Lincoln Memorial University grew out of love and respect for Abraham Lincoln and today honors his name, values, and spirit. As the legend goes, in 1863 Lincoln commented to General O. O. Howard, a Union officer, that when the Civil War ended, he hoped General Howard would do something for the people of this area.
In the late 1800s, Colonel A. A. Arthur, an organizing agent of an English company, purchased the area where LMU is located. His company built a hotel of 700 rooms called “The Four Seasons,” as well as a hospital, an inn, a sanitarium, and other smaller buildings. Roads were laid and the grounds planted with a wide variety of shrubs and trees. In 1895, the company was forced to abandon its project when a financial panic swept England.
Reverend A. A. Myers, a Congregationalist minister, came to the Cumberland Gap in 1888. He succeeded in opening the Harrow School, established for the purpose of providing elementary education to mountain children.
On a visit to the area to give a series of lectures at the Harrow School, General O. O. Howard remembered his commitment to fulfill Lincoln’s request, and he joined Reverend Myers, M. F. Overton, C. F. Eager, A. B. Kesterson and M. Arthur in establishing Lincoln Memorial University. That group, along with Robert F. Patterson, a Confederate veteran, became a board of directors and purchased The Four Seasons property. In commemoration of Lincoln’s birthday, the institution was chartered by the state of Tennessee on February 12, 1897, as Lincoln Memorial University.
Throughout the years, many thousands of LMU alumni have entered careers in medicine, law, and education. LMU graduates have positively impacted the educational opportunities, economic expansion, and health of countless communities in the Appalachian region and beyond.
LMU’s strong heritage has propelled the growth of the university over the last decade, leading to the addition of professional schools: the DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (DCOM), the Duncan School of Law (DSOL), and the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). Additionally, LMU has experienced growth at every degree level across the board.
LMU has expanded its international reach by partnering with educational institutions in Japan, Mongolia, China, Brazil, and Thailand.