The History of LaGrange College

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THE HISTORY OF IAGRANGE COLLEGE

BY

IRENE B. BIRDSONG

A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree

of

MASTER OF ARTS IN EDUCATION

The University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia
1955

APPROVAL CERTIFICATE
THE HISTORY OF LAGRANGE COLLEGE

By

IRENE B. BLRDSONG

Approved:

S/ Floyd Jordan
Major Professor

Chairman, Reading Committee

Approved:

S,/ Geo. H. Boyd
Dean, Graduate School

July 2, 1955
Date

riiSHVSlsdO

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The research and composition of a thesis such as this
one requires the assistance of many persons. The fact that
most of the early records of LaGrange College were destroyed
"by fire would make it an impossible task except for the help
and cooperation of alumnae, faculty, and friends of the
college who had kept records, scrap books, and letters
which belonged to their mothers and grandmothers.

To Mr. R. R. Caswell, who wrote a History of Bowdon
College, and who gave necessary encouragement and help to
get this history started, the writer is greatly indebted.

To Dr. Waights G. Henry, Jr., President of LaGrange
College, who turned the College Library and the vault with
its priceless records over to the writer, and who has con-
tinuously given inspiration, encouragement, and assistance,
the writer is especially grateful.

To Mrs. D. P. Melson, Librarian of LaGrange College,
for her efforts to make materials and space convenient, the
writer expresses appreciation.

For the many human interest stories, much information,
and many suggestions, the writer is indebted to Mrs. Mildred
Wright Robinette, The Rev. George W. Barrett, Miss Irene Arnett,
Miss Verdie Miller, Mrs. Emmie Durham Murray, Miss Elizabeth
Gilbert, Miss Ruth Whatley, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Smith,

JJuV

Mrs. Sara Tat urn Reed, Mrs. Mary Will Thompson, Mrs. Frank Davis,
Mrs. Howard S. Wooding, Mrs. E. K. Farmer, Mrs. T. G. Polhill,
Miss Jessie Boykin, and many other alumnae of the College.

The writer also expresses sincere appreciation to
Dr. Floyd Jordan, her advisory professor at the University
of Georgia, for his inspiration, suggestions, and criticisms
of the manuscript.

.ail! ,feH tautdT a-*eC ,a*iM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. INTRODUCTION 1

II. THE BACKGROUND OF LAGRANGE COLLEGE 6
III. HIGHER EDUCATION FOR WOMEN BEGINS

(1831-1860) 17
IV. LAGRANGE FEMALE COLLEGE THROUGH FIRE,

WAR, AND RECONSTRUCTION (186O-I885) *+3
V. THE DAYS OF UNCLE REFUS

(The Smith Regime, 1885-1915) 77

VI. A NEW CENTURY WELL BEGUN (1915-1938) 112

VII. AN OLD COLLEGE IN A NEW ERA (l938-19 1 +9) 1^0

VIII. LAGRANGE COLLEGE TODAY (19U8-I955) 160

LX. CONCLUSION 182

BIBLIOGRAPHY l86

APPENDIXES 191

Appendix A Charters 192

Appendix B List of Presidents 200

Appendix C Letters 202

Appendix D Outstanding Alumnae 205

Appendix E Alma Mater 212

I

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Until it became a coeducational institution in 1953?

LaGrange College vas distinguished not only as being the

oldest of the private or Church-related institutions of

higher education in Georgia, but also as one of the three

oldest Protestant colleges for women in the United States of
1

America. It has a heritage of which every alumna and every
student should be proud. Since 1 31> when a charter was
granted to the LaGrange Female Academy, 2 in which LaGrange
College had its origin, hundreds of the noblest women of the
South have gone out from this institution strong in character,
rich in social graces, and imbued with spiritual powers to
become teachers, religious workers, nurses in hospitals,
business women, and missionaries to all parts of the world.
However, most of them have become wives, mothers, and home-
makers manifesting, in their lives of service to mankind and
devotion to God, the value of the heritage received from a
Christian college.

Letter from Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., to
Dr. Waights G. Henry, Jr., President of LaG ange College, written
March 2, 1951.

2 Acts of the General Assembly of Georgia , Milledgeville,

1831.

ui.t Lrri

ae.' .'r.a laioce us. tloli

2

For any institution to progress as LaGrange College
has, in spite of the many obstacles it has had to overcome
in its century and a quarter of existence, it was necessary
to have a firm foundation. The Rev. Thomas Stanley, Founder of
LaGrange Female Academy, 3 realized this in 1831, and as a
result, this institution stands today a monument to character
and to the daring and determination of the men and women of
Troup County and other parts of the Southland.

Impeded in its infancy by general opposition to
higher education for women, it overcame not only that preju-
dice but also the adversities of two fires, three wars, and
several periods of economic distress. Yet it has moved
steadily forward every year, sending cultured young women
out into all honorable walks of life.

On December 17, lokf , the charter was amended to
designate the school as the LaGrange Female Institute, with
the privilege of granting degrees to graduates. The name,
LaGrange Female College, was assumed December 26, 1851. In
July, 1859, five young women received their M.A. degrees
from the college. It was the first Church school in the

^Clifford L. Smith, History of Troup County, (Atlanta:
Foote and Davis Company, 1933), P 328,

**Acts of the General Assembly of Georgia, 18^7.

5 Ibid., 1851

South to offer graduate work. The present name, LaGrange

7

College, was adopted in 193^*

It has never been the desire or expectation of any of
its benefactors to make of LaGrange College a large institu-
tion. Their purpose has been to provide the distinct
advantages of a small college for the development of the
individual student, by the close companionship of the

students with each other and the friendly relation of the

p

students with the faculty.

LaGrange College has been called "A Custodian of the
Intangibles."^ The very atmosphere on The Hill is one of
faith, love, trust, and understanding. However, there are
many tangible evidence of what interest, love, and money
can do to build and modernize a college of its caliber.

After a period of more than a century one still
senses the spirit of the Old South which emphasizes the
abiding values of Christian education. Although LaGrange
College has been under Methodist auspices since it was sold

^ Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1936-3 , p. 10.

7 Act of Superior Court , Troup County, August 6, 193^

^A statement made by Mrs. Paul Smith, a former teacher
of LaGrange College, and a neighbor of the writer.

9t. Otto Nail, "LaGrange College Custodian of the

Intangibles," Wesleyan Christian Advocate, July 13, 19*+5,
p. a.

h

to the Georgia Methodist Annual Conference, January,
1857, ^ there have always been teachers and students of
other denominations.

The Baptist Student Union and the Westminster Fellow-
ship of The Presbyterian Church are active on the campus
with the Methodist Student Movement. All students were
members of the Young Women's Christian Association from the
time it was founded in 1895 until 1953 when the College
became coeducational and the name was changed to the
LaGrange Christian Association. So today, as from the beginning,
the College sponsors non-sectarian Christian education.^"

The writer became interested in writing a history of
LaGrange College after living in LaGrange for ten years and
learning of the invaluable contributions that the College
has made not only to the city and state, but also to the
uttermost parts of the earth. However, if the contributions
had been limited to those of the social, cultural, and
religious life of LaGrange alone, for the past century and
a quarter, this influential institution would have a

10 Catalogue of LaGrange Female Institute, 1858-59.

^Information by Dr. Waights G. Henry, Jr., President
of LaGrange College, 19^8.

Mr

5

history worthy of recording. The purpose of this research
is to present a documented story of the development and
influence of laGrange College.

CHAPTER II
THE BACKGROUND OF LAGRANGE COLLEGE

The century and a quarter of history of LaG ~ange
College are closely linked with the development not only of
the City of LaGrange, hut also of the entire western part of
Georgia. When the vast tract of land lying between the
Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers was secured by the Indian
Springs Treaty in 1825 and opened for settlement in iQZJ ,
one of the five counties formed on the western border of the
State was named Troup in honor of the fiery governor.

News soon spread to the older counties of the pure
water, the air free from malaria, the fertile soil, the
magnificent forests, the wild game, and the friendly Indians.
So the new territory was rapidly settled by well-to-do
planters from eastern Georgia, rather than by the poorer
people who were generally the first in a new county. These
pioneers were soon followed by others from Virginia and the
Carolinians who were seeking land grants. They were people
of some education and property, who brought tools, cattle,
slaves, and household goods with them. They often bought

"Clifford L. Smith, History of Troup County (Atlanta:
Foote and Davies Company, 1933 )> P~~ > see also George G.
Smith, The Story of Georgia and the Georgia People , 1732 to
i860 (Macon, Georgia: George G. Smith Publisher, 1900),
P. 387.

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corn, peas, chickens, and eggs from the Indians who lived
across the Chattahoochee and who were usually friendly, but
were sometimes very rude and had to be driven from their
home.^

The cession of the territory by the Creeks had pro-
vided for their transportation west of the Mississippi, but
many of them, who were dissatisfied and rebellious, gathered
beyond the Chattahoochee and lived by pillaging from the new
settlers. Finally this pillaging and stealing of cattle
became so intolerable that after one particularly vicious
raid, the settlers pursued them across the river and burned
their village.

The log houses, which were always the first to be

built in a new settlement, were replaced in a few years by

handsome residences in all sections of the new county.

Among the many beautiful ante-bellum homes, which
supplied the LaGrange Female Academy (and Institute)
with pupils, built before 1839, was the "Broughton
Home . " This house occupied the site in the triangle
between Greenville and Hill Streets in LaGrange. It
was a large two story house with green blinds, broad
halls, and spacious verandahs, having many windows open
to the sunshine and to the fragrance of the gardens
filled with old fashioned flowers. Mary Broughton, one
of the seven daughters from this home, who attended the
"Institute" later became the wife of Troup Montgomery.

Clifford L. Smith, op^ cit. , p. 1*9
3loc. cit.
^Ibid., p. 191

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The Boddie House, located seven miles east of
LaGrange on the Mountville Road, was built in 1836 by-
Nathan Van Boddie. It was designed by the architect, Cullen
Rogers, and is typically Southern Colonial in style. Its
most outstanding distinctions are the beautiful Ionic
columns, the fan-light transom over the front door, and the
immense dining room wich is forty feet in length and twenty
feet in width. 5

Before the advent of railroad in Troup County, David
Beman, who owned and operated the Montgomery and Griffin
stage coach line, had a relay station on the Boddie
plantation, and Miss Belle Boddie relates that her
grandmother consented to serve the passengers meals, and
accommodate them for the night if necessary. There were
two long tables in the capacious dining room, and four
cherry tables which were added when there was an over-
flow of guests. The fare was abundant and delivious,
and Mrs. Boddie realized $8,000.00 from her venture.
The Boddie House was the scene of many brilliant gather-
ings, both political and social. She handsome dining
room was also used as a ball room.

Mrs. Boddie' s son Thomas graduated twice in medicine
from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Henarried
Aley Womack Smith who entered the Primary Department con-
nected with the LaGrange Female College when she was eight

n

years of age and graduated from the College in 1859.

5jbid., p. 190
6 loc . cit .

7Belle Boddie , editorial page of LaGrange Graphic
June 15, 1928.

9

From its beginning, Troup County has been famous for
its public spirited men and its brilliant and beautiful
women. Its first settlers were men of culture and influ-
ence. Perhaps the one most widely known was Benjamin
Harvey Hill who spent his boyhood in the county, and his
youth and the long period of his political life in LaGrange.
The fiery Georgia senator, whose debate with Baines in the
Senate destroyed the latter' s presidential hopes and began

the movement which relieved reconstruction laws, is a son of

g

whom LaGrange is justly proud. His magnificent Colonial
home with its stately white columns is still one of the show
places of the city.

It was soon evident that these cultured pioneers were
concerned about the education and religion of their children,
and at their insistence, an act passed by the Legislature of
Georgia, December 2h, 1827, provieded for the selection of a
county site to be made by the five judges of the Inferior
Court, and for the town to be incorporated; also for two lots, one
acre each, to be reserved for academies, and four

Q

lots, one acre each, for religious purposes.

The LaGrange Daily News and Graphic -Shuttle,
October 8, 1931.

9Actg of the Legislature, December 2h, 1827, Sec. k,
Milledgeville , Georgia .

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The selection of a site for the county seat was a
difficult one for the judges, but finally they agreed upon
its present location, and named it LaGrange after the estate
of the Marquis de Lafayette who had recently spent two weeks
in Georgia as the guest of Governor Troup.

The site for the town of LaGrange was purchased on
March 5> 1828, and as soon as the subdivision were made and
the lots set aside for churches, these cultured, Christian
citizens began to organize and erect their places of worship.
The Methodists completed a log church on the site of the
present First Methodist Church before the town was incor-
porated on December 18, 1828. The First Baptist Church was
organized April 12, 1828, with eleven members; and on March
21, 1829, the Presbyterians gathered together and organized
their church with seven charter members. The site of neither
of the two latter churches today is the original one."*"*"

One of the chief characteristics of these early
churches was their strictness of discipline. One of the
members was suspended in open session in 1832 for drunken-
ness, profanity, and gambling. A committee was appointed to
see the erring member and admonish him to confess, repent,
and reform. If he complied, he was forgiven; if not, he

10 Clifford L. Smith, op. cit., p.
11 Ibid., pp. 155-158.

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was called before the session, tried, and frequently sus-
12

pended.

IaGrange Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians,
regardless of their different creeds, were united on their
views of Christian education. Not only did they want their
sons to have a college education, but unlike most of the
people in the surrounding counties, they also wanted their
daughters to have equal opportunities.

Just three years after the town of IaGrange was in-
corporated, its ambitious citizens and the young women of

the South received a never-to-be-forgotten Christmas present

13

in the form of a charter for the IaGrange Female Academy.
The uniqueness of this gift cannot be comprehended without a
knowledge of the antagonism toward higher education for
women prevalent at that time.

Women were considered inferior to men and incapable
of a higher education. The ancient notion that sex deter-
mined mental as well as physical capacity was as firmly

fixed in the early nineteenth century in America as it was

Ik

in the days of Aristotle.

Loc . cit.

^Acts of the Legislature , December 26, 1831, Sec. k.

ll4 Walter S. Monroe, editor, Encyclopedia of Educational
Research, American Educational Research Association (New Yorkf

The Macmillan Company, 19*H), p. k09.

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:

12

In 1783 Lucinda Foote, twelve years of age, was
examined "in the learned languages, Latin and Greek." She
could read and give the correct meaning of Vergil's Aeneid,
Cicero's Orations, and the Greek Testament. She was
declared fully qualified, except in regard to sex, to be
received as a pupil in the freshman class of Yale Univer-

As late as 1871, H. R. Storer, in his report to the
State Board of Health in Sacramento, California, stated that
"delicate girls were often ruined in mind and body by educa-
tion and that they should be trained more in body and less

Little more than one hundred years ago the possible
effects of study on women's "gossamer" intellects were
so much feared that those who set out on the experiment
took unusual safeguards against ill health. Emma
Willard, Catherine Beecher, Mary Lyons, and others
from 1820 onward encouraged some very mild forms of
exercises and calisthenics in female seminaries and
colleges in order that study might not undermine health.
The result was that instead of dying as they should,

to improve in health. '

The old idea that marriages are made in Heaven
received a sharp set back in the nineteenth century. As
women's education assumed large proportions, it was

? Thomas Woody, A History of Women ' s Education in the
United States (New York: Science Press, 1929^ p. 138.

sity.

in mind.

16

women students tended

16

Ibid., p. 1+09.

17 Ibid., p. Ul2.

ill J

.00

frequently asserted that the collegiate experiences
blocked the work of Heaven. "Advanced women don't
marry J" alumnae said. In 1819, one writer asserted that
"errors of Education" and "extravagence of fashion" were
the reason for so many, "antiquated damsels" and "super-
annuated bachelors . m1

After much opinionated debate during earlier collegi-
ate decades, the issue between Heaven and Academy was sub-
jected to scientific scrutiny. The reasons found were:

1. Graduates became teachers rather than wives.

2. Graduates were more particular about their choice
of mates.

3. Independence made it possible to avoid uncon-
genial matches.

k. Those who barely passed their courses were more
likely to marry than those who took honors.

