Harbison Junior College began in 1886 as Ferguson Institute in Abbeville County. It was founded by Rev. and Ms. Emory W. Williams, African Americans from Washington, D.C. The Board of Missions to the Freedmen of the Presbyterian Church, USA acquired the property in Irmo in 1891, moved the school and renamed it Harbison College for the Colored Youth (in honor of Samuel P. Harbison). The Abbeville school burned, and the school was renamed Harbison Junior College. The school initally only admitted boys, but girls were later admitted. It included a farm home where the students did the chores. The Board of the National Missions closed the school in 1958. Present day Midlands Technical College occupies the site of the former Harbison Agricultural College.

Note: In Harbison Institute's history, its name was changed several times. Names included Harbison College, Harbison Junior College, Harbison Agricultural College and Ferguson Institute.