The
Hall-Moody Institute was established in 1900 by the Baptists of Martin and the
Beulah Association of Northwest Tennessee for the purpose of giving religious
and denominational training to the young people of this region.
The founders of school decided to name the school in honor of two eminent
Baptist ministers, J. N. Hall and J. B. Moody. The site of the school was originally
in the suburbs of Martin, Tennessee on the main road from Union City. The land
was donated by Mrs. Ada Gardner Brooks a year before the main building was initially
constructed.
The
institution struggled during its early existence, as there were four school
presidents in only five years. Hall-Moody offered a variety of courses between
1900 and 1910 and issued literary degrees such as an A.B., B.L. and L.I. In
1917, the State of Tennessee set standards for schools of higher education and
within a few years these standards were met. 
The
meeting of standards gave institution more depth in both the courses being taught
and the degrees being bestowed. The college began to expand as enrollment increased
and newer buildings were built to fit the growing student body.
By the mid 1920's, however, the school had run into serious debt and in 1926
the Tennessee Baptist Convention decided to consolidate Hall-Moody with its
sister college Union University
in Jackson, Tennessee effective June 1, 1927. Just prior to the school's demise,
the Tennessee State Legislature authorized the establishment of a University
of Tennessee Junior College on February 10, 1927. The legislative bill also
authorized the funds to purchase the Hall-Moody campus as the future site of
this new junior college. That junior college would eventually become the University
of Tennessee at Martin.