According to Benson:

The typical Southern girl of that period was a lovely
flower-like creature who, when her brothers rode away on
their blooded horses to University or Academy, was left
at home to trail in long- skirted, high-waisted frocks
and lace fringed shawl through the wide halls of her
father's plantation-home. Her education was such as her
governess, frequently a maiden relative or friend of the
family, saw fit, or was able, to give her. It usually
embraced the elementary branches of a little French,
some music, and a great deal of fancy needle work. She
was also taught how to curtsy and how to receive and
entertain guests. This was the hey-dey of Southern
hospitality and she was trained to adorn first her
father's and later her husband's graciously porticoed
home. If she looked wistfully upon the sheepskins her
brothers earned and the freedom and independence to
which they led, such yearnings were promptly frowned
upon as unwomanly. u

l 8 Ibid ., p. Ull.
^Loc. cit.

20 Carrie Fall Benson, "Century's End" (A short
unpublished history of IaGrange College, 1831-1931), p. 2.

...

iLT B yZF.Oi.tVi3rt.t .331.)

y SB'''

Ik

Men not only withheld educational advantages from

women, but they also never lost an opportunity to destroy Qr

express contempt for any literary success achieved by them.

21

This foolish jealousy was well expressed by this old bard:

Unhappy he that's doomed to wear
The matrimonial collar,
With her who's not only fair,
But fancies she's a scholar.

Puffed up with pride and vain conceit,
She'll soar above her station,
And think she has by dent of wit
The right of domination.

What though she scolds in French or Dutch,

Or chatters in the Roman;

One tongue is always found too much

For a contentious woman.

Therefore let man select a wife,
For having sundry speeches;
The more she has, the greater strife
Will rise about the breeches.

Therefore, I say, beware my friend,
Of learned dame or grand-ma,
Who will with tongue and brook contend
About the rules of grammar.

Nor let the youthful novice choose
A woman for her leaning,
For wives turn greater jills g shrews
The more they are discerning.

Legislatures of the several states were opposed to

chartering even academies which were to be used exclusively

pi

tx Rev. Luther M. Smith, taken from an Address
delivered at Commencement of LaGrange Female College,
July 10, 1056.

2 ^Loc. cit. (part of- the Address; author not given)

for young women. Georgia was one of the first states to
depart from the policy of discrimination. Much credit for
that fact goes to Colonel Duncan G. Campbell who was a
pioneer champion of female education in Georgia. For five
years prior to 1825, he had worked in his district and in
the Georgia Legislature for female education. He believed
that females should have the same educational advantages
that colleges offered to males; and in November, 1825, he
introduced a bill to be entitled, "An act to establish a
public seat of learning in this State for the education of
females. " 2 3

The bill passed the House of Representatives by a large

majority, but was defeated in the Senate. Th failure

of the bill showed that public sentiment was not yet ready

for the idea; but it did bring the question of higher female

education before the people. At Campbell's death, three

years later, the University of Georgia, the bar, and the

press bestowed the highest praise upon his service to the

2k

public and to female education. Within the next ten years
academies for women (as well as for men) sprang up in
various sections of Georgia, among which the LaGrange Female

2 3f4argaret Miller, "The Founding and Early History of
Wesleyan College" (unpublished Master's thesis, The Univer-
sity of Georgia, Athens, 1935), p. 8; also Acts of the General
Assembly of Georgia , November, 1825.

2l4 Xoc. cit.

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saw .

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Academy was the first. ? It is one of the few original
academies for women, which has been in continuous operation
and has grown into an accredited four-year liberal arts,
college .

25

^Clifford L. Smith, op. cit., p. 129

9fiJ- a*

CHAPTER III

HIGHER EDUCATION FOR WOMEN IN GEORGIA BEGINS
(183I.I86O)

The LaGrange Female Academy has its beginning in a
beautiful and stately wooden building with large white
columns across its wide front, very much like the old
southern homestead of that period. Its original site was
not the hill on which LaGrange College stands today, but
what is now hOG Broad Street. It faced the main thorough-
fare, a stage coach route at that time, but an Indian trail
only a few years earlier. It was here that the "Young
Misses" of the surrounding country came in 1832 for their
first attempt at higher education.

When the first students arrived in carriages and
barouches, laden with bandboxes and parasols, they were
accompanied by their Negro slaves. But, since the college
authorities wished to develop independence in the young
women, the Negro mammies were sent away. The girls wept and
clung to them as long as possible, but the stern demands of
woman's emancipation prevailed in the main. It is recorded
that one fond father obtained permission for his daughter's

Benson, op. cit . , p. 7*

-y- nen.ow

C OX

black Mammy to go up to the school building at certain times
"to tub, button, and curl young Miss.

The little academy was called "The Stanley School" by
many local people, in honor of its founder and first presi-
dent. The heads of schools were usually called principals
at that time. The Rev. Thomas Stanley, who personally con-
ducted the school for two years, was a North Carolinian by
birth, and a consecrated Methodist minister who believed
that girls should have the same educational advantages that
their brother had long en joyed. 3

Although this was considered a radical ideal by the
majority of people in Georgia at that time, Mr. Stanley
evidently received encouragement and support from the citi-
zens of LaGrange and surrounding territory. Many of these
cultured men had come from Virginia and the Carolinas. They

probably knew of the success of the Sslem Academy for Women,

k

which was founded in 1772 in Winston Salem, North Carolina,
and were anxfous for their daughters to have the same
advantages as those in older settlements. However, these

Atlanta Journal , editorial page, October U, 1931*

^Clifford L. Smith, op_. cit., p. 128.

^A letter to the writer from Dale H. Gramley, Presi
dent of Salem Academy and College, Winston Salem, North
Carolina, November 15, 195^.

i

\ 30

leaders in education for women were reminded occasionally
that there were still scattered bands of savages in the
nearby forests who made occasional raids upon the white
settlements .

Mrs. M. J. Morgan, one of the first young ladies to

attend the Stanley School, often related an occurence that

took place while she was a student there:

There was an Indian alarm, and such a panic I have
never seen before or since. The school was dispersed in
all directions; the town in an uproar, horror stricken,
expecting to be massacred by the Indians who were
reported to be swooping down upon us. What a merciful

providence that arrested that calamity. 3

What Mr. Stanley might have accomplished will never
be known, for his untimely and lamentable death in 1833
prevented an adequate demonstration of his faith and methods.
After his death his faithful wife, Mrs. Ellen Stanley,
assumed the responsibility of the school until Major John
Park, a native Georgian and member of a family famous in
educational history of the South, became president, serving
eight years from 1835 to 181+U. He was a graduate of
Franklin College, as the University of Georgia was then called,
and was one of the first trustees of Emory College at Oxford,
Georgia, and offered the first prayer at the dedication
service of that institution in 1836.

^Clifford L. Smith, op_. cit., p. 50

Information furnished by his granddaughter, Mrs. T. G.
Polhill, LaGrange, Georgia (biographical sketch in appendix).

2

20

It is no coincidence but a commentary upon the affection

inspired by the institution in those who became associated

with it, that two grandchildren of the early president who now

live in LaGrange have contributed many years of active service

to the improvement of the College: Mrs. T. G. Polhill,

untiring in alumnae work, and Dr. Emory Park, College physician

since 19l6. Major Park conducted the Academy successfully until

it was purchased by the Montgomery brothers in I8U3 .

The three brothers (Joseph, Telemachus, called
"T. F. "; and Hugh B. T., called "Troup") came from a
family of marked culture, social prominence, and wealth
in Dekalb County. All three were courtly men of bril-
liant mind and personality. They had dark complexion,
soft brown eyes, and hair which turned almost snow white
before they were thirty. Mr. Joseph Montgomery, the
oldest of the brothers, was a man of medium height,
large and compact build, and a devout Methodist who
later became a minister of his faith. His brother,
Troup, the youngest of the trio, was of delicate build
scarecely medium in height and a loyal Presbyterian who
also became a minister after he left the college.
Neither of these men married for several years after
coming to LaGrange. The other brother Telemachus was
the handsomest of the three, full six feet tall, per-
fectly proportioned, erect and of graceful carriage and
movement, who came to LaGrange as a widower with two
children, who he placed in the Academy. Later he
married a Miss Turner of LaGrange.

While in the prime of early manhood, Mr. Joseph Mont-
gomery and his brothers came to LaGrange search for a

^Clifford L. Smith, o. cit., p. 50.

Belle Boddie, editorial page, LaGrange Graphic ,
July 20, 1928.

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location suitable for a female college. At first sight they

were favorably impressed with "The Hill, "9 a name synonomous

with the college since that time.

A more magnificent site could not have been selected,

though the stage coach drivers described it, at that time,

as the reddest and ruggedest hill on their route. Although

LaGrange is located in the hilly Piedmont section, the

college hill is the steepest incline to be found in it.

Geologists have said that it is definitely of volcanic
10

origin.

Among the many large and beautiful trees which grew
on the hill in the early days, quantities of crabapple trees
flourished in the stoney soil, and "in the spring their
blossoms made a fairy-like picture of the rugged eminence
that overlooked the residential section of the town."' 1 "*'

Mr. Joseph Montgomery bought the property (about
thirty acres) in the fall of iQkh, and built a home on it
before he and his brother purchased the Academy, little more
than a block away 9^ Broad Street. The boarding house with
large columns across the front was soon completed and the

9loc . frit .

10 Louise Moon Heath, editorial, LaGrange Daily News
and Graphic Shuttle, October 8, 1931.

^Loc. cit.

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12

Montgomery facility moved in, announcing that they were
prepared to accommodate twenty misses with board at nine
dollars per month exclusive of washing and lights (lights
were tallow candles). Board could also be obtained in the
homes of Major George Heard, Benjamin Harvey Hill, Esq.,
Dr. N. N. Smith, and James Bradfield, Esq., at the same price. ^

For several years the boarding pupils who lived on
The Hill marched back and forth daily to classes held in the
Academy building. "They walked in prim paris with eyes
demurely down cast, lest the young gentlemen stare at them
too closely." 114 "

With Mr. Joseph Montgomery for president, the Mont-
gomery regime was a success from the start. In less than
two years the enrollment was over one hundred and in l8*4-6,
three girls in the first graduating class received diplomas
written in French.

The ambitious faculty and patrons could see no reason
for tueir institution not being allowed to grant degrees.

12

Boddle, loc. cit.

13

C atalogue of LaGrange Female Institute , 18U8 , p. 10.
"^Benson, op. cit. , p. k
^Loc. cit.

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Application was made to the General Assembly of Georgia, and

on December 17, 18U7, the little Academy became The LaGrange

Female Institute with all the rights of conferring degrees,

l6

honors, and other distinctions of merit.

In 181+8, the scholastic year began on January 15 and
17

ended November 1. The term of ten months which kept the

girls in school all summer but allowed them to be at home through

the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons was probably due more

to the difficulty of travel during the winter months than

to the tradition that "it was unheard of occurence for

the young ladies of the antebellum south to have missed

l8

the celebration at home during the Christmas holidays."

Rules listed in the 18U8 catalogue suggest the
cloistered life that the young ladies led at the LaGrange
Female Institute in the days preceding the War between the
States. Pupils were required to be prompt in attendance on
the opening day of school. The practice of frequently
visiting home and friends was positively forbidden. A two
weeks' vacation in the middle of the summer was provided for

J - Loc . cit . also Acts of General Assembly of Georgia ,
December 17, ifflf.

^ Catalogue of LaGrange Female Institute, 18U8, p. 1.

^Benson, op. cit . , p. 5*

.La ,

:

a*, or:

those who wanted to go home, but they were not allowed to

leave the school at any other time except for providential

cause. Even visits from parents were discouraged except at

commencement because they distracted the minds of the

students from their studies. Under no circumstances were

the young ladies permitted to attend parties, or entertain,

or correspond by letter or otherwise with any member of the opposite

19

sex, except near relatives.

Student government was an unheard of organization at
that time, for most of these young ladies were unaccustomed
to making their own toilets without assistance, to say
nothing of governing themselves and their classmates.
Every young lady was required to spend seven hours in winter
and eight hours in summer in the Institute Building in study
and recitation, and at least two hours after supper studying
in her own room. Punctual attendance at the tolling of the
bell, and prompt discharge of all duties were imperative
requisitions. Sickness was the only acceptable excuse for
non-attendance at the church and sabbath school of her
parents' choice.

While extravagance was not tolerated, the young
ladies were required to be neat in person and dress, making

-^Rules in IaGrange Female Institute Catalogue, 18U8,

P. 17.

- . - . .-, - - -

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.gey'? M^i.t.TiOa

25

"a proper use of the hair, teeth, and nail brushes." The
finest bonnet allowed to be worn was a cheap white one made
after the style of the sunbonnet. Patrons were requested to
furnish very little spinding money and to allow no accounts

PO

to be contracted by the girls.

This must have been a bitter blow to the spoiled
plantation heiress, who hitherto had been allowed to indulge
her fancy to the fullest in the way of India silks, Paisley
shawls, and lace pocket handkershief s . However, all the
girls did not come from homes of wealth. Mr. Montgomery
opened the way of opportunity, and gave a special welcome to
the poorer girls of the Southland who were even more eager
for an education than their pampered sisters. He could
never resist any worthy girl who came to him though it often
meant a personal sacrifice to make a place for her in his
college. Thus a precedent was set which has always been
manifested in this school of Christian education.

This business of getting an education was a serious
affair to the young Adelines and Melvinas, for under their
long curling tresses was the mighty burden of proving that a
woman's brain was not, after all, so inferior to that of a
man. The claim had at various times been set forth that a

Loc . cit.

Benson, op. cit., p. 7

mort - v ioo ton bib al-iig

girl could not learn an abstract subject, such as mathematics.

In order to disprove such an unwarranted accusation, these

young ladies devoted one half of every day to the study of
22

mathematics.

Every student was required to write one lecture each
day, alternately on the several studies she was pursuing, and
at least one composition every week. French was a require-
ment for all graduates because their diplomas were written

2^

in French.

According to Margaret Mitchell, it was during this
period that Aunt Pitty Pat, one of the main characters, in
Gone With The Wind , and her friend, a Miss Tomlinson who

2k

lived in laGrange, attended the LaGrange Female Institute.

In 1850, Mr. Montgomery began to carry out his

original plan of having the entire school on the hill.

After much necessary grading of the stony grounds, the

cornerstone was laid on July k, 1851, with Masonic cere-
25

monies. Construction of the new administration building
began immediately under the supervision of Mr. Benjamin

22 Editorial, Atlanta Journal , October k, 1931.

^ catalogue <frf LaGrange Female Institute , l8hQ , p. 9.

^Margaret Mitchell, Gone With the Wind (New York:
The Macmillan Company, 1938), p. 560.

25 ciifford L. Smith, op. cit., p. 129.

.... 10 1 d

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Cameron who used brick made by his trained slaves from the
red clay on the back of the hill and baked in a homemade

Ml 26

kiln.

The front of this building was modeled largely after
the Ephesion Temple of Diana, with columns collossal in size,
their base resting upon a stone floor which was on the
ground all across the front. Across the door over the front
entrance was a shaft of Italian marble; on it was lettered:

"To educate woman is to refine the world." The views to and

27

from the building were magnificent indeed.

In I85I, the scholastic year was divided into three
terms, viz.: January 15th to April 15th; April 15th to
July 15th; and July 15th until the first Wednesday in
November .

During the first term the Classical Department was

organized with about seventy students studying latin, Greek,

French, and Italian languages.

A fact which speaks well for the good sense and
taste of the present age. As highly as we appreciate
the study of Mathematics, we can not attach any more
importance to that branch of study than we do to that
of the languages for while the former strengthens the
reasoning powers, the latter^gives scope to thought,
and plumes the imagination.

^ D Benson, op. cit . , p. 9>
^Boddie, loc . cit .

2 Catalogue of LaGrange Female Institute , 1851 , p. 15 .

:

2CW o

28

Mr. Montgomery stated that his plan of instruction
for teaching Intellectual Philosophy was different and more
successful than any he had found elsewhere for teaching
students to think independently and correctly, viz.: after

reading a chapter, the students were required to close the

29

book and write the substance of it in their own language.

Promptness was a virtue considered necessary to

learning. Patrons were urged to send in pupils on the first

day and to discourage frequent visits home during the term.

President Montgomery said:

It were as impossible to make scholars of such, as
for a farmer to reap a harvest when the year had been
broken in upon by trips of pleasure, and while his crop
was being choked by the weeds.

