[4] In 1904, Reverend John Carter Brewton, pastor of the McRae Baptist Church, and Charles Benton Parker, a prominent businessman in McRae, resolved to establish a private boarding school to serve elementary and high school students from Montgomery County and the surrounding area.

The school was placed between Mount Vernon and Ailey, as working together the town bid more support than any either community.

[4] The co-ed Union Baptist Institute formally opened on September 12, 1905 with a four-building campus, serving 160 students in grades one through eleven.

An investigation begun by the United States Department of Education confirmed that Pell Grants had been given to ineligible students, payments had been made to non-U.S. citizens, and guidelines for work-study programs were not followed.

In 1998, Brewton–Parker College agreed to repay the government $4 million in what was said to be the largest qui tam recovery in Georgia history.

[8] The main college campus is in Mount Vernon on 270 acres (109 ha) and includes forty-six buildings, outdoor athletic properties, and a 5-acre (20,000 m2) lake.

Further, in applicable areas, undergraduates are encouraged to participate with faculty in performing research and presenting papers.

As the only independent college in rural southeast Georgia, BPC plays an important educational role in one of the state’s poorest areas.

Among private colleges, Brewton-Parker enrolls three times as many minority students as the national average.

[9] In late 2014, the college successfully presented evidence of compliance with SACS standards; its accreditation was reaffirmed and its probation status lifted.

The Brewton–Parker College men's track & field team won the 2022 Indoor Conference Championship in the SSAC.