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 the land of a former 110-acre (45 ha) plantation in Columbia, South Carolina. Representing the American Baptist Home Mission Society, Bathsheba A. Benedict of Pawtucket, Rhode Island had provided $13,000 to purchase the property. This was one of the 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 …
