Winthrop University’s story begins in the late 19th century with 21 students in a borrowed, one-room carriage house in Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. It was the vision of Columbia’s Superintendent of Schools David Bancroft Johnson at the time, who recognized a lack of professionally trained schoolteachers in his state. He believed a teacher training school was the answer, and brought that proposal to Robert C. Winthrop, a Massachusetts philanthropist and Chair of the Peabody Fund. The stars aligned with Winthrop sharing Johnson’s vision and securing the $1,500 needed to open the Winthrop Training School in 1886 with Johnson as founding president.

Under his guidance, the school grew into a women’s college and received state funding, moving to its permanent home on a large, picturesque campus in Rock Hill, South Carolina, in 1895. The college expanded its mission over time, becoming coeducational in 1974 and gaining university status in 1992, and today is a comprehensive higher education institution with nearly 6,000 students.

Museum-quality exhibits in the university’s new Morgan-Holcombe Alumni Center at the Stewart House chronicle the university’s rich history, to the delight of those who lived some of its stories as well as those who are just discovering them—starting at the entrance hall in the house.

In a letter dated Sept. 13, 1886, Johnson wrote to his mother that the $1,500 needed to establish a teaching school for women had come through. That letter was made into custom wallpaper for the hallway and serves as the backdrop for the exhibit on the university’s first year, which includes a framed copy of the letter in its entirety. 

Dedicated in June 2024, the alumni center has become a hub for the entire Winthrop community, including alumni, students, and prospective students—allowing them to look back while also looking to the future.