Benedict College

Benedict College is a private historically black college in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1870 by northern Baptists, it was originally a teachers' college. It has since expanded to offer majors in many disciplines across the liberal arts. The campus includes buildings in the Benedict College Historic District, a historic area listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Benedict College was founded in 1870 on land of a former plantation in Columbia, South Carolina. Representing the American Baptist Home Mission Society, Bathsheba A. Benedict of Pawtucket, Rhode Island had provided the $13,000.00 to purchase the property. This was one of numerous educational institutions founded in the South for formerly enslaved people by northern religious mission societies, as education was seen as key to the future for African Americans. History Benedict Institute opened on December 12, 1870. Benedict's first class consisted of ten freedmen; the teacher was the Reverend Timothy Dodge. He was a college-educated preacher from the North, who was also appointed as president of the institute. Classes were first held in the "Big House" of the plantation, which had been built in 1839 and deteriorated during the war. The institute's mission was prepare men and women to be "powers for good in society.” Because enslaved people had been prohibited from learning to read or write, initially classes were held at the grammar school level in such basic subjects as reading, writing, and math; other subjects included Bible and theology. Eventually, other subjects were added to the curriculum to address the original objective of the school: to train teachers and preachers.