Lincoln University stands on a hill on the east side of Jefferson City, and its founding is one of the most remarkable stories in Missouri. In 1866, soldiers of the 62nd and 65th United States Colored Infantry, Black regiments that had fought for the Union, raised money from their own pay to start a school for freed people in Missouri. They named it Lincoln Institute.
From institute to university
The school opened in Jefferson City with a handful of students, and its early years were hard: little money, borrowed rooms and a state that was slow to help. The state began to support it in the 1870s, and over the next decades it grew into a college for the training of teachers and, later, a full university. It took the name Lincoln University in 1921.
For much of the twentieth century it was the main place in Missouri where Black students could get a university education. After desegregation it opened to all students, and today it is a public university with a mixed student body, while remaining one of the country's historically Black colleges and universities.
Seeing the campus
Visitors are welcome to walk the grounds. The older brick buildings sit at the top of the hill around a green, and the campus gives some of the best views back across town to the Capitol dome. Look for the memorial to the soldiers who founded the school; it is the reason to come.
- Time. Forty-five minutes for a walk around the main campus.
- When. Weekdays during term, when buildings are open and the campus is lively. Summer is quieter.
- Respect. It is a working campus: keep to public areas and do not enter classrooms.
Where it fits in a visit
The campus is a short drive or a longer walk from downtown. It fits best on the second day of a weekend in Jefferson City, when the big sights are done and you have time for the town's quieter history. Read it alongside how Jefferson City became the capital: the soldiers' school is as much a part of the capital's story as the Capitol itself.