Founding ===
Fisk Free Colored School opened on January 9, 1866, during the Reconstruction era shortly after the end of the Civil War. It was founded by John Ogden, Erastus Milo Cravath, and Edward Parmelee Smith of the American Missionary Association for the education of freedmen in Nashville. Fisk was one of several schools and colleges that the Association helped found across the South to educate freed slaves. The school is named for Clinton B. Fisk, a Union general and assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau of Tennessee. Fisk secured a site to house the school in a former military barracks near Union Station and provided $30,000 of government funds for its endowment.
The American Missionary Association's work was supported by the Congregationalist church, which retains an affiliation with Fisk. Fisk is the oldest higher education institution in Nashville.
=== 19th century ===
Enrollment rose to 900 in the first several months following the school's opening, indicating the strong desire for education …
