Roger Williams University was a

historically black college Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. It was founded in 1866 as the Nashville Normal and Theological Institute by the American Baptist denomination, which established numerous schools and colleges in the South. Renamed for

Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...

, the founder of the

First Baptist Church in America The First Baptist Meetinghouse, also known as the First Baptist Church in America is the oldest Baptist church in the United States. The Church was founded in 1638 by Roger Williams in Providence, Rhode Island. The present church building was ere ...

, it became the largest Baptist college in the area for educating

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

. It was founded in a period when Protestant mission groups sponsored numerous educational facilities for

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

in the South. By 1874, the college occupied a 28-acre site on a knoll near Hillsboro Pike. In 1905, its buildings were destroyed by two fires of suspicious origin, which led it to close. In 1908, it opened with a new campus at a different location. By 1922, there were only 159 students and 12 faculty members. On July 12, 1927, the decision was made to merge with Howe Institute in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

. The students and teachers left for Memphis on December 29, 1929.

History

Daniel W. Phillips, a white minister and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

from Massachusetts, taught the first classes at what was called Nashville Institute. In 1866, the Baptist Home Mission Board sponsored selected African-American men for the first classes here, including Hardin Smith and Martin Winfield from

Haywood County, Tennessee Haywood County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the region known as West Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,864. Its county seat and largest city is Brownsville. It is one of only two remaining count ...

. After they returned to their home communities of Nutbush and Brownsville, respectively, they became ministers and founded several Baptist churches in the area, as well as the first school for freedmen in the county. In 1874, the college, now known as Roger Williams University after

, the Baptist founder of the

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious d ...

and one of the first

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

, built a campus on a 28-acre site near Hillsboro Pike in Nashville. In 1886 it added a master's degree program. It operated here until 1905, when "the main building of Roger Williams burned on the night of January 24...and the last of the two Roger Williams buildings burned the night of May 22. News stories contained suggestions of incendiary origin..." The campus was sold by developers posing as a Christian missionary agency, under a

restrictive covenant A covenant, in its most general and covenant (historical), historical sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action. Under historical English common law, a covenant was distinguished from an ordinary contract by the ...

barring African Americans from living on the land. The school closed for three years; the site is currently occupied by

Peabody College Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee ...

(merged in 1979 with

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

). After Baptist fundraising Roger Williams reopened in 1908 at a new location. In 1922 it had 159 students and 12 faculty. Numerous

who became teachers, ministers, doctors, and other leaders in the South were educated here throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Graduates included William Madison McDonald, who became an influential Republican politician in Texas. In 1929, the university, already afflicted by financial problems made worse by the stock market crash of 1929, ceased operations; students and faculty were moved to Howe Institute in Memphis (today

LeMoyne–Owen College LeMoyne–Owen College (LOC or "LeMoyne-Owen") is a private historically black college affiliated with the United Church of Christ and located in Memphis, Tennessee. It resulted from the 1968 merger of historically black colleges and other sc ...

). The site is currently occupied by

American Baptist College American Baptist College (previously American Baptist Theological Seminary) is a Private college, private, Baptist college in Nashville, Tennessee, affiliated with the National Baptist Convention, USA. The school was founded in 1924. Upon accre ...

, a

, and the World Baptist Center.

Honors

*The site of the college from 1874 to 1905 near Hillsboro Pike is commemorated by a state historical marker.

Notable alumni and faculty

Allen Allensworth Allen Allensworth (April 7, 1842 – September 14, 1914) was an American chaplain, colonel, city founder, and theologian. Born into slavery in Kentucky, he escaped during the American Civil War by joining the 44th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Reg ...

William Herbert Brewster, Sr. Dr. William Herbert Brewster, Sr. (July 2, 1897 – October 15, 1987) was a 20th century Renaissance man born just outside Memphis, Tennessee. He was a Baptist minister by trade as well as a crucial figure in African American history who made a l ...

, gospel composer *

Newell Houston Ensley Newell Houston Ensley (August 23, 1852 – May 23, 1888) was an American Baptist minister and civil rights activist. He was a professor at Shaw University, Howard University, and Alcorn University. Early life Newell Houston Ensley was born a s ...

* Betty Hill, civil rights leader * Elijah P. Marrs, faculty in 1874 * William Madison McDonald, politician in Texas *

Inman E. Page Inman E. Page (December 29, 1853 - December 21, 1935) was a Baptist leader and educator in Oklahoma, Missouri and Tennessee. He was president of four schools: the Lincoln University (Missouri), Lincoln Institute, Langston University, Western Univ ...

, president of Roger Williams in 1920 and 1921 * Chasteen C. Stumm, minister, newspaper publisher, journalist, and teacher; attended Roger Williams in the 1870s * Randal B. Vandavall, co-founder and early trustee

References

External links

''Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Roger Williams University, Nashville, Tenn.: For the Academic Year 1884-85, with the Courses of Study (1885)''
{{authority control Universities and colleges established in 1866 Educational institutions disestablished in 1929 Defunct private universities and colleges in Tennessee Historically black universities and colleges in Tennessee Universities and colleges in Nashville, Tennessee LeMoyne–Owen College 1866 establishments in Tennessee