He also stated that:

A good constitution is all important for any and all
purposes and employments of life. A delicate and
refined system of gymnastics in the form of calis-
thenics, has been introduced into this institution, and
so arranged as that it at once forms a part and parcel
of our entire plan of education. To make this exercise
more efficient, and to inspire the pupil with suffi-
cient fondness for it, it is conducted entirely by the
music of the violin. 31

At the close of the terra it was customary to have a
committee composed of the best scholars of the country to

^ 9loc . cit .
3 Ibid ., 1853, p. 21
31loc. cit.

29

examine the students or to observe the examinations given by

the faculty. On October 13, I85O, the examining committee

stated in their report:

We have never known a class of young ladies to
exhibit as thorough and extended an acquaintance with
the several branches of science and such facility in
the application of the abstruse principle and formulas
of mathematics to the physical sciences. 3 2

In I85I, the name of the Institute was changed to the
LaG range Female College, 33 an< i n July, 1853, the first

class graduated in the new chapel. Before this time the

34

exercises had been held in the First Methodist Church.
Those ensuing were glowingly described by Miss Carrie Fall
Benson .

Commencement then and for many yea s afterward, was
the one great festive occasion of the year, when the
college and all LaGrange over flowed with guests, every
stage coach and private carriage bringing its happy
quota. Not a self-respecting wife of the town, but had
at least ten cakes ready on her pantry shelf. Chickens
were prepared by the dozen. The best linen was brought
reverently forth f rom its lavendered retirement. The
negroes bustled excitedly about, from the pompous
"Mammys" who presided in the kitchen to the small grin-
ning black boys who held the horses outside the college
grounds. The exercises lasted a whole week, beginning
with the ordeal of a public examination of all the
pupils, followed by a children's entertainment (given
by the primary classes) and going on through the

32 Ibid ., 1851, p. 21

33Act of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia ,
December 26, l&^T.

-^Benson, op. cit. , p. 9.

. ixo . go

crescendo of the "grand concert", the graduation and the
"Levee." This last was the "Occasion" to the girls
themselves, who were permitted to come forth from their
cloistered life, and meet the young gentlemen, and
"promenade" with them upon the newly terraced walks
about the college. 3 5

In his commencement address to the Alumnae Society of
LaGrange College in 19^8, the Rev. Charles S. Forrester
said:

Many interesting and humorous stories are connected
with this more -than-a -century-old institution. It is
recorded that at the Commencement of 1853, two young
ladies from Texas arrived with their "baggage, thinking
that 'Commencement' really meant to commence . When they
discovered that it was the end of the school term and
not the beginning, they were bewildered beyond words.
Mr. Montgomery, who was president at the time, communi-
cated with the parents of these young ladies, and was
advised to "keep them." He "kept them" for four years,
at the end/-of which time they returned home with their
diplomas.

In 1851, every student on entering the LaGrange
Female Institute was furnished with a list of the following
rules and required to sign her name in the Matriculation
Book, thereby obligating herself to their faithful observ-
ance:

1. Every pupil shall be prompt in attendance at the
opening and closing exercises of the day.

2. While at her desk or in recitation, she must sit or
stand perfectly erect;

35 Ibid-, PP. 9-10.

Charles S. Forrester, "Commencement Address,"
Alumnae Day, LaGrange College, May 29, I9U8 (LaGrange
College Bulletin, Vol. CII, No. 3), p. k.

ZfSW DfT.B x e,SX

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3. Shall not whisper, laugh or talk in study or
recitation hours.

k. Must be respectful and courteous to the Faculty and
her mates,

5. Shall recite not less than three nor more than five
lessons a day,

6. Shall attend the Sabbath School and Church of her
parents' choice;

7. Must always be neat, but plain in personal attire;

8. Shall attend no parties or places of amusement;

9. Shall not correspond with or receive attention from
young gentlemen;

10. Shall not use snuff, chew rosin or gum of any kind.

11. Shall enter no shop except in the company with her
parent or guardian,

12. Shall make no orders for articles of merchandise,
but by permission of her temporary guardian. 3<

Even though there is little to compare in the rules

of 1851 and 1951 at LaGrange College, there is very little

difference in the advice and understanding expressed in the

following copy of a letter from a mother to her daughters

written in 1852. The original letter is framed and hanging

in the office of the President:

Indian Spring 3 April 1852

Dear Daughters:

Last evening I received a note from Josephine inform-
ing me that you were both well and as well satisfied

^ Catalogue of LaGrange Female Institute , l8j?l , p . 20

. i

!

-

moil isoi

with your prospect at school as you could possibly be.
I wish you to be very attentive to your school duties
and try to lose no time from your studies and to learn
all that you possibly can during the time you stay at
school as I don't know that you may again get the chance
to go to school any more after this. I wish you to be
polite and pleasant with everybody and insulting to no
one old or young, taking especial care of yourselves
allowing no one to be too free in their intercourse with
you. I have heard by a letter from Col. Slatton of New
Orleans, that your borther, John Clark, left New Orleans
about the 20th of February and we have no tidings of him
since. I do not know where he has gone. I am in good
health or at least better than when you left, and the
balance of the family is all well. Inclosed I send you
a five dollar bill to pay for any little thing you may
stand in need of. In case of sickness I must be in-
formed at once.

Your Mother,
Cinthia H. Varner^
In order that the patrons might know that their
daughters would live in a spiritual atmosphere without any
denominational pressure being put upon them, Mr. Montf ornery
stated under General Remarks in the 1853 catalogue:

This College is strictly antisectarian and anti-
denominational. One of the proprietors is a Presby-
terian and the other a Methodist, whilst the Principal
of the Music department is a Baptist. The professors
and teachers generally are divided with respect to their
denominational attachment. r object is to remove as
far as possible, every influence that might tend to
impress upon the minds of our pupils sectarian bigotry
or prejudice. As far as we are capable, we inculcate
upon their minds moral and religious obligations. But
we go no farther. At the opening and closing of the
daily exercises, the whole school assembles in the

3 u Copy of a framed letter hanging in the President's
office. All letters were sent in care of the President.

-

O.'.OIJW

chapel and spends at each time thirty minutes in reading
the scriptures, singing and prayer. To facilitate our
chapel singing, arrangements are made to furnish, by the
opening of the next term, a splendid organ. ->?

By I856, with the classes and dormitories on The Hill
rules were a little less stringent, and several new courses
had been added; among them were Elocution and a mild form of
Calisthenics. Special attention had always been given to
music; and the Ornamental department was teaching the future
homemakers such decorative aets as embroidery, painting, and
making wax fruit and flowers, at twenty dollars per term.^

Early in the scholastic year, 1852, two rival literary
societies were formed and named Hentz and Judson. At that
time literary reading was regarded as of little importance
to the student in his scientific researches, but reading was
considered peculiarly necessary to the accomplishment of
female education. It was for this purpose that the societies
were organized. They each had a regular constitution and
code of by-laws, appropriate officers, etc and conducted
all business matters with order and decorum. They were
allowed Wednesday afternoons for reading in their respective
halls. Every Saturday morning they met for the transaction
of business, at which time each member was required under
penalty to stand up and recite the substance of at least

3 9Catalogue of LaGrange Female Institute , 1853 , p. 22.
Ibid ., I856, p. 16.

djti-.i-iOJb

-

-

J

-

Y

-

2

-

U - .. .

- -

i

. - .

3

fifty pages of literature she had read during the past
week.

Before the year was out they had collected nearly one

thousand volumes, a library of books, from the most approved

authors of ancient and modern times. The improvement which

was shown in the style of conversation and writing on the

part of the pupils spoke volumes for the efficiency of these

1+1

literary organizations.

That Mr. Montgomery had no compunction as to the
ability and knowledge of the graduates of the LaGrange
Female College was evidenced in the 1856 catalogue under a
notice :

TO THOSE WISHING TEACHERS

In the present graduating class there are a half
dozen young ladies who have pursued their education with
a view of becoming teachers. Any person will do well to
apply to the proprietors, who can procure for them
teachers among those graduates, capable of giving
thorough instruction in all the English branches, latin,
French, and Italian languages, Music, Drawing, Painting,
etc. None need apply, however, who are unwilling to pay
a reasonable compensation for the most efficient
services in the capacity of teacher. ^

Though the college was growing and flourishing from
day to day, it was drawing its generous hearted masters to
the brink of financial disaster. The Montgomery brothers

Ibid., p. 19.
: Ibid., p. 17.

had invested their composite fortunes in buying and building

the school, and their practice of taking in so many poor

girls who could not pay their way had depleted their returns

to an alarming degree. They realized that they were not

business men and "Mr. Joseph" and "Mr. Troup" felt that they

were called to the ministry.

In the winter of 1856, the Messrs. Montgomery sold

the college and all of its properties to the North Georgia

Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South,

for the sum of sixty thousand dollars. 1 ^

On January 29, l857> the Commissioners of the Confer-
ence and the Board of Trustees met in LaGrange. Formal
deeds being executed and tendered by Messrs. Montgomery,
and accepted by the Commissioners, the property was
turned over to trustees appointed by the Conference.
That body then in session appointed the following Board
of Trustees: Revs. W. J. Parks, John W. Glenn, William
S. Sasnett, John C. Simmons, James B. Payne, Caleb W.
Kay, G. J. Pearch, W. G. Conner, W. B. Martin, and B. H.
Overby; and Messrs. B. H. Hill, R. A. T. Ridley, James
M. Beall, A. E. Cox, and Robert J. Morgan.

Thus the Montgomery regime came to an end and the
first institution of higher learning for women in Georgia
became the second Methodist educational institution in
Georgia.^

^3 Benson, jop. nifc., p. 10.
^ lc. cit .

The Deed Record of Troup County , Book L, p. 57^.

h6

Walter G. Cooper, The Sbry of Georgia , Vol. II

(New York: The American Historical Society, Inc., 193&1
p. ^63.

c'i sJiacH

[

The trustees elected a new corps of competent
teachers, and in September, 1857 > the college began its
distinctive work of Christian education under the prisidency
of Rev. W. G. Conner, who was then serving as a member of
the Conference, and Secretary and Treasurer of the Board of
Trustees. ^

The scholastic year began the first day of October,

1857, and ended Wednesday after the second Sabbath in July,

1858. Patrons were advised to send a supply of winter

clothes, and two or three pairs of thick-soled shoes along

with their daughters but not to send summer clothes until

the next spring. They were informed that:

Regardless of the style of the dresses that must
cover the neck and arms. As in Institution we make no
war on fashions, but for many good reasons we coul^g
mention, we shall forbid the prevailing customers.

They were not required to wear uniforms, but costly
apparel and jewelry were not tolerated by the College.
Neatness and economy in dress were taught as an essential
element of a good education.

No young lady in college was permitted to contract
any debt with any person without the presence and permission
of one of the Professors of the College.

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , l88l - l882 , p. 25.
Catalogue of LaGrange Female Institute, 157_, p . 2 .

;.r.c. d

-

The system of merit and demerit was enforced in
governing the students. Any one who received enough
demerits to assure the faculty that her connection with the
College was "unprofitable to herself and injurious to others"
was promptly expelled.

All pupils were required to attend the church of
their choice each Sabbath, always in company with one or
more of the professors of the College. Also, a weekly
prayer meeting was held in the College by the faculty for
the benefit of the pupils, who were expected to attend.

Special attention had always been given to music in
the College and in order that all the young ladies might be
better prepared to enjoy singing, they were required to
practice vocal music once each day free of charge. At com-
mencement they gave a special exhibition.^

The catalogue for 1857 announced that a Resident

graduate course would be added the following year because:

Many parents find their daughters through the
ordinary course of instruction, before their minds are
developed, and before they are prepared to take their
places in the "Drawing -Room" as young ladies. This can
only be remedied by continuing at school. We have
prepared a year's course for these, and confidently
expect that faithful attention to it will do more to
educate women than two years of ordinary study. As an

^9 ibid ., p. 17.
^Thid. , p. 18.

;

inducement to faithful application we will give a second
Diploma to those who graduate in this course, called
"Mistress of Arts." 51

It was said that the graduating class of 1858, with-
out an exception, bore testimony to the striking and
heautiful fact that:

The graduate of this institution, in leaving her
Alma Mater, will generally carry with her those prin-
ciples of Christian Morality which will guide her
through life, sustain her in death, and crown her in
Heaven . ^

The commencement exercises began on Sunday morning
at ten o'clock with the commencement sermon. Monday at
9a. m., the Literary Societies gave a program; Monday night
at eight o'clock there was a concert; Tuesday morning at
nine o'clock, essays were read and a lecture given; Tuesday
night the Grand Soiree Musicale was enjoyed; and Wednesday
morning the graduating exercises concluded the four-day
program to which everyone looked forward from one year to
the next. 53

Although the College was progressing in every depart-
ment and enjoying patronage from all parts of Georgia and
adjoining states, Mr. Conner resigned at the end of one term
in July, 1858. ^

51 Ibid., p. 17.

52 Ibid., 1858-59, P. lh
53

Thid., pp. 20-21.
Benson, qe.. cit . f p. 12.

-

In September, the Rev. William J. Sassnett, Professor
of English Literature at Emory College, Oxford, Georgia, and
a member of the Board of Trustees of LaGrange Female Col-
lege , ^ reluctantly accepted the presidency but served only
four months, resigning in December, 1858.^

The Rev. W. A. Harris, D.,D., who was an outstanding
Professor of Natural Science and French in the College at
that time, became President.

He was a graduate of the Military Institute of Vir-
ginia, and his testimonials showed the highest qualifica-
tions. His success in Sparta, Georgia, the year before was

sufficient to guarantee success in anything that he was

57

willing to undertake.

Under the presidency of Dr. Harris, LaGrange Female
College continued to progress in its program of Christian
education, and in July, 1859, took the lead in sending out
the first resident graduate class in the South. In this
unique class of five young ladies, Alice Culler was an
honored member. 5^

1 55r. r. Caswell, "The History of Bowdon College"
(unpublished Master's thesis, The University of Georgia,
Athens, July, 1952), p. 7

^^Benson, ioc . cit.

5T Catalogue of LaGrange Female Institute , 1858-59 ,

p. 5.

58

Loc. cit.

...

; .

-

Her sister, Mary Culler White, later wrote The Life

Story of Alice Culler Cobb , in which she stated that at the

age of fifteen years, Alice Culler, the youngest member of

her class, was Salutatorian of the graduating class at

Wesleyan College in Macon, founded in 1836. In her diary

written on the last day of that year, while she was at

LaGrange Female College, she wrote:

I did not feel qualified to "guide my frail bark over
life's troubled sea" without a pilot; so I went to
LaGrange, and placed myself under the charge of those
fully competent to instruct me. I am a member of the
"Resident Graduate Class." I am here far away from
home, from the loved ones, from Father, Mother, and

Dr. Harris, the president of the College, recognized
in Alice Culler the making of a real teacher and several
months after graduating, when he was selecting teachers for
the Martha Washington College of Abingdon, Virginia, of
which he had just been made president, his first selection
was Alice Culler, who went with him but later came back
to Georgia where she became an inimitable wife, mother, world

traveler, missionary, and a teacher at Wesleyan College for

_ . 60
forty years.

Although Dr. Harris resigned to go back to Virginia
after being president for only one and one half terms, he

59wary Culler White, The Life Story of &ice Culler
Cobb (New York: Fleming H. Re veil Company, 1925), pp. 46-47.

60.

Loc. cit.

Si

-

>0 aexslaoU'

believed that the LaGrange Female College was well estab-

lished with a great future ahead, and stated:

The prosperity of the College under all opposing
influences, demonstrates most clearly its permanence for
the present and its success for the future. Heaven is
smiling upon it. . . . The once gathering clouds
are rolling away, and the dawn of a more glorious day is
brightening the sky of its future. We trust the day is
not far distant when the College will be freed from
every pecuniary trammel, and will make quicker strides
and greater progress toward the fulfillment of its
glorious mission for the blessings of man and the glory
of God. 51

Little did he dream that in the days just ahead, the
clouds would grow darker and heavier rather than roll away.

