The present Voorhees College campus and buildings date from 1905 to the mid-1930s, and is itself a pioneer in higher education for African Americans in the area. Founder Elizabeth Evelyn Wright, a graduate of Tuskegee Institute, was a young black woman in her early twenties who, in spite of betrayals, arson, jealousies, and threats of violence, persevered and founded a school in Denmark, South Carolina on April 14, 1897—The Denmark Industrial School.
As the times and mission of the school have changed, the school itself has gone through several name changes over the decades. In 1902, the name was changed to the Voorhees Industrial School. In the 1940s, the school expanded its mission to include the training of teachers and it became Voorhees School and Junior College, and in 1967, it became Voorhees College, a senior liberal arts college. The historic portion of the campus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
