Lincoln Memorial University

Lincoln Memorial University is a private four-year co-educational liberal arts college located in Harrogate, Tennessee.

LMU's 1,000-acre campus borders on Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.

LMU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Its [Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum^[1] houses a large collection of memorabilia relating to the school's namesake, Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, initially formed from donations by the school's early benefactor, General Oliver O. Howard, and his friends.^[2] The collection of Lincoln items is said to be the world's third largest.

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History

According to LMU tradition, Abraham Lincoln told General O.O. Howard, a Union Army officer, that he hoped the general would create a great university for the people of this particular region.

In the late 1800s, Colonel A. A. Arthur, an organizing agent of an English company, purchased the area where Lincoln Memorial University is now located. His company built a hotel of 700 rooms called "The Four Seasons," as well as a hospital, an inn, a sanitarium, and other smaller buildings. Roads were laid and the grounds planted with a wide variety of shrubs and trees. In 1895 the company was forced to abandon its project when a financial panic swept England.

Reverend A. A. Myers, a Congregational minister, had come to the Cumberland Gap in 1888. He succeeded in opening the Harrow School, established for the purpose of providing elementary education to mountain youngsters. On a visit to the area to give a series of lectures at the Harrow School, General Howard remembered his commitment to Lincoln and joined with Reverend Myers, M. F. Overton, C. F. Eager, A. B. Kesterson, and M. Arthur to establish Lincoln Memorial University. That group, along with Robert F. Patterson, a Confederate veteran, became a board of directors and purchased The Four Seasons property. In commemoration of Lincoln's birthday, the institution was chartered by the State of Tennessee on February 12, 1897, as Lincoln Memorial University.

Athletics

Sports teams, called the "Railsplitters", compete in NCAA Division II in the South Atlantic Conference. Formerly LMU was a member of the Gulf South Conference.

LMU is unique among SAC members in that it does not have a football program, though it did have one in the past.

Alumni

More than 700 LMU alumni have entered medical or legal practice in Appalachian communities. Another 3,000 have become professional educators, serving in positions ranging from elementary school teaching to university presidencies. Twenty-five graduates have published widely recognized books, dramas, and musical compositions.

Notable individual alumni include:

• Zelma Mullins Pattillo, one of the first Southern Baptist women to be ordained as a minister^[3]
• Scot Shields, Major League Baseball pitcher
• James Still, Appalachian poet, novelist and folklorist
• Jesse Stuart, writer of short stories, poetry, and novels
• Don West, writer, civil-rights activist, and a co-founder of the Highlander Folk School.

References