Black and white image of Lincoln University students in the 1800s.

From Freedom’s Promise to the Future’s Possibilities: Lincoln University at 160

It is a story well-known to every Lincolnite — how a band of freed Black soldiers dreamed of educating the people of their home state and turned that dream into reality. As the Civil War drew ever closer to its end in 1865, the soldiers of the 62nd and 65th Regiments of the United States Colored Troops at Fort McIntosh, Texas, began to make plans for their return to their homes in Missouri. The soldiers had learned to read and write as part of their training in boot camp, and they wanted to give that same opportunity — and more — to other freed Black people. The soldiers, whose pay averaged $13 a month, pooled their funds to found Lincoln Institute in Jefferson City. The soldiers of the 62nd came up with $5,000; those in the 65th added another $1,400 to the school’s endowment.

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Three people standing around a table covered with cards arranged in a grid.

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A close-up of a person holding fresh green quinoa leaves during agricultural research at Lincoln University of Missouri.

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