Highland Home College was a pioneer institution organized in 1889 by Justus M. Barnes, Samuel Jordan, and Milton L. Kirkpatrick. It extended Strata Academy, founded in 1856 by Barnes six miles north in Strata. In 1881, Strata Academy moved to Highland Home and became Highland Home Institute. From its beginning, the school was coeducational. It brought culture to pioneer Alabama through music, foreign languages, science, literature, drama, and the three R's. Although it was never a religious institution, it offered Bible courses. Its graduates provided Alabama with many distinguished citizens. When competition from the state normal schools made it economically impossible to continue, it closed in 1915 after serving Alabama continuously for 59 years. In 1916, the trustees deeded the property to the State of Alabama for educational use.