Madison Adventist Origins

In June 1904 near this spot, "The Morning Star" moored for repairs. Seventh-day Adventist visionary Ellen White, mother of boat owner Edson White, saw the nearby Ferguson Farm for sale and told educators Edward A. Sutherland and Percy T. Magan to locate there. The founders occupied the property on October 1, 1904 and chartered the Nashville Agricultural and Normal Institute August 4, 1905 later known as Madison College. They dedicated a sanitarium in June 1908 that served for many years as the Madison Hospital and later as Tennessee Christian Medical Center. Madison Health Food company operated by the Rural Educational Association produced high-protein meat substitutes. Other industries helped students work their way through school. Many of Madison College's students started schools and sanitariums of this kind on farms in the southeastern United States. Madison Elementary and Academy and the Middle Tennessee School of Anesthesia now occupy the campus.