Founded in 1884 as the Minister's Institute, while later renaming it to its current name in April 1885, ABC was initially funded by the Colored Baptists of the State of Arkansas.

In the 1930s, the campus added an education building which housed the library, classrooms, offices, The Baptist Vanguard newspaper print shop, the business department, and the biology room.

In 1947, during the tenure of president Coggs, the college received its initial two-year accreditation from the Arkansas State Department of Education.

[7] The commission placed the college on probation in 2019 for failing to meet the accreditation criterion that requires the institution to have adequate resources.

[5] Initially, Old Main building housed the kitchen, dining hall, and the home economics department in the basement; offices for the president, the registrar, the business manager, and the dean, as well as the chapel and the girls’ dormitory on the second and third floors.

[10] It was added to the NRHP because it is the oldest building on a historically African-American college campus in the state of Arkansas, and because it is an excellent example of Second Empire-style architecture.