Fisk University and Meharry Medical College

You have now arrived at Fisk University, one of Nashville’s four historically black colleges and universities. When the Civil War ended in April 1865, Congress established an agency known as the Freedmen’s Bureau. General Clinton B. Fisk, head of the bureau’s Kentucky-Tennessee division, led the effort to open Fisk for African American children, with additional support coming from the American Missionary Association. As a result of his work, the school bears his name. 

The late Dr. Reavis Mitchell described the original school: “The old army hospital barracks were located near the train station, and when the school opened, they were used as classrooms, dormitories, and dining facilities. The first students ranged in age from seven to seventy, but [they shared a] common experiences of slavery and poverty—and an extraordinary thirst for learning.”

In 1867, the school was rechartered as Fisk University and moved here. Despite funds from the Freedman’s Bureau and American Missionary Association, Fisk struggled financially. In 1871, music professor George White proposed a concert tour to raise money, and thus, the Fisk Jubilee Singers were born. The Jubilee Singers toured internationally over the next several years and despite their musical talent they faced racism, Jim Crow laws, and grueling travel schedules. In 1872, the Jubilee Singers sang for President Ulysses S. Grant while touring the country. In a letter to a friend, author Mark Twain wrote about the Jubilee Singers after attending a concert: “I would walk seven miles to hear them sing again.”

In 1873, the group performed for Queen Victoria who later commissioned a portrait of the Jubilee Singers. She said their voices were so beautiful they must be from a “city of music.” Sound familiar? It’s the first known reference to Nashville as Music City. As a result of their efforts, Jubilee Hall, completed in 1876, was named for the group, and the painting Queen Victoria commissioned still hangs in their grand ballroom. There are many historic buildings on campus, and the university’s list of notable alums is long. To learn more about the important places and people connected to Fisk University, take our full campus tour on Nashville Sites. 

Feel free to cross Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd to enter the Meharry campus, or listen to the rest of the stop from Fisk.

Across the street from Fisk University is Meharry Medical College—a medical and graduate school that is also an HBCU. The school’s origin story dates to the 1820s. A young Scots-Irish immigrant named Samuel Meharry was driving a wagon carrying a load of salt through Kentucky when his wagon slid off the road into a ditch. The rest of the “Salt Wagon Story,” as it’s known, is best told by Fisk and Meharry alumna E. Clare Stewart: “Braving rain and nightfall, Meharry found himself at the door of a family of newly freed slaves. Knowingly risking their lives, the family offered Meharry food and shelter. The following morning, they lifted the wagon from the mud.” Samuel had no way to repay the family’s kindness, but according to rural legend, as he departed he said, “but when I’m able, I shall do something for your race.”

Nearly fifty years later, Samuel Meharry and his brothers made good on that promise, donating $30,000 to establish the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College in 1876. It became the first medical school for African Americans in the South. In 1900, Central Tennessee became Walden College, and in 1909 the medical school opened Hubbard Hospital. Then, in 1915, Meharry Medical College separated to become an independent medical school. Located near downtown, the school moved here—to North Nashville—in 1922. 

Meharry also added graduate programs in dentistry, nursing, and pharmacy. The school admitted women into all of its programs, with nearly 20 percent of the student body female by 1920. Today, Meharry manages the Nashville-Davidson County General Hospital, two health centers, and the Harold D. West Medical Sciences Center. It remains the largest private HBCU dedicated to the education of health professionals and one of only four historically Black medical colleges in the nation.

Fun fact: Meharry Medical College is one of the top five producers of African-American PhDs in the country and its graduates make up nearly 20 percent of all Black dentists in the United States. For the full Meharry story, take our Fisk University and Meharry Medical College walking tour on Nashville Sites.

From Jackson Street, turn RIGHT onto Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Blvd and drive about one block to turn LEFT onto Jefferson Street. Learn more about this vibrant area on our Jefferson Street driving tour. Continue on Jefferson Street until you reach 28th Ave N/ Ed Temple Blvd. Jefferson St. becomes John A. Merritt Blvd and will lead you straight to the Tennessee State University campus. Turn LEFT onto 33rd Ave N. then LEFT again into the visitors parking lot. Feel free to park and walk around campus while you listen.