Academy of Richmond County High School - Arc Yearbook (Augusta, GA)

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THE .JRC-1910 O Foundation of the Academy of Richmond County The Academy of Richmond County is the oldest educational institution in lieorgia. and the fourth oldest in the United States, The Statute of USS, under which it was created, may not be a technical charter. and no corporate name was given to the lloard, which, though not called Trustees of the Richmond .Xcademyy was referred to sometimes as the LiHl'lll1114Nl1l11Cl'5 of Richmond County. some- times as the Trustees of Augusta, and sometimes as the Trustees of the Academy and the Church. The original act did not designate the duties nf the lloard. They exercised all manner of powers, many of them diverse, and from our present standpoint incongruous. It laid out the town. numbered the lots, named the streets, built St. l'aul's Church, managed the Academy and chose the teachers, ran a lottery, repaired the river bank, narrowed llroad and tireene Streets, and performed many other functions not recorded here. In 1783, immediately after the close of the war. the tirst demand of the citizens was for the establishment of an Academy. The new State had no money and no means of raising it, but it took advantage of the fact that the land in and around :Xugusta was held under royal grants, containing a provision that the purchaser should improve the property within a given time, or else that the lot should revert back to the King. Many of these lots had been bought up by those who did not improve them, and hence were liable to forfeiture. These. together with the Public Reserve, originally laid out as a common around the Fort, were vested in Trustees to be sold, and the proceeds used for building a church, and for the building of an academy or seminary of learning. It was, of course, necessary to sell lots and raise money before the school could be established. llut the citizens were not willing to wait on that slow progress for raising an endowment suflicient enough to maintain the Academy. They did not want their children to be deprived of that which was instantly needed. But the lloard looked at it from a financial standpoint, and took no steps either towards hiring a teacher or erecting a building. The public was not satisfied with the progress made and the Grand jury, on March 27, 1784, pre- sented as a grievance the want of a seminary of learning. This stimulated the Board, and they let a contract for the erection of a schoolhouse. This con- tractor died before any work was done, and the Grand -lury again in October. 1784. presented as a grievance the languishing situation of the intended Academy or Seminary of learning. The Board then rescinded the contract with the executor of the deceased contractor, but appeared to have been unable to for- ward the building. The Grand Jury, again responding to the public impatience, on March 2-l, 1785, presented as a grievance the Commissioners for the public buildings of this town for not making proper exertions in getting the church and Academy erected, notwithstanding the funds appropriated for the purpose and which are deemed more than adequate to carry the same into execution. This presentment stirred them into motion. and on the next day, March 25. 1785, the Board having consulted upon the employment of a Master for the

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THE .IRC-IUIU

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10 THE .JRC-1919 .'Xcademy, and llr. Xlim. Rogers. late of the state of Maryland, having been well recommended. as being of good fame and sufficiently learned in the sciences. appointed him Master at a salary of 2002 and the use of the buildings and gar- den, for which the said Master should give his whole time. shall teach the Latin. Greek and English languages. and the common practical branches of mathematics. according to the rules established and practiced in the seminaries of learning and reading in the Cnited States. Children learning letters and reading, will be charged S-1.00: those learning the principles of the English grammar and cipher- ing. 55.001 and those learning the Latin and Greek languages, or any branch of the mathematcs, 510.00 per quarter. The school established was for boys and girls and remained so for a long period, its exact termination not being known. Cln the same day they resolved that a merchant be employed to import books. the list of which shows a high standard for the new school. Also French and English tutors were employed at a salary of S300 each. The school was lirst held in some building that had formerly been used in pre-revolutionary days. and was opened in April, 1785, the lirst commencement being held on Clctober 24, 1736. We cannot determine exactly where the lirst schoolhouse was located, but the minutes of May, 178-1. show that the Board let the contract for a building which was to be erected on the square bounded by XYashington, Reynolds, Mclntosh and Day. the Academy to be exactly in the center: a large gate, avenue and court to be exactly in the front, and a garden from the back to the rear. This site was abandoned. and the lirst schoolhouse was erected on Bay between Elbert and Lincoln. ln it court was held, and also church services, until 1789, when St. Paul's was rebuilt. This building was spoken of as tenement No. 9. There was evidently another large building on the adjoining lot, for, at the same time, it was resolved that the lot No. S should he reserved until the further order of the Board for the sessions of the General Assembly, and for the holding of the Superior and Inferior Courts of the county. together with the Circuit and District Courts of the United States. and that for that purpose the keys were to be given to his Excellency upon his appli- cation, who is required after the rising of the Legislature to deliver the same to the sheritt for the uses last named. The Public Examinations were held in the spring and fall, and it is most interesting to note to what great importance they were considered by the entire community. They were attended by the lloard oflicially and by the public gen- erally: sometimes by the Governor and the Executive Council, later by the City Council in a body. The first of which we have any record is that of March 30, 1786, and another in july, 1789. The above article was obtained from good authority and written by Felton Davis. of the Class of 1916, in his Senior Year. lYe feel that he should be given credit for his work, and we are glad to be able to obtain an article on the foun- dation of the Academy, written by an old Academy boy. Emron-ix-CHIEF.