Just before the dark days of the Civil War, the South

had reached its highest in luxurious living. Mary Elizabeth

Godwin, who received her A.B. degree in l862,^ 2 made an

interesting list of what the well-to-do planter's daughter

took to college with her in her "Saratoga trunk":

First, several bonnets were considered absolutely
necessary, the obnoxious "sun-bonnet" rule having been
lifted ere this time. Her hoop-skirted gowns, were of
the finest rep and moire silk, and elaborately trimmed;
the heavier materials were cool challis and alpace,
bombazine and albatross. Then she must have a huge
heavy cape and fur tippet, calf skin boots and woolen
stockings, any number of shawls and a quilted double
wrapper for the chilly outdoors of the old dormitory.
For warmer weather she had frocks of French Calico,
Swiss, and India muslin. The favorite fabric for

Catalogue of LaGrange Female Institute , 1858-59 ,

p. 18.

^ Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1888-89 ,
p. 8 (lj& of all graduates) .

:

c

. -

" . OTi*

k2

commencement was white mull. However, the faculty
adhered strictly to the rule of simplicity upon this
occasion for the/- sake of the poorer girls, of whom
there were many.

LaGrange was by this time a thriving little town,
decidedly cultural in atmosphere, the proud possessor of
three institutions of learning, the others being Brownwood
Military Institute, a high grade academy for boys, and the
Southern Female College, owned by the Baptist denomination,
which was established in 18U3 under the name of LaGrange
Collegiate Seminary for young ladies. There was a good deal
of friendly rivalry between the two girls' schools, Brown-
wood Institute, needless to say, being quite popular with
both. 61 *

^^Benson, loc . cit .
^Ibid., p. 11

CHAPTER IV
IAGRANGE FEMALE COLLEGE THROUGH FIRE,
WAR, AND RECONSTRUCTION
(1860-1885)

The prosperity enjoyed and progress made by the

LaGrange Female College in its first three decades did not

forewarn that the hopes and aspirations of its friends and

supporteres were to suffer many reverses in the years just

ahead. The year 1859 was a busy one. The journal is full

of entries marking changes in the personnel of the trustees

and faculty, and enlargement of the college facilities in

many ways. Reports of the finance committee throughout the

year tell of the sound financial condition of the institution,

and praise the citizens of LaGrange for tbsLr generosity. 1

One rather amguing entry made by the Board, which met

July 6, 1859, states:

Whereas the citizens of LaGrange, prompted by their
own generous devotion to the LaGrange Female College,
have presented it with a large and fine college bell
and are erecting on the college building a suitable
dome for the same.

Resolved, that as the Board of Trustees, we hereby
very gratefully acknowledge and accept the handsome
present thus generously made to the college.

Journal of the LaGrange Female College, p. 52
(minutes of the Board of Trustees).

2

Loc. cit.

-

; a 8 a

jo

!

For many years the whole town rose, dined, and
retired to the crashing sound of the school bell.

In December, 1&59, the Legislature passed an act to
amend the several acts previously passed concerning the

College. Under this act the scope and powers of the College

3

were strengthened and increased.

The tempo of the social and cultural activities of

the College had also stepped up, according to an article in

the LaG range News and Graphic Shuttle :

On the evening of March 28, i860, a concert was given
in the auditorium. Students and guests were assembled
in the administration building. Girls in bell like
dresses of pastel shades carrying nosegays, smiled
decorously up at attentive young men. Suddently there
was a cry of "Fire" and the crowd fled to safety.

The building was doomed from the start, as the equip-
ment for fighting fires was inadequate, and the high March
winds soon fanned the flames beyond control. As the dis-
mayed spectators stood by helpless and hopeless, the roof
fell in, and the beautiful columns which had been raised
with such pride only seven years before crashed to the
ground . ^

^ Acts of the General Assembly of Georgia , Sec. 5 ,
assented to December 19, 1859 .

^ LaGrange News and Graphic S huttle , Thursday,
October 9, 1931, p. 2.

- 3
. 1

. ...... I

. .. " -

- ' - ! -

< j rri

True to form, friends of the College met before the

ashes had cooled to make plans for rebuilding. The trustees

met at the Methodist Church on the following morning and a

committee was appointed to pass upon the condition of the

walls that were left standing. A town crier was sent about

the streets to summon people of LaGrange and its vicinity to

a mass meeting at the court house at three o'clock.^ At this
meeting subscriptions were solicited, and many donations of

various sizes were cheerfully given. One of the first and

largest was a draft of $1,000 from the Messrs. Joseph and

7

Hugh B. T. Montgomery who still loved the school devotedly.
Contributions came from firms, corporations, and individuals
all over the South, and from New York, Philadelphia, Balti-
more, Charleston, and a number of other cities.

An inventory was then taken of all college properties.
The quaint list begins: one clock, one sausage grinder, one
canister, twenty-five window curtains, one bucket, one
dipper, four matlxesses, one center table, etc.^ Tne list
of articles destroyed in the fire was much more imposing.

Journal, op. cit. , p. 75.
T lbid . , p. 86.
8 Ibid ., pp. 129-130.
9lbid., pp. 7 -80.

I

he

It included the newly installed chemical apparatus, a number
of costly musical instruments, a growing library, and other
expensive equipment. It is also said that a small fortune
in fine old mahogany and black walnut furniture was consumed
by the flames. 10 However, the disastrous fire did not
seriously interfere with the routine of coXLege work.
Fortunately, the Stanley building was available and in good
condition. Classes were immediately resumed there by young
ladies whose mothers had occupied the same rooms a genera-
tion earlier. 11

On pages 8^ and 85 of the Journal the faculty presents
the following report:

We are comfortably situated as regards room for
carrying on the regular exercies . . . the rooms
occupied by the professors are sufficiently large to
accommodate any of the college classes. . . .

Professor Akers is moving on with his department as
heretofore. He is happily provided with everything,
essential to carrying on the Mathematical department.
The ornamental department is suffering. Professor
Briggs has but two pianos, and there is no certaity of
retaining but one of these for any length of time. . . .
The Faculty would suggest to the Board that we have
endeavored to make the best arrangements possible for
the continuance of the regular college schedules. All
of which is respectfully submitted by, The Faculty.-^

l0 Benson, op. cit . , p. 13

^Clifford L. Smith, op. cit., p. 130.

^Journal, op. cit., pp. 8U-85.

In July, the senior class graduated from the Chapel
of the Southern Female College, offered for the occasion by
the President and Board of Trustees of the institution which
was located on the opposite side of town. Thus bravely and
undaunted the faculty and students carried on their work. 1 ^

Appreciation for this gesture was expressed thus:

Therefore, Resolved, that as the Board of Trustees of
the LaGrange Female College we return to our kind
friends of the Southern Female College our grateful
acknowledgements and high appreciation of the kindness
so generously tendered a sister institution in the hour
of its great misfortune.

On the sixth day of June, i860, the Trustees awarded

the contracts for rebuilding the College to Mr. Benjamin

Cameron who with his trained slaves had built the one

destroyed by fire."^

The entry in the Journal states in part:

Mr. Cameron proposes to take the contract for the
college building according to the plans and specifica-
tions. The building to be located on the old site, and
such changes be made in timber as may be agreed upon
before the final contract is entered into between him
and the committee. Also the contract for a new
boarding-house . . . the whole to be executed in the
best style according to plans, for the sum of thirty
thousand dollats, less his subscription of fifteen
hundred dollars, adding to this the rock material for
the building on the summit . . . the boarding-house

13 Ibid. , p. 120

ll+ Loc . cit.

15 Ibid . . p. 107

-

to be finished by the 20th of December,- next, and the
college by the 15th day of May, l86l.

The work began and the dormitory was completed as

scheduled in December. Mr. Cameron with his trained Negro

slaves again made brick from clay at the back of the hill.

For lack of proper material, and because of an accident

which caused the roo'f' to fall in while under construction,

the college building received a set back at a most critical

period of its history and remained unfinished for many years. ^

The South had plunged headlong into the Civil War which

raged disastrously for four years. Every project for

public improvement, had ceased and no industry except that

immediately connected with the sustenance of the people and

prosecution of the war was promoted. There was no time to

18

think of building colleges.

The Georgia Legislature had called a convention to
meet at Milledgeville January 6, l86l, to act on the ques-
tion of secession from the Union. It was an historic body
whose personnel included the most outstanding leaders of the
State; among them was Benjamin H. Hill, United

Ibid ., p. 1^3.
Loc . cit .

-^Editorial page, The LaGrange Reporter , July 17,

1879.

i-Jf.

. .soY.sosGl ax belsrb

dot j o ssvaJ.

! -

. . - . . : e ......

...

- -

Senator from LaGrange. The decision made by these men to
secede from the Union had "far reaching consequences, full

of tragedy and ultimate suffering for the people of

. ..20
Georgia .

Mr. HiH was at first opposed to secession, hut when

he realized that his opposition was useless, he voted for it

21

on the final ballot. He also represented the fourth dis-
trict at the Southern Convention held in Montgomery,
Alabama, on February k, l86l, for the purpose of organizing
the Confederate Government. 22

In l86l, the State was a vast recruiting camp with
men, women, and children doing all in their power to prove
their patriotism. The women made clothing for the soldiers
and offered to give their silver and jewelry if necessary.

Men volunteered not only their service but much of their
2^

fortunes.

On April 26, l86l, the LaGrange Light Guards, with 1
Robert S. Smith as captain, and Miles H. Hill and Gustovus

hooper, o. cit., p. 520.

2Q Loc. cit .
2 1 Ibid ., p. 525
22 Ibid ., p. 527.

23 Ibid ., p. 5^2-^3.

. . t _ . _ ;

-

av x/o ^.noiaasoya cJ .ba^o L <o d a'sx '1 u a-w XiiK tM
xo'i >t4c . a,sw nolc -

- -

......

- , Is .

- .... a - - ....

3 iuli . o 10 i

-

J.. VOu3.jij iJX 1 ^ -t.-a.Xii Ji QS-i-Xf''; .0^13 ii.C0w('60 3 .'3 1*3 X;~;cj O JlSuO/l

A. Bull as lieutenants left LaG range to serve in the Con-
pi,

federate Army for the duration of the war. Other groups
from Troup County soon followed, knowing that the women left
behind would continue to be "Home Guards" in every sense of

the word. One company- of soldiers was equipped by Miss

Sallie Fannie Reid, a belle of the sixties, whom they

honored by calling themselves "The Sallie Fannie Reid
25

Guards." History also records that:

During the Civil War LaG range had the distinction of
owning the only company of women soldiers organized
during the struggle. They were named for Georgia's
Revolutionary heroine, Nancy Hart.

This band of LaGrange women shouldered their muskets
although tremblingly and learned to shoot to protect
their homes. They were organized in the first year of
the war by Mrs. Brown Morgan. When in lQ6k, a detach-
ment of Wilson's raiders commanded by Colonet LaGrange,
rode through the town that bore his name, the Nancy
Harts lined up obediently with guns on their shoulders
ready to do battle. Fortunately, Colonel LaGrange was
a diplomat as well as a soldier, and so was able to
persuade the gallant "amazons" to surrender on his
promise to spare the homes of the city from looting and
destruction.

However, all the women of LaGrange were not willing
to be *Home Guards", as is clearly indicated in General John

Clifford L. Smith, op_. cit ., p. 7*u

2 5jbid.., p. 75.

26

The LaGrange D aily News and Graphic Shuttle
October 8, 1931, p. 31. a

-r.t - - - - - - . .

pc . ....... s i 1 )

jsi . ixic -

.. . Oil - Bi'Z

j a - . -

- - . .30

C -

0~vj u ,.'f.

- -a

51

B. Gordon's Reminiscences of the Civil War , in regard to his
wife:

I had been educated for the bar and for a time
practiced law in Atlanta. In September, 185I+, I had
married Miss Fanny Harralson, third daughter of General
Hugh A. Harralson, of LaGrange, Georgia. The wedding
occurred on her seventeenth birthday and when I was but
twenty-two. We had two children, both boys. The
struggle between devotion to my family on the one hand
and duty to my country on the other was most trying to
my sensibilities. My spirit had been caught up by the
flaming enthusiasm that swept like a prairie-fire
through the land, and I hastened to unite with the
brave men of the mountains* in organizing a company of
volunteers. But what was I to do with the girl-wife and
the two little boys? The wife and mother was no less
taxed in her effort to settle this momentous question.
But finally yielding to the promptings of her own heart
and to her unerring sense of duty, she ended doubt as to
what disposition was to be made of her by announcing
that she intended to accompany me to the war, leaving
her children with my mother and faithful "Mammy Mary."
I rejoiced at her decision then, and had still greater
reasons for rejoicing at it afterward, when I felt
through every fiery ordeal the inspiration of her near
presence, and had, at need, the infinite comfort of her
tender nursing. 2 '

As the founding and growth of LaGrange and the College
had been almost simultaneous for thirty years, so was the
struggle for survival and reconstruction of both for the
next quarter of a century.

However, before the seriousness of the catastrophe was
realized, an entry made in the Journal on July 5, i860,

^Mountains of Northeast Alabama, Northwest Georgia, and
Southern Tennessee.

2 7john B. Gordon, Reminiscences of the Civil War , (New
York: Charles Scribner and Sons, 1903), p. 3.

^firanb Allege uorary

h baa

J

<

3 u )ftf i 3\i

52

shows what the Board of Trustees considered a serious
problem:

Whereas individuals of high character, friends of
the college have complained of members of the Faculty
for indulging in drinking beer and similar or stronger
beverages, and such indulgences being in itself ques-
tionable in morals and certainly injurious to the
Institution. Therefore resolved that it is the opinion
of the board that such indulgences publicly or privately
must lead to bad results to the individuals themselves
morally and also greatly embarrass the success and
reputation of the college.

Another problem which the Board faced in July, i860,

29

was the resignation of Dr. Harris. The Rev. Gadwell Jefferson

Pearce, a member of the Board of Trustees and a teacher at

30

Emory College at that time, accepted the presidency of the

struggling institution. He also assumed the job of being

financial agent, at a time when the distressing condition of

31

the country made it a very arduous one.

In July, 1862, the Board met and found certain stern
facts to exist. The college was in debt for over seventeen
thousand dollars. The main building was unfinished with no
hope of being completed in the near future, and the walls,
because of certain old portions having been used, were

28

Journal, op . cit ., p. 127.
29 Jbid., p. 122

3 Catalogue of LaGrange Female Institute , 1858-59, p . 3 .
J Journal, op. cit . , p. 125.

-

believed unsafe. At this meeting the trustees, who were
entitled to a small stipend for their services, agreed to
add that to the meager salary which President Pearch had
received during the preceding year. Under existing circum-
stances they could do nothing more to show their gratitude

32

for his tireless and unselfish services.

Like that of the entire Southland, the history of the
College during the l860's is heart "breaking. The poverty striken
parents whose sons had either been killed or seriously
wounded on the battlefields had neither the means

33

or desire to send their daughters away to school.

It is little less than a miracle that during all the
turbulent war times followed by the dark days of reconstruc-
tion that the institution never entirely closed its doors.
With its meager equipment and only local students, the
formerly flourishing college became little more than a day
school with faithful teachers who kept at their task. Mr.
Pearce, who served as president from i860 to November, 1863,

worked unceasingly for the preservation and rehabilitation of

Ik

the College, receiving no salary for more than one year.

32

Ibid ., pp. 163 f.

33]3enson, op_. cit. , p. 2k

^k

LaGrange Daily News and Graphic Shuttle , October 8,
1931, P. 2.

It was a discouraged Board of Trustees which met on
November 27, 1862, to try to persuade Mr. Pearce to withdraw
his resignation which they had just received. He did so,
and continued as President and financial agent until
November, l863. 35

There ware no entries in the Journal from November 30,
I863, until June 20, 1871. Upon one of the intervening blank
pages is written a question that has not been answered:
"Where are the records between these dates?" No catalogues
have been found for the war years and the later ones give
very little information of the College from 1863 to 1866.
Mr. Clifford Smith's History of Troup County states that the
Rev. Mr. Armstrong became president in 1863, but makes no comment
about the administration.

The reorganization of the College began in 1866 under

the presidency of Mr. Armstrong, but the community was not

yet able to support it, and the patronage soon dwindled so

that for a time it was left in the charge of Mrs. Montgomery

37

and Mrs. Jack Cutright. The latter lady was the mother-
in-law of Bishop Warren A. Candler, and it is this time that

35journal, op. cit . , p. 170.

3^Clifford L. Smith, op. cit., p. 132.

