Educational Institutions
Title
Educational Institutions
Subject
Education, Nashville, downtown
Description
Author and historian Henry McRaven wrote in 1949, "Just as Athens, Greece was recognized centuries ago as the center of learning, so Nashville was accredited from its very beginning as a community where the attributes of learning and the appreciation of the fine arts were reflected in the leadership of its men and women in all walks of life."
After the Civil War, the people of Nashville grappled with an evolving, collective identity as a New South city. At the center of this socially constructed enterprise were young men and women, both white and black, who had greater access to higher education through the city’s newly established schools, including Vanderbilt University, Fisk University, Ward-Belmont School, David Lipscomb College, Meharry Medical College, Roger Williams University, Peabody College, and Tennessee A&I. With greater numbers of young people attending colleges and universities, these factors combined to influence the trajectory of Nashville’s urbanization and distinctiveness as the a regional center of learning.
After the Civil War, the people of Nashville grappled with an evolving, collective identity as a New South city. At the center of this socially constructed enterprise were young men and women, both white and black, who had greater access to higher education through the city’s newly established schools, including Vanderbilt University, Fisk University, Ward-Belmont School, David Lipscomb College, Meharry Medical College, Roger Williams University, Peabody College, and Tennessee A&I. With greater numbers of young people attending colleges and universities, these factors combined to influence the trajectory of Nashville’s urbanization and distinctiveness as the a regional center of learning.
Collection Items
Ward Seminary
Ward Seminary for Young Ladies, founded in 1865 by Dr. William E. Ward, stood at this site many years. Dr. Ward, a graduate of Cumberland University in Lebanon in both law and divinity, died in 1887. The school was sold, but continued to operate as…
Hume-Fogg High School
Nashville's first public school, Hume School, opened here Feb. 26, 1855. A three story brick building, the school employed 12 teachers and served all grades. In 1874 high school classes were moved to Fogg School built on adjoining corner lot. Named…
Vanderbilt University
An independent, privately supported university founded 1875 by Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, New York shipping & railway magnate, who gave $1,000,000 to start the university & expressed his wish that it should ‘contribute to strengthening the ties…
Roger Williams University
Roger Williams University first held classes in 1864, even before Fisk University. First located downtown, the school moved to 21st Avenue in 1874. Roger Williams provided courses that served as an equivalent to secondary education and some basic…
Meharry Medical College
Meharry Medical College, established in 1876 through the efforts of Dr. George W. Hubbard, Dr. William J. Sneed, and Samuel Meharry, is the only AMA accredited, privately endowed, predominantly African American medical school in the world.…
Peabody College for Teachers
Peabody College was founded in 1875 when the University of Nashville, located in Nashville, Tennessee, split into two separate educational institutions. The preparatory demonstration school, University School of Nashville, separated from the college…
Belmont College for Young Women
Belmont College for Young Women was founded by Susan L. Heron and Ida E. Hood, opened on September 4, 1890. Modeled on the women’s colleges of the Northeast, the school was established on a 15-acres of the former Belmont estate, including the mansion…
Fisk University
Fisk University was established six months after the end of the Civil War by John Ogden, the Reverend Erastus Milo Cravath, and the Reverend Edward P. Smith. They named the school in honor of General Clinton B. Fisk of the Tennessee Freedmen's…
University of Nashville
The University of Nashville was an educational institution that existed as a distinct entity from 1826 until 1909. Born out of Davidson Academy and Cumberland College, the University of Nashville played a large role in making Nashville the "Athens of…
Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State Normal School (Tennessee State University)
Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State Normal School for Negroes first opened its doors to 247 students in 1912. This site gave birth to a new era--public higher education for Tennessee's African Americans with emphasis on occupational…