First proposed by Dr. Richard Furman in 1821 (see Richard Furman), but not established until 1825 by the South Carolina Baptist Convention, the Furman Academy and Theological Institution opened at Edgefield in 1826. The academy was dropped, but the seminary moved to Sumter District from 1829-1834, and to Winnsboro from 1837-1850. Chartered in 1850 as Furman University, it opened in Greenville in 1851. In 1859, the year this sketch of the east view of the campus was made, the theological department was moved to Louisville, Kentucky, as the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. For over a century, 1852-1958, the University occupied this site purchase from Vardry McBee (see Vardry McBee).
