Virginia Collegiate and Industrial Institute
Historical highway marker Q-6-38 · Lynchburg
The Virginia Collegiate and Industrial Institute opened here in 1893 as a branch of Morgan College in Baltimore, Maryland. The school offered college preparation, industrial education, and teacher training to African American students. Jackson Street Methodist Episcopal Church in Lynchburg purchased land for the campus and provided additional financial support. The Freedmen's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church contributed funds for operating expenses. African American educator Frank Trigg was the institute's first principal. After a fire destroyed the main building in Dec. 1917, the school closed and its students were transferred to Morgan College in Baltimore.
Department of Historic Resources, 2017