Allen University, a private historically black university in Columbia, South Carolina, spreads its historic campus in front of you. The campus you see is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Allen University Historic District. The school today enrolls more than 600 students and still serves a predominantly Black constituency, carrying forward a mission that began when the institution was founded in Cokesbury in 1870 as the Payne Institute by ministers of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, including John M. Brown.
Its initial purpose was plain and powerful: to provide education to freedmen, former African American slaves and their children. In 1880 the school moved here to Columbia and was renamed Allen University in honor of Richard Allen, founder of the AME Church, and it remains connected to that denomination, which is related to other Methodist churches. As one of two black colleges located in Columbia, Allen has long been a strong presence in the African-American community.
The early curriculum focused on training ministers and teachers—roles considered critical to progress—and, over the years, the university enlarged its scope to produce graduates in other academic areas. In 1885 Joseph W. Morris became president. Picture Joseph W. Morris becoming president here in 1885, one chapter in this campus's story.