
During the 1870s and 1880s, the college opened and closed a number of times. A period of relative stability and growth was experienced during the presidencies of Matthew S. Davis (1896-1906) and his daughter Mary Davis Allen (1906-17). At the beginning of the twentieth century, the institution became known as Louisburg College and became officially linked to the Methodist Church. Although Louisburg College offered a four-year course and awarded A.B. degrees, after affiliation with the Methodist Church the college was reorganized into an institution with a junior college rating (1914-15).
Louisburg College became coeducational in 1931, and in 1952 it received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. In 1956, when the North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Church decided to authorize establishment of two new senior colleges, an active campaign by college alumni and Franklin County citizens influenced the decision of the conference to maintain Louisburg College as an accredited junior college. Louisburg College has the distinction of being the only institution in North Carolina still functioning as a private two-year college. It has extensive transfer agreements with many public and private universities, including the 16-campus University of North Carolina System, allowing qualified students to enter the four-year institutions as juniors.