and the Buddhist values were fast diminishing in the country mainly due to the influence of Christianity. On the historic day of 1st March 1892, Mahinda College was born in an old building on the Peddler Street within the premises of Dutch Fort in Galle. The objective of setting up Buddist Schools such as Mahinda by the Theosophical society was to create an "Elite Buddhist Generation", who are local in blood and colour but English in tastes, opinions, morals and intellect; and education was adopted as the medium by which it could be realized. The first principal of Mahinda was Dr .J. Bowels Daly, another strong member of the Theosophical Movement and the first manager was Muhandiram Thomas de Silva Amarasuriya, a philanthropist from Unawatuna.

Mahinda saw a number of principals before a Post-Graduate of the Cambridge University Frank Lee Woodward volunteering to be of service, took up the responsibilities as the principal of Mahinda in 1903. A period of sixteen years under his guidance was one of the best eras in Mahinda history. His leadership saw a quick revival of Mahinda and development unprecedented. During this period Mahinda was shifted to it's present site away from the busy city of Galle to a favourable location for education, within a picturesque backdrop of sacred Sri-Pada. During his tenure, he developed the College Logo and the School Flag with the colours Black and Gold. His prowess and liking to Pali language and Buddhism is clearly depicted in the Crest; the Pay-off "Kippam Vayama - Panditho Bhava" an extract from Dhamma Padaya. Having created a strong culture which is still prevailing and will last for centuries, this great Expatriate left Sri Lanka in 1919. He embraced Buddhism so strongly and was another Sri Lankan, so much so that he changed his name from Woodward to "Wanapala".

Mahinda' s golden age dawned with the arrival of Mr. Wijesooriya as Principal in 1932. A distinguished old boy and a student of Woodward era, led the school to greater heights in performance, education and extra curricular activities as well. Under his leadership and guidance, Mahinda became the first school in Southern SriLanka, authorized to conduct the Higher School Certificate and University Entrance course in Arts, Science, and Medicine.

Mahinda has been privileged to have visits paid by some great personalities such as Mahathma Ghandhi, Sri Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Annie Besant, Anagharika Dharmapala, Sarojini Naidu, C.F.Andrews and the late SriLankan Presidents J.R.Jayawardane and R.Premadasa.

Mahinda today, is providing education facilities to over 3000 students and has created great many a citizen to Mother Lanka and to the world at large.