History of the University
The University of Tennessee Southern was previously Martin Methodist College, bearing the name of Thomas Martin, who provided for the establishment of a "school for girls" in Giles County, Tennessee. Martin gave the original endowing gift of $30,000 in stocks and additional funds for buildings and grounds through a provision in his will in 1870. His bequest was the fulfillment of a dream of his daughter Victoria, who, before her death at the age of twenty, requested that her father establish a school for young women. The first graduating class, in 1874, was composed of four young women: Emma Bramlette, Mildred Ezell, Mollie McBride, and Mamie Wilson.
Martin, the son of a Methodist minister, was born in 1799 and moved to Pulaski, as a young man. He possessed unusual business acumen and made his mark in the business world early in life, soon becoming a millionaire. A friend of President James K. Polk of nearby Columbia, he was once offered the position of United States Treasurer. Martin served as president of the Nashville and Decatur Railroad and as president of a local savings bank; an influential political figure in the region, he was a loyal member of the Methodist Church in Pulaski. The College moved to its current location in 1875, on seven acres purchased from Governor John C. Brown for $16,000. For many years the College was operated as a four-year boarding college for women, with an elementary division for the children and young people of Pulaski. Many persons of influence are numbered among its illustrious graduates. Its first building stood near the current site of Martin Hall. As the College grew, new facilities were added and the site of the campus expanded.
In 1908, an agreement was reached whereby the Board of Trustees transferred the College to the Tennessee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The name was changed from Martin Female College to Martin College, and financial support for the institution, as well as its influence, began to increase. In 1938, the College became coeducational. The number of male students has grown until the student body shows a ratio of approximately half women and half men. As the College grew, adjoining property was purchased and added to the campus.
In 1983, the College constructed the Curry Athletic Complex from the proceeds of a capital funds campaign. It is now used by the campus and community.
In April 1986, the Board of Trustees added the word “Methodist” to the College’s name, affirming Martin’s strong ties to The United Methodist Church and clearly affirming the undergirding values of the Wesleyan tradition.
Martin Methodist College became a four-year institution beginning with the 1993-94 academic year. In 2015, graduate programs were added, first the MBA and then the M.S. in Criminal Justice (2020).
The College purchased the antebellum home of former Governor John C. Brown in 1995, located on the east side of the campus adjacent to Upperman Hall. Damaged by age, fire, and winds, the home has been reconstructed and is now known as Herbert and Grace Grissom Colonial Hall, using as much of the original material from the old structure as possible. The building houses admissions and other administrative offices, reception and meeting rooms, and the Senator Ross Bass Archives.
In 1998, the College purchased 44 acres 1.5 miles east of the main campus and developed an athletic complex.
In April 1999, the Turner Center was established as part of its mission as a church- related institution of higher education. Currently, The Turner Center for Rural Vitality serves to create collaborations among state, regional, and local leaders, businesses, non-profits, and faith communities to find creative solutions to support healthy communities and resilient economies.
In 2017, the Reveille House (c. 1868) was added to house the offices of the Chancellor, Advancement, and Alumni Affairs.
Like Charles Dickens' two-volume masterpiece A Tale of Two Cities, at 11:59 p.m. on June 30, 2021, Martin Methodist College closed the back cover of Volume I, the first 151 illustrious years. At midnight, July 1,that same evening, Volume II began, the pages waiting to be written. As Dickens said, "It was the best of times." As a campus of the University of Tennessee System, the University of Tennessee Southern has greatly expanded the affordability, accessibility, and capacity of our mission in southern Middle Tennessee.