Messiah University

Messiah Bible School and Missionary Training Home was founded in 1909 by the Brethren in Christ Church. Originally located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the home of Messiah's first president, Samuel Rogers Smith, a local businessman and leader in the Brethren in Christ Church, the school was moved to the village of Grantham in 1911, following the construction of the campus' first building, Old Main. The building was constructed on land donated by S.R. Smith, who had moved his home and various business interests outside of the city to allow for growth in the farmlands surrounding Grantham. In the early years, the school offered a high school curriculum and several Bible programs. By 1921, it had also become a junior college, making it the second junior college in Pennsylvania, and changed its name to Messiah Bible School.
By the 1950s, the school offered four-year college programs and accordingly in 1951 it changed its name to Messiah College. Messiah discontinued its high school program in 1959 and added liberal arts programs during this period. It was accredited as a four-year college in 1963, and continued to expand its liberal arts programs.

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