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Jefferson City’s prized institution of higher education is the internationally recognized Lincoln University. The University was formed at the end of the Civil War by officers and solders of the 62nd and 65th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiments (these unites were mostly comprised of Missourians). Lieutenants Foster and Adamson, white officers of the 62nd, realized most of the soldiers had learned to read and write in the Army. Their goal was to create a college for these men to continue their learning. The officers and soldiers raised over $5,000 to start the institution.

During the 1920’s, after being renamed Lincoln University President, Dr. Nathan B. Young began to recruit Ivy League graduates to be professors and academia. During this time the university became known as the ‘Harvard of the Midwest’. Several renown African-American poets and writers came from the university.