Livingstone College was founded in Salisbury, North CarolinaAugust 31, 1879

On Sun, 08.31.1879, Livingstone College was founded in Salisbury, North Carolina.

The founding of Livingstone College is celebrated on this date in 1879.

One of over 100 Historical Black Colleges and Universities in America, Livingstone College, in Salisbury, North Carolina, began as an educational institution for clergy in the African Methodist Church (A.M.E.). It was located in a small house on seven acres of land donated by the Reverend Thurber, and was called Zion Wesley Institute.

Under the leadership of Bishop James Walker Hood, it operated for two terms, from 1879 to 1880 and from 1880 to 1881. Bishop Hood had been instrumental in nurturing Joseph Charles Price, who had been a student in his wife's Sunday school in New Bern, North Carolina. During a trip to England, the Reverend Dr. Price raised $10,000 and in 1882, was elected to the presidency of what had developed into Zion Wesley College. The neighboring citizens of Salisbury contributed $1,000 to the college and extended an invitation to the trustees to relocate to their community. The trustees accepted the invitation and purchased 40 acres of land and a house located in the Old Delta Grove, thereby accommodating future growth and development of the institution.

In 1887, at the advice of Price and by an 1887 Act of the North Carolina Legislature, the name Zion Wesley College was changed to Livingstone College in honor of David Livingstone, British Christian missionary, philanthropist, and African explorer.

Livingstone is a coeducational, residential, church-related college located in Salisbury, N.C., largely supported by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. The college consists of two schools: an undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences and a graduate school of theology named Hood Theological Seminary.

For over 120 years, Livingstone has endeavored to provide academic education that is entirely nonsectarian and open to men and women of potential, regardless of their race or national origin. The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredits Livingstone College

Reference:
Black American Colleges and Universities:
Profiles of Two-Year, Four-Year, & Professional Schools
by Levirn Hill, Pub., Gale Group, 1994
ISBN: 0-02-864984-2