Most accounts of HBCUs count only the institutions open today. The record is larger. Across the twentieth century, dozens of Black colleges, seminaries, and junior colleges closed — through desegregation-era consolidation, loss of church or state funding, loss of accreditation, or financial collapse. Their alumni, faculty, and records shaped the communities around them. This list is drawn from the HBCU Wiki directory; each name links to that institution’s full profile and sources.
| Institution | Location | Founded | Closed | Circumstances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop College | Dallas, TX | 1881 | 1988 | Financial mismanagement |
| Bishop Payne Divinity School | Petersburg, VA | 1878 | 1949 | Merged into Virginia Theological Seminary |
| Booker T. Washington Junior College | Pensacola, FL | 1949 | 1965 | Post-desegregation closure |
| Carver Junior College | Cocoa, FL | 1960 | 1963 | Post-desegregation closure; located in Cocoa (Brevard County), corrected from earlier Gainesville listing. |
| Collier-Blocker Junior College | Palatka, FL | 1960 | 1964 | Post-desegregation closure; one of 11 FL Black junior colleges established under post-Brown 'separate but equal' rationale; merged into St. Johns River Junior College in 1964-65 as the Collier-Blocker Center. Location corrected from earlier Fort Pierce listing. |
| Concordia College Alabama | Selma, AL | 1922 | 2018 | Only Lutheran HBCU; years of financial distress |
| Daniel Payne College | Birmingham, AL | 1889 | 1979 | AME Church institution |
| Friendship College | Rock Hill, SC | 1891 | 1981 | Home of the Friendship Nine (1961 'jail, no bail' sit-in) |
| George R. Smith College | Sedalia, MO | 1894 | 1925 | Main building destroyed by fire April 26, 1925; assets merged 1933 with Philander Smith College in Little Rock, AR. Successor corrected from earlier Samuel Huston College listing. |
| Georgia Baptist College | Macon, GA | 1899 | 1956 | Originally Central City College; renamed 1938 |
| Gibbs Junior College | St. Petersburg, FL | 1957 | 1966 | Regionally accredited; post-desegregation closure |
| Guadalupe College | Seguin, TX | 1884 | 1936 | Ceased after fire destroyed main building |
| Hampton Junior College | Ocala, FL | 1958 | 1966 | Originally Howard Junior College; named for Dr. L. R. Hampton Sr. Post-desegregation closure |
| Immanuel Lutheran College | Greensboro, NC | 1903 | 1961 | LCMS/Synodical Conference closed it; students transferred to integrated institutions |
| J.P. Campbell College | Jackson, MS | 1890 | 1964 | AME junior college; campus seized 1961 and absorbed by Jackson State |
| Jackson Junior College | Marianna, FL | 1961 | 1966 | One of 11 FL Black junior colleges; post-desegregation closure |
| Johnson Junior College | Leesburg, FL | 1962 | 1966 | Named for John Wesley Johnson; merged into Lake-Sumter |
| Kittrell College | Kittrell, NC | 1886 | 1975 | AME-affiliated; gave scholarships to Farmville Massive Resistance seniors |
| Leland University | Baker, LA | 1870 | 1960 | Baptist; New Orleans (1870-1915), Baker LA (1923-1960) |
| Lewis College of Business | Detroit, MI | 1928 | 2013 | Only HBCU in Michigan; financial collapse |
| Lincoln Junior College | Fort Pierce, FL | 1960 | 1966 | One of Florida's "Magnificent Twelve" Black junior colleges. Uniquely retained its entire full-time faculty in the 1966 merger with Indian River Junior College (now Indian River State College). |
| Louisville Municipal College | Louisville, KY | 1931 | 1951 | Segregated branch of U of Louisville; closed on desegregation |
| Luther College | New Orleans, LA | 1903 | 1925 | |
| Mary Holmes College | West Point, MS | 1892 | 2005 | Presbyterian; financial difficulties |
| Mississippi Industrial College | Holly Springs, MS | 1905 | 1982 | CME Church institution |
| Morristown College | Morristown, TN | 1881 | 1996 | United Methodist; became junior college before closure |
| Mount Hermon Female Seminary | Clinton, MS | 1875 | 1924 | Women's institution; merged |
| Natchez College | Natchez, MS | 1885 | 1993 | Baptist; enrollment collapse |
| Payne College | Augusta, GA | 1879 | 1912 | Absorbed by Morris Brown University |
| Roger Williams University | Nashville, TN | 1864 | 1929 | Baptist-founded HBCU twice destroyed by mysterious fires in January and May 1905; reopened 1908 on new campus; merged with Howe Institute (predecessor of LeMoyne-Owen College) in December 1929. |
| Roosevelt Junior College | West Palm Beach, FL | 1958 | 1965 | One of Florida's "Magnificent Twelve" Black junior colleges. 1965 merger with Palm Beach Junior College produced the first integrated college faculty in Palm Beach County. |
| Rosenwald Junior College | Panama City, FL | 1958 | 1966 | One of Florida's "Magnificent Twelve" Black junior colleges. Named for Julius Rosenwald school-building program. Only one faculty member retained in 1966 merger with Gulf Coast Junior College. |
| Saint Paul's College | Lawrenceville, VA | 1888 | 2013 | Episcopal; proposed merger with Saint Augustine's fell through |
| Saints College | Lexington, MS | 1918 | 2006 | Church of God in Christ; financial collapse |
| Southern Christian Institute | Edwards, MS | 1908 | 1954 | Merged into Tougaloo College |
| Storer College | Harpers Ferry, WV | 1865 | 1955 | Founded by the Freewill Baptist Home Mission Society with a bequest from John Storer. Historic Harpers Ferry campus is now part of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Upon closure, assets were transferred to Virginia Union University. |
| Suwannee River Junior College | Madison, FL | 1959 | 1966 | Post-desegregation closure |
| Turner College | Shelbyville, TN | 1886 | 1932 | AME Church-affiliated school named for Bishop Henry McNeal Turner, who personally dedicated the institute in 1908. Operated 43 years across five names; relocated to Memphis in 1930 and closed 1932. |
| Volusia County Junior College | Daytona Beach, FL | 1958 | 1965 | Post-desegregation closure |
| Western University (Kansas) | Quindaro, KS | 1865 | 1943 | Quaker-founded; physical campus survives |
Cite this page
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- “Lost HBCUs.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/hbcu/lost/.
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- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). Lost HBCUs. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/hbcu/lost/
- Chicago
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Editorial Note
By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.