37 catalogue of IaGrange Female College , 1887-88 , p. 53.

:uo& b

-

-

' . o:
. :

:

- .

J

;

Mrs. Candler, looking back upon her little-girl memories,

recalls climbing up on the bleak walls of the unfinished

38

building and looking down upon the town of LaGrange.

Near the end of the war the buildtigs of the Southern
Female College were used as a hospital for Confederate
soldiers until they were destroyed by fire. 39 By this time
both schools had only local patronage, and in order to
survive, they combined their students and facilities, and
held their classes in the boarding house of the LaGrange
Female College. Mr. I. F. Cox, President of the Southern
Female College, conducted the joint institution for two
years, from 1867 to 1869. At the end of that time he
retired and devoted the next eighteen years to rebuilding
the Southern Female College. ^

In 1869, Dr. Morgan Callaway, a minister noted for
his culture and brilliant mind, accepted the presidency of
LaGrange Female College. Just prior to the war he had
married Miss Leila Hinton of Greenville, Georgia, and
accepted the presidency of Andrew Methodist Female College,
at Cuthbert, Georgia, but at the first call to arms he had
volunteered as First Lieutenant in the artillery service.

3^Benson, loc . cit.

39ciifford L. Smith, op. cit., p. ^k.

^Catalogue of. LaGrange Female College . 1867-88 . p.

.1 .

i

.o.to

56

While in Virginia he and his company did fine work in many
of the hardest fought battles under General R. E. Lee. For
two years after the war Dr. Callaway taught school in
Washington, Georgia, where his wife died. Then he moved to
LaGrange and was President of the College until 1871, when
he connected himself with Emory College at Oxford, Georgia,

in

and there spent the rest of his useful life.

In the funeral sermon preached by Bishop Warren A.
Candler, a most excellent tribute was paid to Dr. Callaway
as a teacher, soldier, preacher, and man. Of the man he
said in part:

He was born of noble stock in Wilkes County, Georgia,
April 16, 1831, and graduated from the University of
Georgia with high honors in the class of 18I+9, being
little more than 18 years of age at his graduation, what
youthful habits of upright pure living, of devotion to
daily duty, and of interest in the highest things are
implied by this early attainment of his academic degree I

If in the paths of those early days you had met him,
the courtly manners of his mature life, coupled with
the most engaging graces of young manhood, would have
impressed you.

This noble, dignified bearing was the index of the
man; it was the efflorescence of his nature not an
affected mannerism. In the narrowest circles and in
the widest and most elevated places he was always the
same. Nor was his grace of manner the result alone
of contact with good society. That knightly bearing was

^T. W. Callaway, Callaway Baptist Preachers ,
1789-1882 (compiled by T. W. Callaway and evidently pub-
lished by him for members of the Callaway Family. No
publisher or printer's name given.), pp. 53-5*4--

*

-

the becoming and unconscious expression of an elevated
nature, inspired with the twin brother to his courage.
It rested upon him in days of gladness as a fitting
holiday attire and in days of darkness it was the digni-
fied garb of noble sorrow. ^

In December, 1871, Dr. Callaway's resignation was

regretfully accepted by the Board. Several pages of the

Journal are filled with eulogies of his character and

expressions of appreciation for his earnest and conscientious

43

administration of the College and its affairs.

Reverend E. P. Birch was elected to fill the vacancy
left by Dr. Callaway. He served only a few months, and
resigned in November, 1872, because of failing health. ^
Mr. Birch was succeeded by Mr. J. T. Johnson who held the
position for the next two years. ^

Little is known about the faculty, curriculum, or

activities of the school during the administration of Mr.

Johnson. If any records other than those in the Journal

were kept, they have not been found. In it one entry by

Mr, Johnson states:

There has been during the present scholastic year an
average -attendance of fifty five pupils. All the
studies prescribed in the curriculum with one or two

^ 2 Loc . cit .
43

Journal, op_. cit . , pp. 266-68.

44

Catalogue of LaGranpe Female College , 1887-88, p. 54,

45 T

Loc. cit.

SI

exceptions have been taught. We have endeavored to be
thorough in teaching and conservative in discipline and
have had as a general athing the cooperation of the
pupils. 46

Although no catalogue for 1874 is in the college

files, a reference is made to it in the 1876-77 catalogue

concerning the status of the Music department which has

always been outstanding at the College. It announces:

Music Department The facilities here furnished for
a thorough musical education are of the highest order.
Prof. Schirmacher, the efficient principal of this
department, is a graduate of the Musical Conservatory of
Leipsic, Germany, and was for years a pupil of the great
masters Mendelssohn, David, Richter, Plaidy and Boehme.
For modest worth, for splendid attainment in music, for
patient, untiring energy, he has no superior and his
success during his five years' connection with the
college is without a parallel in this country. The
only two "Premiums for best performance on piano forte
by pupils of any Female College," at the State Fair in
Atlanta in 1870, were awarded to pupils of this college,
trained by Prof. Schirmacher. The "Premium for the best
display of Musical talent by pupils of any Female
College" and "for best performer," were also awarded
his pupils at State Fair of 1872.47

For twelve years the school had carried on in the

depressing shadow of the unfinished walls of the burned

building. Pupils were beginning to flock back to LaGrange,

boarding with people in town, determined to have a college

education. The Board of Trustees realized that the time had

come to put the College in its former basis. It was a

Journal, op_. cit . , p.

^ Catalogue of LaGrange
cites Catalogue , 1874 , p. 13.

288.

Female College , 1876-77, p. 15

1

-

stupendous task which these gentlemen assumed, of raising
money where there was none and completing the abandoned
edifice.

They immediately began figuring with different con-
struction companies. The more they figured, the more
impossible the task seemed. Finally, in July, 1874, Horace
King, a Negro contractor of LaGrange, who had been trained
by his master during slavery, submitted specifications for a
new building of brick and stone to be built for the sum of
nine thousand dollars. Five hundred dollars was to be paid

when the work was actively begun, five per cent thereafter

49

monthly, and the remainder when the work was completed.

Realizing the impossibility of raising so much money
at one time, the Board entered into a contract with Horace
King to complete the walls, put on the roof, and do certain
other necessary things to the building that had been aban-
doned thirteen years earlier, for the -sum of thirty seven
hundred, twenty eight dollars. Operation began immediately. 50

Mr. Johnson resigned as President of the College in
December, 1874, and the Reverend James R. Mayson was
appointed by the North Georgia Conference to take his place.

^Benson, op_, cit., p. 26.

49

Journal, op_. cit . , pp. 289-90.

60

Mr. Mayson was a graduate of Emory College and had been head
of the Mathematics department of the LaGrange Female College
for several years in its days of ante-bellum prosperity. He
had also been extensively connected with educational and
religious enterprises in other institutions, and he had been
a successful contractor in former days. He was well
equipped to be president and rebuilder of LaGrange Female
College. 51

In a biography of Mr. Mayson, written by Dr. J. W.
Heidt for the Journal of the North Georgia Conference, a
worthy tribute is paid to a "fearless but tender man who was
imbued with power from on high." 5 ^

In part the tribute states:

The community was depressed by the results of the war
and almost without hope for the rehabilitation of the
college. Finding himself facing a forlorn condition,
and being under the two-fold responsibility of financial
agent and teacher, he heroically undertook the task, and
in less than four years, had reorganized the college
system, greatly increased the patronage, raised ten
thousand dollars on the building fund, and did so much
towards the completion of the principal building, that
he moved the classes into it and began its use for all
the purposes of the institution, making its future com-
pletion and enlargement a matter of comparative ease.

3 X LaGran,g;e Reporter . July 17, 1879, p. 1.

5 ^J. W. Heidt, "A Memoir to Reverend James R. Mayson,"
Ye ar Book and Minutes of the Twenty-seventh Session of the
North Georgia Conference , held in court house, Gainesville,
Georgia, November 20 - December 5, 1893, pp. 14-15.

61

It has often and justly been said that to him more than
to any other, the LaGrange Female College owes its new
life, and further, that he was perhaps the only man
within the reach of the church at that time who could
have done so much for that institution. He deserves to
be remembered, not only in records and resolutions, but
also in imposing marble or stone, solumnly reared on the
ample college grounds.

His active life covered a period of more than forty
years and was given to the good of men. Whether as a
teacher or a preacher, his labors were unceasing in
training the immortal mind and leading the soul to God.
His endowments for these high callings were rare, and
his success in them was conspicuous. In the school-
room he was kind, sympathetic, conscientious, pains-
taking. He had the power to impart, and his pupils
became scholars. 53

On his arrival in LaGrange Mr. Mayson found the
boarding house habitable, but nothing was left of the main
building except bare walls which had been exposed to the
weather for thirteen years. His plans were soon formed and
when he presented them to the trustees, they were so
impressed with their extreme practicability that their
enthusiasm made it comparatively easy to obtain by subscrip-
tion funds necessary to accomplish the task.^

All debts against the institution had been paid, and
the money raised was paid directly on the new building.
Work was begun early in March, 1875. The completion was not
all attempted at once, but when one part was completed, and

Loc . cit .

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College . 1879-80, p. 27.

the subscription exhausted, another was obtained and another

part completed. 3

At the end of Mr. Mayson's first year as President of

the College, he made a report of several pages to the

trustees of his accomplishments. It states in part:

When I came to LaGrange the Board turned the college
over to me, free of rent, allowing me to employ my own
teachers, manage the internal interest of the school to
suit myself, simply requiring of me success. You are
now the judge of whether I have met the demand. If you
think so, I am willing to continue upon the same terms
for the present; if not speak out and I am ready to give
place to another and resume my work in the Conference, a
work dear to ray heart. . . .

That the trustees were well pleased with Mr. Mayson's

success was shown by his unanimous re-election and by the

resolution entered in the Journal, June 16, 1876:

Resolved that when the chapel of the LaGrange Female
College shall be plastered, a marble tablet with suit-
able and appropriate inscription shall be placed in the
wall in honor of President James R. May son who has
labored so efficiently in rebuilding the college.
Unanimously passed. 57

In the midst of general depression and business

prostration resulting from the war, Mr. Mayson raised

$10,000, principally from citizens of LaGrange, with x^hich

he completed the College and the College Home.

^Loc . ext.

Journal, p. 314.

57 Ibid., p. 309.
58

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College . 1881-82, p. 25,

63

In the catalogue for 1876-77, Mr. Mayson and the
Board of Trustees proudly announced the incredulous accom-
plishments and bright prospects of the College. Among the
reasons given why young ladies should attend the College was

the location:

LaGrange is located seventy-one miles southwest of
Atlanta on the Atlanta and West Point Railroad. . . .
Many girls have been sent so far North to be educated,
that their constitutions have been completely broken
down by the severity of the climate, and they have
returned home confirmed invalids, subject to attacks of
acute rheumatism, etc. Others have gone so far South as
to fall into malarial regions, and their health has been
undermined by chills and fever. We are located above
the Pine Mountain range upon a high rolling country, and
there are not liable to suffer from either of these
dangers. LaGrange has been recognized as an educational
center for many years. It is true her schools were
destroyed by fire, and the country devastated by war;
but we rejoice to know that she is fast regaining her
former proud position in this respect. . . .

The college is located on a high eminence overlooking
the city of LaGrange and the surrounding country, remote
from the stir of the city, and yet sufficiently near the
church and the conveniences of business. 59

The catalogue also described the buildings so recently

completed thus :

One of the buildings is of brick, the other of brick
and stone, both with tin roofs. The main building is 60
by 120 feet, two stories high. In it there are four
recitation rooms 25 by 50 feet, separated by wide halls
crossing each other in the center thereby affording
free circulation of air and perfect ventilation. On the
second floor there is a magnificent chapel 60 by 100
feet with capacity to hold 1500 persons. Back of the
stage are four music rooms, and one for the ornamental

59

Ibid . . 1876-77, p. 12.

:

department, the Irenian hall, library and reading rooms,
making altogether one of the most capacious and well
arranged "buildings for school purposes in the South.
The Boarding-House is fifty by ninety fee, two stories
high, with rooms eighteen feet square, all opening into
side halls , thereby giving easy egress in case of acci-
dent. This department is under the immediate supervi-
sion of the President and his lady.^

The fall term began the third Wednesday in August,

l8T6, and closed Friday before Christmas. The spring term

opened the second Wednesday in January, 1877, and Commence-

6l

ment Day was the second Wednesday in June. That year

there were eighty-seven students enrolled : U:

Seniors 6 Preparatory .... 10

Juniors 11 Primary 23

Sophomores 15 Irregular k

First 18 Total 87

The primary and preparatory departments included boys
and girls of LaGrange, as there were no public schools.
Since 1831, many of the women of LaGrange have received
their entire formal education at this institution. Comple-
tion tion of the following courses of study for the six classes
was required for graduation:

PRIMARY CLASS

Orthography . Webster

Reading .. Sterling's Readers

Arithmetic (mental) Robinson

Geography (commenced) Cornell

Penmanship Spencerian System

60

Loc . cit .

61

Loc . cit .

62

Ibid . , p. 11.

PREPARATORY CLASS

Orthography Sainton's Word Primer

Arithmetic (through fractions) Robinson

Geography (continued) Cornell

Penmanship Spencerian System

Reading Sterling's

English Grammar Smith

First Class

English Composition Quackenbos

Arithmetic (completed) Robinson

Geography (completed) ....... Cornell

Latin (commenced) .... Bullions' Grammar and Reader

Algebra (commenced) Robinson

French (optional) Pasquelle

Physiology Cutter

History of the United States Derry

SOPHOMORE CLASS

Rhetoric Quackenbos

Algebra (completed) Robinson

Geometry (commenced) ..... Robinson

Latin Grammar and Caesar

French (optional) Fasquelle

Familiar Science ... .... Peterson

Botany Gray

History of England .... .Anderson

JUNIOR CLASS

Moral Philosophy Haven

Natural Philosophy Wells

Geometry (completed) Robinson

Trigonometry (plane) ...... Robinson

Latin Virgil

French (optional) ...... Telemaque

Chemistry (commenced) Steele

History Taylor's Manual

Domestic Economy .. .Beecher

....

Z..IL .?a

raiqoeolx

. . .

66

SENIOR CLASS

Spherical Trigonometry and Conic

Sections Robinson

Geology Dana

Latin , Cicero and Horace

French (optional) ..... (Languellier et monsanto,

( Mme. de Sevigne

Physical Geography Cornell

Mental Philosophy Haven

Logic .................... Hedge

Evidences of Christianity Alexander

Chemistry (completed) Steele ^

Astronomy .. Robinson

Physical education was not listed in the course of

study but a mild form of calisthenics was required because:

"A sound mind in a sound body," is an old maxim, none
the less desirable on account of age. To secure this we
have a most accomplished teacher in this department, who
gives daily instruction in the use of the wantds , rings
and dumb bells, free of charge. The muscular develop-
ment in her pupils has been most gratifying to their
parents. Many who have been sent to us almost deformed
by careless carriage, etc., have by constant drilling
been made erect, and their muscular power so developed
so as to give them a power of endurance almost wonderful.
These exercises are all conducted by music, the time must
therefore be perfect, giving the class the additional
advantage of training in time.6U

In the earlier years of the College there had been

two literary societies, as was the case in most colleges at

that time. However, Mr. Mayson believed that they encouraged

rivalry which generated bitterness among the girls, and he

hoped to avoid that by having only one. The Irenian Literary

63

Ibid . , p. 14.

6k

Ibid. , p. 15.

,

nosnxcfoH -.Trfonoi^BA

:

:

-

+*X ,q , .bid

67

Society, which was organized, met every Friday afternoon,
and the exercises consisted of readings, perusals, recita-
tions, essays, etc., in which every girl took part. This

group of young ladies also collected a librarv for the
65

school.

In the fall of 1878 the Irenian Society began pub-
lishing a paper monthly, entitled "The Irenian Casket." It
was greatly admired by the subscribers and complimented by
the press. It also gave the students a knowledge of journal-
ism which they could not have obtained in any other way.
They charged only fifty cents per year for each subscription,
with which they paid all expenses for printing, etc., and
used all profits for improving the society library. They
solicited help from all their friends to contribute books,
old or new, "if they are solid, and proper for young ladies

to read." Trashy novels were not allowed a Dlace in the
66

collection.

