A pioneering temperance-based university in Tennessee that operated from 1893 to 1908.
American Temperance University was established in 1893 in Harriman, Tennessee, a planned community founded on temperance principles with no alcoholic beverages permitted. The institution quickly gained prominence, enrolling 345 students from 20 states by its second year of operation. The university operated for 15 years before closing in 1908, leaving behind a notable legacy in American higher education and the temperance movement.
The university educated students who went on to significant public service, including two future members of the U.S. House of Representatives: John Jennings, Jr. and James Willis Taylor. The institution's physical legacy remains visible today through its historic buildings, which have been repurposed for community use.
Temperance Hall, the university's main building, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and currently houses Harriman city government offices. Bushrod W. James Hall of Domestic Science for Young Ladies, named after benefactor Bushrod Washington James, is now operated as an inn and is included in the Cornstalk Heights Historic District.