Pfeiffer University is a private university located in the village of Misenheimer near Richfield, North Carolina. Pfeiffer originated from a home school operated by Miss Emily Prudden in the late 19th century. In or around 1885 the school first began operation in the village of Lick Mountain in Caldwell County, North Carolina as the Oberlin Home and School (in honor of the family that made improvements to the property that the school owned). A fire destroyed the school in 1908 and it moved to the nearby town of Lenoir. As that location proved inadequate, the school again relocated in 1910, this time to its current location in Misenheimer. High school diplomas began being issued by the school in 1913. In 1928 the Mitchell school began offering junior college classes and was accredited as such in 1934. It was that year that the Pfeiffer family of New York City gave generous financial gifts to the school for construction of new buildings, and it was then that the name Pfeiffer Junior College was used. During the 1950s the school began offering senior college courses. The four-year Pfeiffer College was accredited in 1960 during the administration of Dr. J.