in 1823 as a preparatory school for wealthy students. The Tennessee General Assembly chartered the academy in 1825. In 1844, the academy reorganized and rechartered as "West Tennessee College". During the Civil War, the college was used as a military hospital by Confederate and Union troops. West Tennessee College reopened after the war. In 1874, the Tennessee Baptists acquired the college.
"Union University" was established at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in 1849. It went inactive due to the Civil War in 1859 but operated again between 1868 and 1873.
=== Early history ===
The East Tennessee Baptist General Association, the General Association of Baptists in Middle Tennessee, and the West Tennessee Baptist Convention met in Humboldt, Tennessee, on March 15, 1873, adopting a resolution to establish a "first-class college". This resulted in an Educational Convention that met on April 10, 1874, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, at the former campus of Union University. The convention explored potential locations for a new …
