Pfeiffer University

Pfeiffer University is a private university in Misenheimer, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History Pfeiffer originated from a home school operated by Miss Emily Prudden in the late 19th century. The school, called the Oberlin Home and School, first began operation on the outskirts of Hudson, North Carolina, on Lick Mountain in Caldwell County, North Carolina. University archivist Jonathan Hutchinson said in 2013, "Our accepted founding date is 1885," referring to the date Prudden's first school began, "but Emily probably started the school in about 1898." The school was called Oberlin, after John Frederick Oberlin, a French priest noted for his social improvement in the Alsace Region of France. The school was later endowed by Mrs. Mary P. Mitchell, and the name was changed to the Mitchell School. A fire destroyed the school in 1907 and it moved to the nearby town of Lenoir, North Carolina. As that location proved inadequate, the school again relocated in 1910, this time to its current location in Misenheimer. The Mitchell School began awarding high school diplomas in 1913. In 1928, the school began offering junior college classes, called the Mitchell Junior College, and was accredited as such in 1934. It was that year that the Pfeiffer family of New York City gave generous financial gifts to the school for construction of new buildings. The following year, the school's name was thus changed to Pfeiffer Junior College. During the 1950s the school began offering senior college courses, and the four-year Pfeiffer College was fully accredited in 1960 during the administration of Dr. J. Lem Stokes II, President.