Lincoln Institute (Jefferson City, Mo.)

The idea of founding the Lincoln Institute originated with the officers and men of the 62nd U.S. Colored Infantry stationed at Fort McIntosh, Texas in 1866. The founding members sought to establish an educational institution for free blacks. The fundamental idea was to combine study with labor, "so that the old habits of those who have always labored, but never studied, shall not be thereby changed, and that the emancipated slaves who have neither capital to spend nor time to loose, may obtain and education." Raising money through subscriptions and other donations, the Institute building was completed in 1871.