In regard to dress, neatness and economy were taught
as an essential element of good education. Uniforms were
not required. Calico of any color or texture with white

aprons during the week, and one or two nice dresses for the

67

Sabbath were all they needed.

65

Loc. cit.

66

Ibid., 1879-80, p. 17.
Ibid. , 1878-79, p. 18

68

Pupils were not allowed to contract any debts under
any circumstances, except by permission of the President.
Patrons were urged not to furnish their daughters with much
money, except for necessities, and not to allow them to run
accounts with merchants in LaGrange.^

In the 18T8-T9 catalogue, Mr. Mayson suggested that
patrons refer to the curriculum and see the thorough grade
of scholarship required of the pupils. He also assured them
that the committee of educated members sent annually by the
North Georgia Conference to examine the proficiency of the

pupils and general condition of the institution was a very

+ . 69
conscientious group.

The examining committee sent by the Conference in

June, 1879 reported:

The examination was conducted in writing. The papers
submitted to the committee were carefully and minutely
considered. The questions on the various branches of
study took a wide range and were calculated to test
severely the scholarship of each student. To say that
we were pleased with the result would be using too mild
a term. We are surprised and gratified at the abundant
evidence these papers afforded of close study, habits
of industry, and successful cultivations of the powers
of reasoning and analysis. The marked individuality of
thought and originality of expression were especially
noticeable. Those girls had evidently been trained to
think for themselves, rely upon their own resources, and
what is of equal importance, to write intelligently what
they had learned. We also gave close attention to the

68

Ibid . , p. 19

69

Ibid. , p. 2k

-

69

public exercises of the commencement and the general
behavior of the students. The expectations justified by
their papers were not disappointed by their performances.
The entire occasion deeply impressed us with the fitness
of President Mays on and his assistants, for their
responsible and delicate duties.

We beg leave to refer briefly to the material condi-
tion of this college. What was a few years ago a mass
of weather-beaten unfinished walls, is now a magnificent,
imposing structure, fitted in every way for its purpose.
It was then bowed beneath a load of debt; now it is out
of debt, with means in hand to complete the work. A
splendid apparatus will, in the near future, assist the
faculty in elucidating the mysteries and beauties of
nature's arcana. For this happy condition of affairs,
the conference is due President Mays on. and the Board of
Trustees, a debt of gratitude which can only be dis-
charged by hearty support and liberal patronage.

The location of this, the only college this Confer-
ence owns, is a very happy one. LaGrange is a beautiful
city, noted for its pure air and salubrious climate, as
well as for its refined society. The religious atmos-
phere of the college is decided ajid refreshing. The
future of this institution is very encouraging. To her

complete success we ask you to join in our hearty
TO

amen. ,u

At the commencement in 1879 , an appeal was made to

the audience by REv. W.H. Potter, D.D. , for means to give

the finishing touches to the buildings. This was the first

time a collection had ever been taken at commencement, but

it was so successful that the money necessary for completion

71

of the work was soon raised.

Friends and visitors of the College for the first
time were astonished to find buildings which compared with

70

Ibid. , p. 23.

71

Ibid., 1879-80, p. 27.

the largest and most richly endowed in the State. They had
thought it was in a class with many other institutions
called female colleges. They were also surprised at the
high course of study and the thoroughness of its mastery by
the students.

The College Home, which was managed by Mr. Mays on and
his accomplished wife, was a Christian home where, as near
as possible, all who lived in it constituted a family whose
physical, mental, and spiritual needs were met. ' 2

The bedrooms in the boarding home were large and
comfortable, furnished with two double beds, a dresser with
four drawers (one for each of the inmates), a washstand,
table, and a folding screen. Each of the four girls in the
room furnished one pair of blankets or comforts, one pair of
sheets, one pair of pillow cases, one coverlet or spread, and
one-half dozen towels. The young ladies were expected to
keep their rooms in perfect order, though chambermaids did
the drudgery. The matron inspected the rooms daily, and at
the close of the term gave a $5 prize to the girl who kept
the neatest and most orderly room.^

Miss Jessie Boykin, one of four sisters to graduate
at LaGrange Female College, told the writer the following
story about her sister Sallie who graduated in 1879, and

? 2

Ibid. , p. 28.

73

Ibid . , p. 20.

71

later became Mrs. Cary:

On the first day of April it was the custom of the
college girls to celebrate April Fool's Day by running
away. Sallie decided upon a novel way to wake up the
crowd at a very early hour, before the college authori-
ties were up to check their plans. Sleeping in a second
story room with a front window she pulled her bed near
the window and tied a string to her toe. The string was
dropped out of the window, and some of the boys in town
had promised to slip up The Hill before daylight and
pull the string to wake her, then she was to wake the
other girls. However, a pet goat, which stayed around
the College Home, discovered the string long before the
boys arrived, and chewing on it yanked Sallie 's toe.
She arose immediately and waked the other girls. All
were soon dressed and ready to go, but they had a long
wait before day break, when they could see how to slip
out and be off on their All Fool's Day adventure.

Another of the Boykin sisters, Alice, graduated in
1882 and later became Mrs. Millard F. McClendon, mistress of
the historic Ben Hill home. She was a loyal alumna and
made many outstanding contributions to the College. She and
Mr. McClendon were the donors of the famous Ben Hill gate
posts that stand at the main entrance to The Hill.

These gate posts add sentimental as well as artistic
interest to the College. They once held heavy iron gates
which guarded the entrance to the estate of Benjamin Harvey
Hill, senator, statesman, and Southern hero, also a former
frxend and trustee of the institution for many years. Iy

Ik

Miss Jessie Boykin, 311 Vernon Street, LaC-range,

Georgia.

Louxse Heath, Historic Gate Posts at College,
LaGrange Daily News , October 8, 1931, p. 5.

Jefferson Davis passed through these gates when he
sought refuge in the Ben Hill Home as the Confederacy
tottered, girls tripped through them in the picturesque
costumes of the early 1830 's and Uo's when they
"boarded" in the historic home and attended the LaGrange
Female Institute.

In September, 1879, the College opened with the
finishing touches safely on. The main building was one of
gracious, dignified lines, with ample classrooms, wide, cool
corridors , and a chapel that was at that time the largest
audience hall in Georgia. Behind it, across the green
quadrangle, on the very top of the hill stood the dormitory,
a beautiful temple-like building, with four large columns
across the front. These columns have for several genera-
tions been called with whimsical affection, Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John. The grounds had been newly graded, terraced,
and adorned with beautiful white picket fence, replacing the

picturesque old rail fence, which with morning glories had

77

long enclosed the college property.

Realizing that many more girls would have attended

the College if finances had permitted, the Board of Trustees

met June 20, 1878, and resolved that:

Knowing the inability of our people generally to
educate their daughters beyond the primary school, we
propose to raise for the LaGrange Female College an
endowment fund of one hundred thousand dollars, the

76

Loc . cit .

77

Benson, op . cit . , p. 29.

interest of which alone shall he used in hoarding and
educating young ladies whose parents cannot educate
them. 78

Mr. Mayson and the trustees worked diligently to get

an endowment fund of one thousand dollars started but it

79

was many years later before their dream was realized.

After six years of prosperous labor and success in
rebuilding the College, Mr. Mayson resigned his position as
president, in order to return to the pastorate. The
trustees then elected the Rev. John W. Heidt, D.D., who
left the largest pastoral charge in the North Georgia Con-
ference to assume his new duties in July, l88l.^

Dr. Heidt was a graduate of Emory College, a young

lawyer in Savannah, and Solicitor-General of his circuit

when he entered the ministry and the North Georgia Conference

in 1866. It was said that he was genial in manner, ready in

speech, unfailing in reason, and almost infinite in patience.

8l

Few men were loved more than he.

Dr. Heidt began his administration with an entirely
new faculty of twelve teachers. During his presidency many

78

Journal, p. 351.

79

Ibid., pp. 351 ff.

80

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1881-82 , p. 25.

81

George C. Smith, The History of Georgia Methodism
from 1786 to 1866 (Atlanta; A.B. Caldwell, Publisher, 1913),
P. 335.

improvements were made in the buildings and equipment. The
course of study was advanced particularly in the department
of religious education. The Music and Art Departments were
outstanding, as they had always been. Elocution was a
course required of all juniors and seniors. The degrees
A.B. , B.S., and A.M. could be obtained by completing the
required courses.

The Alumnae of the College held an annual meeting to
revive associations of the past and to contribute as far as
possible to the prosperity of the Alma Mater.

As an incentive to higher scholarship, prize medals
were offered for excellence in elocution, vocal music,
instrumental music, essay writing, pronunciations of French,
and for the highest general average. ^

Although expenses were somewhat higher than before
the war, two hundred sixty dollars covered the cost of
board, washing, light, fuel; Literary, French, and music
tuition with use of piano and incidentals for the scholastic
year. No charge for tuition was made against daughters of

Or

clergymen living by the ministry.

82

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1881-82 , p. 5

83

Loc . cit .

^ Slbid . , p . 16 .

^Ibid. , p. l8.

Dr. Heidt served faithfully and efficiently for four
years, during which time the patronage of the school in-
creased to such an extent that dormitory space was inade-
quate. All dormitory rooms were filled and three rooms
were made by closing ends of large halls. 00 Th e insurance

87

on the buildings was increased to twelve thousand dollars.

The outlook is not very flattering. Endowed colleges
are growing in favor with patrons because of their ample
equipment, and our rigid discipline and high grade of
scholarship will rule some pupils out, but we will not
lack in true attractions nor fail in labor. 88

The main topic of discussion at every Board meeting
from June, 1833, to 1885 , was the need for more rooms, con-
veniences, equipment, repairs, etc., and of their unsuccess-
ful efforts to raise sufficient funds. 89 In Dr. Heidt' s
report to the trustees June 6, I885 , he stated that the
future of the College depended much more upon enlargement
of the College Home and a few conveniences than on an endow-
ment fund. 90 He realized his failure as a business manager

86

Journal, p. ^50.

8T Ibid . , p. k5h.

88 .

Ibid . , p. U53.

89 Ibid . , pp. U50 ff.
90

Ibid. , p. U76.

but was proud of the religious influence of the College on

the young ladies. He wrote in the Journal:

Nearly every pupil is a member of some branch of the
Christian Church, and has a conscious experience of
religion. In the college home all are members without
exception. Each member of the graduating class is a
member of the church. 91

Two projects which Dr. Heidt especially hoped to

accomplish were the addition of a wing to the dormitory and

92

the installation of a plumbing system. While the funds
were being sought, he resigned, suggesting as his successor
Professor Rufus Wright Smith, who was at that time president
of the Dalton Female Academy in Dalton, Georgia. 93

Loc . cit .

92

Journal, p. 453.

93

Ibid . , p. 516.

CHAPTER V

THE DAYS OF UNCLE RUFUS
(The Smith Regime, 1885-1915)

When Mr. Smith accepted the presidency of the LaGrange
Female College, the longest and most constructive period in
its history began. The Smith regime, affectionately referred
to as "The Days of Uncle Rufus" by those who knew him best,
began in July, 1885, and continued until his death, on
January 2, 1915; after which his son, Alwyn M. Smith,
assumed the duties of president until the end of the term.
During this thirty-year regime many additions and improve-
ments were made in the course of study, the buildings, and
the equipment. Also, a broadening of purpose and quickening
of the spirit of the institution was soon evident.-'- v/hen
Mr. Smith became president, the number of boarding students
had dwindled to seven. In less than ten years there were
two hundred and forty. 2

Among the most prominent civic, cultural, social, and
religious leaders of the South today, there are numbers of

1

Margaret Edmondson, "LaGrange College Enters 108th
Year of Educational Progess ," The LaGrange Daily Hews ,
October 18, 1938, p. k.

2.

Memoirs of Georgia , Historical and Biographical ,
Vol. II (Atlanta: The Southern Historical Association, 1895),
p. 929.

-

t

78

alumnae of that era, though many more have made their con-
tributions and passed on.

In order to get a true picture of this period, it is

necessary to know something of Mr. Smith and his remarkable

and talented family who comprised the majority of the

faculty for many years. A memorial of Rufus Wright Smith,

printed for LaGrange College, not only eulogizes Mr. Smith,

but also gives many interesting facts about his life, as

shown in the following excerpts :

Rufus W. Smith, for more than half a century one of
the great educators of Georgia, and for nearly a third
of a century President of LaGrange Female College, was
born in Greene County, Georgia, March H, 1835 .

He graduated in 1856 with first honors of his class
at Emory College, and received several other prizes for
excellence in his work. In 1873, Emory College gave
him the degree of Master of Arts. . . .3

Professor Smith first taught in Atlanta, and from
there he went to Barnesville, then to Sparta, and during
the unsettled years after the War between the States he
taught and farmed near his old home in Greene County.
Duping the war he became First Lieutenant of the Hancock
Rifles, but was detailed shortly afterward by Governor
Brown to the Griffin Relief Association, which work he
kept up after the war was over, in providing for the
returning soldiers so that they could reach their homes
more easily.

A Memorial of Rufus Wright Smith , Bulletin (LaGrange
Georgia: Billinghust-Randall Printing Company, February,
1915), p. k.

-

....

79

Coming from a family of teachers Mr. Smith returned
to his chosen profession as soon as possible. In the
early seventies he became head of the preparatory school
of Emory College; from there he went as President of the
Dalton Female College, and then became President of
LaC-range Female College in the summer of I885. In addi-
tion to his personal and untiring service he contributed
more than forty thousand dollars to this institution. h

"Professor Rufus" as he was known in his earlier
days , and "Uncle Rufus" as he was known in the latter
years of life was in many respects the most unique
character, and striking personality of his state. . . .
He was not eccentric, but in his individuality he stood
out and apart from his fellows .... There was not
about him the semblance of the affected or artificial.
The cast of his mind was philosophical; he sought to
know the cause of that which he saw and of that which he
knew. Without exaggeration he has been likened to
Socrates. If the great Grecian and this great Georgian
had lived in the same community, they would have been
congenial and intimate friends, each contributing in his
own way to the pleasure of the other, and both rejoicing
in the search and discovery of truth. 5

Mr. Smith delighted many different audiences in
Georgia on various occasions. He always had something to
say and knew how to say it. His clear statements^ apt
illustrations, epigrams, and brilliant flashes of wit made him
a charming speaker.^

As a teacher, his methods were his own. He seemed to
put little emphasis on mere knowledge of texts, his chief

k

Loc . cit .
Ibid , p. 6.

Wesley an Christian Advocate, January o, 1915.

80

purpose being to develop faculties and to teach how to

study. He x/as a great teacher because first he was a great

Christian, a product of a Christian home, devoted to Jesus

Christ, loyal to his Church, but no bigot or partisan. His

work, whether as a teacher in the school, church, as a

7

steward, or visiting the sick, was well done.

In eulogizing Mr. Smith, his wife must not be over-
looked since she was in her own way as much a power in the
building of LaGrange College as was her husband.

On December 2, 1856, soon after Mr. Smith's graduation
from Emory College, he married a member of the faculty, Miss
Oreon Mann, daughter of the Rev. Jeremiah D. and Mary
(Jernigan) Mann. She was a brilliant and gifted woman who
did many things well, a splendid mother and housekeeper and
a capable teacher of many subjects, among which physiology
and astronomy were her favorites. She was also an excellent
writer. Her interesting and romantic novel , The rlovice , was
published in I89U. Kirs. Smith had studied medicine, and was
the "College Physician" in most cases of illness among the
girls during her lifetime here. She filled most of her own
prescriptions and some of them continued to be sold in a
local drug store several years after her death. There was a

Loc. cit.

81

great demand for her "Composition Tea," which was good for
nearly all "ailments."

Her grandson, Paul Smith, who was "brought up in the
College Home and received his early education in the Primary
Department of LaGrange Female College, told the writer many
interesting incidents of his life there and about his grand-
parents as :

Grandma was a Spartan, never yielding to any physical
weakness of her own and having little sympathy for
chronic complainers, though she was ready at all times
to help people in real sickness and trouble. She was
also a fearless and typical "Rebel." On one occasion
when Grandpa bought a History of the United States, she
read it, and on every page where any reflection was made
against the South or anything complimentary was stated
about the North, she wrote in all the margins, "Lies,
lies all lies I" and returned the book to the publisher.
Her favorite word, when she opposed anything, was
"Pshaw, Aw, Pshaw." She was very stern and though the
girls respected her, they never felt as close to her as
they did to Grandpa, who was always so gentle with them.
Many of those who knew him best say that if only one
word could be used to describe him, that word would be
"gentlemess." He seldom felt it necessary to reprimand
any one. Rather he seemed to inspire them to want to do
their best. Many of the girls were a long way from home
and did not see their parents until the end of the term.
If Grandpa saw one weeping because of home sickenss, he
would say, "Cry on, Sissie, I wouldn't give a hill of
beans for a girl who doesn't cry when she leaves
mother."

