Virginia Military Institute--A National Historic Landmark
Historical highway marker I-1_1 · Lexington
VMI is an undergraduate public college founded in 1839 with the mission of preparing citizen-soldiers to serve in both civilian and military capacities. It is the oldest state-supported military college in the nation. Alexander J. Davis designed its first Gothic Revival buildings, which opened in 1851. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, oceanographer Matthew Fontaine Maury, and scientist John Brooke served on the faculty. Among its alumni are George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff during World War II and Nobel Prize recipient, polar explorer Richard E. Byrd, Civil Rights martyr Jonathan Daniels, 11 Rhodes scholars, and seven Medal of Honor recipients.
Department of Historic Resources, 1989