Little Known Black History Fact: Hampton University

Hampton University’s status as one of the premier HBCUs has long been established, with nearly 50 Bachelor’s degree programs, over two dozen Master’s degree programs, and nine doctoral programs. Hampton was founded on this day in 1868 as an instructional school for freed slaves in the wake of the Civil War.

Brigadier Union Army General Samuel Armstrong established the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Hampton, Virginia on a section of the Wood Farm known as “Little Scotland.” This area held significance for Black people as it served as a refuge during and after the Civil War.

Gen. Benjamin Butler established the Butler School for Negro Children with the help of a free woman, Mary Peake, in 1863. The Institute was founded just across from the Butler School. While Virginia still remained largely segregated, the Blacks-only institute began to grow in popularity. Students poured in by the hundreds, from all around the country.

One such student who arrived at the Institute at age 16, was at first taken for a vagabond. Although he was nearly turned away, he impressed the principal of the school with his cleaning skills and passed a white glove test, thus gaining admission. That student was Booker T. Washington, who went on to found Tuskegee University in 1881 under the orders of Gen. Armstrong.

In 1878, the school began accepting formerly imprisoned Native Americans. (A Native American education program at the school ended in 1923.) Hampton Normal saw a rise in enrollment as it became known as a popular trade school throughout the 1880’s and 1890’s.

There was a shift in focus at the school to become an accredited college. Stronger academic courses were added, and a correspondence and extension program was promoted in 1929. With its curriculum fully strengthened to meet its rigorous standards, Hampton Normal was renamed Hampton Institute on July 1, 1930. In 1984, the school added graduated program and evolved to become Hampton University, as it’s been ever since.

Some of Hampton’s most notable alumni include the aforementioned Washington, Alberta King, mother of Martin Luther King Jr., Wanda Sykes, and John T. Biggers, among others.

(Photo: HBCU Digest)

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