One of his favorite Bible quotations was "I'd rather
be a door keeper in the house of my God than to dwell
in the tentss of wickedness." He had a very keen sense

Information furnished by Mrs. Paul Smith, wife of a
"ferandson of Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Smith, a former teacher of
LaGrage college, and close neighbor of the writer.

82

of humor and chuckled often, but was never heard to
laugh aloud. 9

His sayings to his graduating classes when he deli-
vered their diplomas were gems of wisdom and volumes of
philosophy, along right lines of living. On more than one
occasion he told them that his greatest desire had been to
develop in them traits of character which would make each of
them a "real help meet, not just a help eat." He also told
them that the three steps to greatness are: "den?/ yourself,
take up your cross, and follow Jesus." His life was a clear
indication that he practiced what he preached.^

Although a book could be written about the contribu-
tions of each of the children of Rufus W. and Mrs. Smith, a
short sketch in the Memoirs of Georgia , in l895 showed that
they were well on their way in lives of outstanding leader-
ship:

Eight children blessed their union: Euler B. , pro-
fessor of English in the LaGrange Female College,
possesses rare classical and lignuistic attainments, has
acquired distinction in Texas as a teacher and besides
his profound knowledge of English and Latin, has mastered
the Spanish language during a year's residence in
Mexico; Cecil H. , a lawyer in Sherman, Texas, for many
years county attorney; Hubert M., professor, literary
department, LaGrange Female College; Clifford L.,

Statement by Mr. Paul Smith, grandson of "Uncle
Rufus" and son of Mr. Euler B. Smith.

10 Statements by Mrs. A.H. Thompson (nee Mary Will
Cleaveland, Class 1898), 201 Hill Street, LaGrange, Georgia.

83

principal high school, LaGrange (for six years teacher
of Natural Science in the college); Leon P., professor
of Latin and Chemistry; Maidee, teacher of instrumental
music; Claire L. , also teacher of music. Alwyn M. ,
vocal director, spent fifteen years and thousands of
dollars to acquire proficiency, and his wife, the former
Laura B. Crain, also a teacher, took second honor at the
Boston Conservatory. Both were graduates of the Leipzig
Conservatory of Music and were instrumental in placing
the department of music upon a high plane of excellence.
Euler B. has been president of the Georgia Teacher's
Association, and his wife teaches Geometry. The follow-
ing orthographical triumph stands to the professor's
credit: At a spelling match in LaGrange, a word was
given out from Webster's Blue Back Speller; he did not
follow its orthography and was called out. He seated
himself under protest, afterward investigated the matter,
corresponded with the p ublishers , and since 1886, the
word has appeared as he spelled it. LaGrajige Female
College is now equipped equal to any in the state, is
located in a city of unsurpassed healthfulness , and under
the experienced educators as President and Mrs. Smith,
aided by a family of such wonderfully endowed children
and other excellent teachers, cannot be achieve the very
highest success. 11

Mrs. Paul Smith, a daughter-in-law of Mir. Euler B.,

said of him:

He was the best informed, the most polite, and the
most modest person I have ever known. He had a wonder-
ful way all his own, of imparting knowledge without
embarrassing anyone. 12

A short biography found on the first pages of the

History of Troup County, published in 1935 and from which

the writer has quoted many times , gives some interesting

facts about its author, Clifford L. Smith:

' Memoirs of Georgia , op . cit . , p. 929.
Mrs. Paul Smith, op . cit .

Clifford Lewis Smith, the fifth child of Rufus Wright
and Oreon Mann Smith, was born in Greene County, Georgia,
March 25, I867. He came of a family of artists and
educators. April 2, 1893, he was married to Miss Pearl
Long (Miss Pearl Long, A.B. , 1891, LaGrange Female
College. Catalog 1908, p. 9) of Greenwood, Florida,
whose genius and culture have been an inspiration to
him. After attending Emory College and Chicago Univer-
sity, he selected teaching as a profession and taught
several years in LaGrange Female College. When LaGrange
established a public school system, he was elected
superintendent of the schools and held the position for
fourteen years.

It is said by those who know that Professor Smith is
the most versatile man in this section of the state. He
has no particular hobby, but takes a delight in solving
problems in higher mathematics. He has mastered
chemistry and physics. He is an authority on subjects
pertaining to botany and astronomy. He is a master in
mechanics. He is a musician and knows the technique of
music. He speaks French, reads Latin and Greek, and
understands some German, Italian and Spanish.

A distinct honor came to Mr. Smith in 1908. He was
one of a number of American teachers invited by the
teachers of Great Britain to visit the school systems of
England, Scotland and Ireland. He made an extended trip
to those countries and on his return wrote a report to
the American Civic Federation under whose auspices the
visit was made. This report relating to these schools
and the educational systems was given the title of
"Views and Values." He has written a number of
treatises on different subjects, among them, Trees and
Birds of Troup County.

Professor Smith is a most pleasing conversationalist.
He possesses a rare grace and charm of manner. He is
courteous, unpretentious, genial and efficient. He is
loved and respected by all who know him. He is a loyal
friend, a good neighbor, an upright citizen, a Christian
gentleman. Such is the author of the History of Troup
County. 13

J.H. Me Is on, "The Author," in History of Trout)
County, by Clifford L. Smith, on. cit. , p. iii

85

One of the first improvements made in the curriculum

by Professor Rufus was the establishment of a regular

Department of Education.. The Primary and Preparatory

Departments of the College were used for Observation and

Practice Teaching . The Catalogue of 1887-88 stated:

The time has come when the public realizes that
teaching is a profession, and those entering it must be
qualified. A call to teach is a call to prepare to
teach. The old school master was content with a know-
ledge of the "three R's"; the ideal modern teacher,
besides these must study the "three M's Mind, Matter,
and Method. "Ik

A Commercial Department was also added in 1897. The

course included bookkeeping, commercial arithmetic, business

correspondence, and a simple form of penmanship, doing away

with the many unnecessary, ornamental curls and flourishes

of the old Spencerian style. Every girl was required to

take bookkeeping, because Mr. Smith believed that every

housekeeper should know how to keep a correct account of her

income and expense. A successful business man wrote him:

I am glad to see you have a commercial department.
Our women know very little about the every day business
affairs of life. Many graduates can work out difficult
problems, and read Latin and French; but how many can
make out a post office money order, or tell the differ-
ence between a draft and a check? You are on the right
line. Teach your girls business. 15

Although the Music Department of the College had

always been outstanding, it was greatly improved under the

Ik

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1887-88 , p. 25.
^Ibid. , p. 26.

-

86

supervision of the Smiths. One proof of that fact was

evidenced by a gain of over 56 per cent the first year in

the number of students enrolled in that department. It

offered: Theory, History of Music, Piano-Forte, Violin,

Cornet, Organ, Sight Singing, and Voice Culture. The methods

of teaching these courses were those used by the best in-

l6

structors in America and European Conservatories.

A few Press Excerpts in the Appendix of the Catalogue

of 1887-88 will give an idea of the reputation of some of

the instructors of this period:

We reprint from the Wesleyan Christian Advocate an
article from the pen of Dr. Weyman K. Potter, its gifted
editor, concerning the outlook for the LaGrange Female
College. It is a deserved tribute to a school which
stands among the first. President Smith and wife are
assisted by an able faculty Professor Euler B. Smith,
whose capacity and success have given him a high posi-
tion among Southern educators; Mrs. Euler B. Smith, who
is a brilliant lady and a teacher without a superior in
her department; Miss Pond, the instrumental teacher,
whose past achievements are a guarantee that her work
will always be efficiently done, and the accomplished
Miss Witherspoon, one of the first young ladies and most
gifted vocalists in the South. With such a corps of
instructors there can be no failure. The college is
enjoying great prosperity. The boarding house is full
and the local patronage excellent. LaGrange Reporter ,
October 10, 1886.

Opelika, Ala., April 28, 1888. (Special) To say
that the LaGrange Female College Concert Company have
carried Opelika by storm but faintly expresses the high
appreciation Opelika has for the exquisite music
rendered by them at P.enfroe's Opera House on Friday-
evening. The singers all received rounds of applause.

16

Loc. cit

87

Miss Pauline Witherspoon was cheered to the echo, and
while she was singing a pin could have been heard to
fall, so enraptured were her auditors. The sweet, rich,
and full voice of Miss Jennie Evans was fully appreci-
ated. Alwyn Smith completed the trio of perfect
soloists. Miss Luella Pond as an instrumentalist cannot
be excelled. The vocal quartets and duets and instru-
mental pieces fully sustained the refutation of the
College as the peer of any institution in the South
Atlantic and Gulf States. Opelika extends a cordial
invitation to them to return at an early date and give
another one of their grand concerts , when we promise
them that standing room will be at a premium.
Montgomery Advertiser .

Prof. E.B. Smith, of the LaGrange (Ga. ) Female
College, is in our city on business connected with that
splendid institution. Mr. Smith is well known in Texas,
having been long connected with the Normal School at
Whitesboro, and has the reputation of being one of the
best Latin and English scholars in the State. He has a
thorough and practical knowledge of Spanish, having spent
a year in the educational centers of the sister Republic.
The magnificent institution he represents stands at the
head of the colleges of the South, and the teachers are
selected from amongst the best in the country. The art
and musical facilities are unmatched.

To those of our citizens who contemplate a finished
education for their daughters, there is no place within
our knowledge where it can be obtqined under more
favorable conditions than at the LaGrange Female
College. Corsic ana ( Texas ) Courier , September 2, 1887.

The feature of the exercises was the splendid music
furnished by Mr. Alwyn Smith and Miss Mai dee Smith, of
LaGrange Female College. Miss Smith presided at the
organ with grace and elegance, with her brother enter-
tained the audience from time to time with some of the
best vocal music ever rendered in North Georgia. Mr.
Alwyn Smith is a cultivated singer perhaps the best
vocalist in the State. Cherokee Advance , June 29, 1887,
Canton, Georgia.

Miss Laura B. Crain, whose home is in Brookfield,
Missouri , stood second in her class , and her diploma is
one of the best ever taken from the New England Con-
servatory. This young lady was a close student, and
during the years of study here has made many friends in
the Conservatory. Having the advantage of beauty and

88

culture on her side, together with remarkable talent,
she bids fair to become famous as a singer at no distant
day. Boston Transcript. 17

After reading these excerpts it should come as no
surprise that Miss Laura Crain was listed in the faculty of
1888-89 as Mrs. Alwyn M. Smith.

Special attention was called to the fact that all
teachers were liberally educated, enthusiastic, and esperi-
enced. Their vacations were not spent in "mere idle recre-
ation, but in studying matter and methods, thereby better

l8

preparing themselves for their suecial work."

Students were given monthly written examinations , and

at the end of each three months, a term examination, after

which a report was sent to the parents of each pupil. These

reports not only showed the quality of their academic work,

but also their church attendance which was a requirement of
19

equal importance. *

The two members of the Senior Class having the
highest average during their college course were appointed
by the Faculty to deliver the Valedictory and Salutatory
addresses at commencement. In the Junior Class the twelve

1T Ibid . , pp. 55-58.

18

Ibid . , p. 32.

19

^Report cards of Mrs. A.H. Thompson (nee Mary Will
Cleaveland, Class 1898).

89

young ladies having the highest class standing were appointed
to read original compositions , and in the Sophomore class ,
as many as ten young ladies could be selected to read or
recite extracts during the Commencement exercises. Medals
were awarded several pupils each year for Excellence in
Elocution, Art, Voice, Piano, and Essay writing and reading. 2

Three regular courses of study were offered in the
literary department of the College, viz.: Classical,
scientific, and post graduate, leading to the degree of
B.A. , B.S., and M.A. Also, another year was added to the
preparatory department, making six instead of five grades. 21

In his report to the trustees on June 5, 1886, at the
close of his first year, Mr. Smith said that the College had
been greatly handicapped because of the rundown condition of
the College Home and the fact that no catalogue had been sent
out for the scholastic year 188U-85. The attendance had
dropped very low because it had been a slow process to notify
parents by letter of the claims of superiority of the insti-
tution. The local attendance was good, but the fall session
of 1885 had begun with only six young ladies in the College
Home. However, the spring term had ended with twenty-six
resident students and a number of pupils boarding in private

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1887-88 ,
pp. 33-3U.

21 Ibid., 1888-39, p. 3k.

homes in the city. Sixteen young ladies graduated and six

22

got certificates in June, 1886.

Citizens of LaGrange had subscribed about one hundred
dollars in amounts from ten cents to ten dollars. Some
repairs and painting had been done, but his list of addi-
tions and improvements which would have to be made for the
College to succeed was much larger. ^3

On June 6, 1887, in the Journal, he wrote:

A kitchen is a necessity. The one now being used is
in danger of being burned at any time. Twice during the
past year this unsightly building caught on fire, and
but for diligence and prompt action, it would have been
consumed, and probably would have caused the loss of the
boarding home also. Any feasible plan for enlargement
now will be worthy of the best thought of this intelli
gent Board 2h

On June 2U, 1887, the Board of Trustees agreed to

raise ten thousand dollars by issuing bonds and mortgaging

the collegeproperty. The proceeds were to be used to build

an annex on the south end of the College Home and make other

necessary additions and improvements on the buildings,

25

equipment , and grounds .

On June 27, 1887, the Board of Trustees leased* the
LaGrange Female College to Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Smith, for a

Journal, op_. cit . , p. 5^9.
' Loc . cit .
Ibid . , p. 560

' Ibid . , p. 576.

*Developed in greater detail later in the study.

91

period of twenty years. It was to be managed and controlled
by Mr. and Mrs. Smith but the contract was not to interfere
in any way with the relations existing between the College
and the North Georgia Conference of The Methodist Church
South, "and the children of preachers and their orphans
shall have the same privileges of free tuition as hereto-
fore." 26

On August 19, I887, the cornerstone to the Annex of
the College Home was laid by the Masonic Fraternity, Union
Lodge No. 28, and a program of vocal and instrumental music
was enjoyed most of the day. On August 23, the building
committee reported that work on the annex was progressing
rapidly and would be practically completed by September 15. 2 '

When school opened in September, 1888, the capacity
of the College Home had been doubled to comfortably accommodate
more than a hundred boarders. It was a handsome brick building,
50 x 160 feet, two stories high at one end and three at the
other, containing thirty rooms for boarders, parlors, reading
room, kitchen, store room, and a dining hall 30 x 60 feet.
The bedrooms were eighteen feet square with doors opening into
broad halls, and with two or more windows receiving air and sun-
shine from without. Water works had recently been installed,

26

Ibid., pp. 585-87-.
2T Ibid. , p. 591.

92

had recently been installed, and arrangements had been made

for electric lights to be furnished during the coming
28

season.

A great convenience to many local students who did

not stay in the College Home , but who walked to and from

school every day, was a street railway, which was laid in

1887 from the railroad station to Main Street, and from the

square down Broad Street by the College. In Mr. Clifford

Smith's History of Troup County , he told of an amusing

incident connected with it:

The vehicle of locomotion was a muledrawn car, which
was a great pleasure and convenience to the college
girls. On one occasion one of the students entered the
car while the driver was absent, probably in a flirta-
tion with some girl. The sagacious mule, deciding that
it was time for the return trip, started towards town with
the one passenger and no driver. The college hill had
not been graded at that time, and as there was no one to
apply the brakes, that student had a most thrilling ride,
until she and the mule were rescued on Court Square. 2 9

A cheerful note sounded in the minutes of the Board

of Trustees, when they met June 2, 1888. It was in part:

We feel that all the friends of the college have
great reason to "thank God and take courage." ... We
particularly rejoice in the fact as stated in the presi-
dent's report that "the financial condition of the
college is sound. "30

28

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1888-89 ,
pp. 1*2-1*3.

