The college was founded in 1856 by a unique collaboration between the Cincinnati, Ohio, Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) to provide classical education and teacher training for black youth. The first board members were leaders both black and white. However, during the American Civil War (1861–65), the student population declined and financial losses closed the college in 1863. The AME Church purchased the institution to ensure its survival. AME Bishop Daniel Payne was one of the university's original founders and became the first president after re-opening, the first African American to become a college president in the United States. Prominent white supporters and the US government donated funds for rebuilding after an arson fire in 1865.