The distinguished history of Jackson State University began on October 23, 1877. The University started as Natchez Seminary, a private school, under the auspices of the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York for the purpose of educating Mississippi’s newly freed slaves. Beginning with only 20 students, the school operated for 63 years as a private church school. In November of 1882, the Society moved the school to Jackson to the site where Millsaps College now stands. A part of this transition was the renaming of the school to Jackson College in recognition of the institution’s new, central location in the City of Jackson.