29 Clifford Smith, op_. cit . , p. 52.

30 ,
Journal, p. 609.

93

In the school year 1891-92 another wing 50' x 50' ,
three stories high, was added to the northern end of the
dormitory, in which were housed the infirmary, a gymnasium,
the prayer hall (where daily devotionals were held by the
pupils), and bedrooms. The entire building accommodated one
hundred and twenty- five boarders .

The installation of a magnificent pipe organ in the
chapel, the addition of several pianos and other musical
instruments to the music department, also books to the
library and typewriters to the commercial department were
noteworthy attainments of the lo90's.

The report of the Committee on Education of the
LaGrange Female College, to the North Georgia Conference in
1893 stated:

The President's report is interesting and suggestive.
As noted in the report of this committee last year,
Maj. W.S. Witham of Atlanta, Georgia, donated $10,000
for the education of dependent girls, conditioned upon
the raising of $5,000 by the friends of the college by
January, 1893. President Smith reports that this $5,000
was subscribed and the time of payment extended by
Mr. Witham to July, 189^, on account of financial
stringency. Two young ladies of high mark in scholar-
ship have already enjoyed the benefit of Mr. Witham' s
generosity.': All the friends of this school will unite
in a grateful return of thanks to this strong friend of
female education. This property is worth $80,000 and is
in good repair and perfectly adapted to its work. The
attendance the past year was as follows: Enrollment,
20h; boarders, 95; local pupils, 109; graduates, 31. The

31

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1892-93 , p. 39.

32

Benson, otj. cit.

9h

college is very essential to our church in Eastern
Alabama and Western Georgia. We beg for it an enlarged
place in your minds and hearts. 33

Mr. Witham's loan fund was established in honor of
Laura Haygood, a Missionary to China, and has been of in-
estimable value to the College and students , who could never
have obtained a college education -without such help. There
have always been more ap-plicatns for aid from the fund than
could be granted.

At the close of the nineteenth century, on the last

pages of the Journal, in which the minutes of the Board of

Trustees had been kept since January, 1857, is written:

We are pleased to note the administrative ability,
and efficient discipline system of our worthy President
and his most estimable wife, together with every member
of the faculty in the management of all the details of
the college. They each and all seem happily fitted for
their work, and we must congratulate the board of
trustees and the patrons on their good fortune in
securing the services of so able and efficient a corps
of educators.

We feel that we are not saying too much, when we
claim that the LaGrange Female College is the ;oeer of
any institution of learning in all our land. 35

Year Book and Minutes of the Twenty-seventh Session
of the North Ge or gi a Conference , op . cit . , p . 29 .

3U

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1900 ,

p. 22.

35 Journal, pp. 632-33.

95

It was a well-known fact that Mr. Smith was never
satisfied with the attainments of any pupil unless she was
or came to be a Christian while in the College. Not only
were daily devotionals held in the Prayer Hall, and Church

attendance required on Sunday, but Bible study was also a

36

required part of the curriculum.

One of the greatest contributive factors toward the

religious life of the girls was the establishment of the

Y.W.C.A. by Miss Maidee Smith, daughter of Uncle Rufus.

Just as LaGrange College is one of the oldest
colleges for women in America, so is its Y.W.C.A. one of
the oldest chapters in the South. It was a charter
member of what was first known as The Gulf States Divi-
sions of the International Y.W.C.A. of the United States
and Canada.

In June 1895, Miss Maidee Smith went as a delegate
from LaGrange College to the first conference for
southern students, which was held in Rogerville, Tennes-
see. She was deeply impressed by the consecration of
the association secretaries, the earnestness of the
Bible teachers , and the stimulating message brought by
the Missionaries.

Miss Maidee returned to LaGrange College with the
determination to organize a Y.W.C.A. on the campus. The
faculty and students were not enthusiastic about it at
first, but an association was organized with about 30
members. Gradually the influence of this new organiza-
tion began to be felt on the Campus , and by the next
year every teacher and student had become a member, and
a town division had been organized. LaGrange College
girls owe Miss Smith a debt of gratitude not only for
bringing this organization to the campus but for the
large support she gave to it through the years and the
high ideal exemplified each day in her life.

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1890-91 , p. 39.

The aims and ideals of the Y.W.C.A. were high. It
endeavored to help each student to live nobly; to efface
from her character narrowness and unkindness and to
cultivate those traits which would enable her to meet
bravely the challenges of life. It inspired in the life
of each girl ideals that tend to build a beautiful
character. The Y.W.C.A. emphasized physical and social
development, believing that both were necessary for
spiritual growth and Christian education.

More than anything else on the campus the Y.W.C.A.
draws the girls close together in the bonds of love and
friendship, and made them feel like one great happy
family. Every girl on the campus was a member. Its
work was planned by a cabinet composed of a president,
vice-president, secretary and treasurer. The president
of the student government association, the chairman of
committees, and their subchairman. Each member felt a
vital interest in the work because she had the privilege
of serving on one of these committees. The cabinet met
weekly in the attractive "Y" room. 37

The twentieth century began with an excellent enrollment

and the standard of the curriculum was as high as that of any

female college in the South. The entrance requirements and

those for receiving an A.B. degree were the same as those of

Emory, Mercer, and the University of Georgia. ^

For the sake of economy and to prevent any discontent
arising from disparity in dress, the girls were required to
wear a uniform on Sundays and other occasions which the
"Lady Principal" (Mrs. Rufus Smith) advocated. The uniform
during the fall and winter consisted of Oxford cap and gown

37

"Local Group Is One of the Oldest Y.W.C.A. Chapters,"
article in The LaGrange Dai ly Hews and Graphic Shuttle ,
October 8, 1931, p. 31.

38

Benson, op . cit . , p. 36

97

of black lustrine, which cost about eight dollars. In
spring the uniform -was a black skirt and white waist. For

everyday wear no uniform was required but parents were

39

requested to dress their daughters plainly.

Close supervision was exercised over the health of

boarding pupils, and parents were urged not to let their

daughters come home for frequent week end visits, and not

to send them boxes of eatables, such as sweetmeats, calces,

etc., since most sickness arose from such causes and the

fare of the College was ample.

The following list of regulations for boarding

pupils shows what was expected of the girls in 1900:

PUPILS MUST

Wear the College uniform.
Meet visitors only in reception room.
Contract no debts at stores or elsewhere.
Pay for damage done to College property.
Promptly report sickness to Lady Principal.
Arrange room before leaving in the morning.
Be neat in person.

Discontinue no study without permission of Faculty.
Promptly obey rising, prayer, study , and school bells.
Observe the Sabbath and attend Sunday-school and church,

PUPILS MUST WOT

Spend the night out of the College.
Communicate with young gentlemen.
Sit in windows, throw or converse therefrom.
Leave grounds without permission and escort.
Send or receive anything by means of day pupils.

39

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1900 , p. 23.

Uo T

Ibid., p. 26.

98

visit sick or exchange rooms without permission.
Leave playing pianos open or visit music or art rooms
without permission. hi

In spite of the various restrictions thrown around

the "Girls on The Hill," many of the best of them managed to

get by with things not on the approved list. Mrs. Frank

Davis, nee Annie M. Dunson, class 1903, gave two interesting

experiences in which she participated as follows:

A MIDNIGHT FEAST

There were many interesting and enjoyable experi-
ences ; for instance a box from home meant a Midnight
Feast, an after lights occasion, which brought together
all the special friends of the recipient , at least as
many as could sneak out of their rooms and not be caught
by the teacher who was keeping study hall.

There were many girls each year from the surrounding
counties and from Troup County itself, who visited home
about one week end every month, returning with products
from the farm suitable for the occasion. But woe unto
any girl caught attending those feats, for no visiting
was permitted after 10:30, and even before that hour
special permission must be obtained by any girl wishing
to leave her room for any cause. Uncle Rufus did not
encourage too frequent visiting and any girl wishing to
visit a roommate or friend over the week end must have
written permission from mother and father.

My roommates and I had stealthily taken part in a
number of these midnight occasions so we decided we
would have a feast with the Law behind us. VJe bearded
the Lion in his den, which at that time was the first
door on your right as you entered the dormitory. Uncle
Rufus listened to our plans and readily agreed that we
might have our party on Saturday night, even consenting
to an extra half-hour, but lights must be out at ten-
thirty.

hi

Ibid . , p # 2k

99

The guests were formally invited, the invitations
being egg shaped and hearing the following message:

"Mr. and Mrs. Biddie invite you to their nest
from eight until ten-thirty. P. B. Y. P. (Please
bring your pillow.)"

No one refused and all were on time. While the eggs
boiled, the coffee brewed, and the toast browned each
guest contributed to the entertainment with a song, a
story, and a funny joke, which was often a little risque.

The menu consisted of three dozen hard boiled eggs,
three gallons of very strong coffee, innumerable pieces
of toast buttered and browned under the grate on the ash
shovel, which was lined with brown paper. For dessert
fresh ginger cakes made by Miss Angle Smith, housekeeper
at that time, and who for some reason considered me as a
sort of protegee since she had always known my family.
She frequently invited me to her room downstairs and fed
me choice tidbits. The Biddy's party was an unqualified
success. The guests left promptly and in a few minutes
quiet reigned excent in our room. In restoring the
room to order we found a half gallon of coffee in the
urn which I had borrowed from Hiss Angie; also a few
eggs in the kettle, and almost a loaf of bread and
plenty of butter. Now no true college girl wastes any
food so we finished it off in short order. Then to bed,
but not to sleep. The clock struck one, two, three,
fourl By five we were slumbering peacefully.

The rising bell on Sunday rang at seven instead of
six. At seven-thirty all girls assembled in the Prayer
Hall for morning devotions and roll call. But on this
particular morning the girls in 22 slumbered on until a
loud knock on the door sounded and an equally loud voice
called out, "Mr. Smith says for you to come to the
Prayer Hall."

Imagine our embarrassment on entering to see every
eye on us and grinning from ear to ear at four of Mr.
Smith's model girls, caught on the "horn of a dilemma"
as it were. For on several occasions to those students
who flagrantly broke every rule in the book Mr. Smith
had referred them to us as examples to follow. However,
we later offered our apologies, which he accepted with a
broad grin and a gentle pat on my back.U2

k2

True story contributed by Mrs. Frank Davis, nee
Annie Margaret Duns on, Class 1903.

100

HALLOWEEN PRANKS

One Halloween night while most of the students were
attending a recital in the Prayer Hall, Allevia Tucker
and I met in the upstairs hall for a little visit.

It was such an auspicious occasion we decided that
we shouldn't resis assisting the spooks in their
Halloween revelries. Going to our rooms we each donned
a sheet covering all except our faces which we powdered
profusely with prepared chalk. Even a genuine spook
would have shivered at the sight. Allevia took the
annex while I started down the main aj|ll. At the far
end of the hall in what at that time was No. 16, a dim
light was shining thro 1 a slightly open door. Cautiously
and quietly I tiptoed down the hall and stepped .just
inside the partly open door. A classmate and friend,
Esty Askew was seated by the grate-fire with her feet
propped against the mantel. Her electric light, shaded
by a small red shade was also fastened against the mantel,
throwing an eerie light over the room.

As I continued to stand motionless the girl turned
her head and saw me. She rose as if jerked from her
chair and let out the most unearthly shriek I ever heard.

Immediately doors began to open and rapid footsteps
reached my ears. I grabbed my sheet up around my waist
and ran as if a banshee were after me. Unfortunately
there was a big hole in the carpet strip by the head of
the stairs and as I fled my heel caught in the hole and
I hit the floor like a ton of bricks. There was no time
to stop for injuries and once more in full flight I soon
reached my room. Here I shed my sheet and stuffed it
under the mattress , crawled in bed and covered up head
and ears.

While I shivered in the darkness some one opened the
door and said, "Quiet in here; only one person and she's
as leep . 11

For at least an hour I hugged the cover until things
quieted down, then I cautiously rose, put on night gown
and kimono and strode casually toward the bathroom,
passing a group of girls gathered under the electric
light and discussing the disturbance. They finished the
story.

101

Mrs. Smith had "braved the stairs and finally calmed
the hysterical girl, who insisted that she had seen a
ghost. Weeks afterward I finally told Estey that I was
her ghostly visitor, after swearing her to secrecy.

Allevia's experience was even more dramatic; she had
seen a light in a tecaher's room and quietly entered
only to find the teacher disrobed and taking a bath by
the fire. The ghost did not tarry and to this day
neither the teacher nor the ghost has revealed the
secret. h3

In May, 190U, the local Alumnae made a temporary
organization. As many of the Alumnae as could be located
were invited to attend. Many ante-bellum graduates as well
as those of later days were present. The welcome address
was delivered by Mrs. Alberta V. (Amos) Heard, of the Class
of 1853, who lived in LaGrange. Officers were elected for
the next year and since that time the association has held a
reunion each Commencement.^ Contributions from the Alumnae
have made many worthwhile improvements in the "buildings and
on the campus throughout the years.

Secret societies were not allowed, as it was believed
that they "tended toward extravagance and exclusiveness."^
There were two literary societies, the Irenian, established
during the early seventies, and the Mezzofantian, established

^ Loc . cit .

kk

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 190U-05 , p. 37.
Ibid . , p. 36.

102

in 1887. They met weekly and had exercises in readings,

debates, essays, criticisms, music, and practice in parlia-
mentary visages. One of the societies gave a public debate

U6

once each month on Saturday evening.

They also published the Oreon, a delightful little
magazine of about twenty- five pages, each month, for which
a subscription was one dollar per annum. The following copy
of the Index of the January, 1899, issue shows the versa-

once each month on Saturday evening.

tility of the subject matter:

Index^ T

Page

Literary Department

Why 1

Reading 1

Gerald's Reverts 3

The Fox Hunt k

Indian Springs on a Summer Afternoon ... 5

A Sketch 5

Fine Arts Department

Bach and Handel (continued) 7

Jenny Lind and the Dissipated Musician . . 10

Music 11

Pupils' Recital 11

Religious Department

Little Doors to Heaven 12

Another Year 12

The Sweet Singer 13

Christian Education ... ih

Editorial Department

Editorials ...... l6

Exchanges 17

Current Events 18

News 20

This and That 22

About the Alumnae 22

U6

Loc . cit .

1*7

Loc . cit .

103

Publishing this magazine not only gave the young
ladies valuable experiences in Journalism and self-expression,
but also served as a medium of interest between the school
and its many friends and patrons. It also kept the Alumnae
in touch with each other and brought many worthy contribu-
tions to the College from them.

One such news article was :

The Blance Drake Smith Memorial Fund has been estab-
lished at LaGrange Female College for the benefit of
dependent young ladies. The alumnae of the college and
all other friends to this benevolent enterprise can ,
become members by paying the annual dues of one dollar.

In 1906, Mrs. J.C. Davidson, of West Point, Georgia,

gave the sum of $1,000 as a loan fund in memory of her

deceased husband, Rev. J.C. Davison; and Mr. Hatton Lovejoy,

a prominent lawyer of LaGrange , agreed to give $50 annually

as an additional loan fund to students. In the meantime the

$10,000 donated by Mr. W.S. Witham in 1893 had increased to

over $22,000 and more than one hundred girls had received

help from the fund. 5

1 By this time the public schools were so well estab-
lished in LaGrange and over the State, that the College no

U8

Loc. ext.

,9 i

Ibid. , 1908, p. Ik.

Loc . cit .

50

longer conducted Grammar School grades , although a course
of study was offered in the Academy from the seventh through
the tenth grades. 51

The College had long been famous for its Music
Department and there were many young ladies who did not care
to get a literary degree, but wanted to specialize in Music,
Voice, Art, or Expression. They were classed as Irregular
or Special students, but were required to take enough
literary work to occupy their time. After completing the
desired course of study, they received certificates. 52

In the early years of the twentieth century the
College offered a wide range of choices in its course of
study , including Latin, German, Greek, French, and Spanish, 53
but the Music Department often granted more diplomas than
all the other departments combined. In 1898, thirteen
Bachelor of Arts, and fifteen Bachelor of Science degrees
were earned, while only two diplomas in Music and two in Art
were received. In 1909 eleven girls obtained diplomas in
Music, and only nine others graduated with Bachelor of Arts
degrees. 5^ These figures also showed a decline in attendance
at the College.

5I Tbid. , 1905, p. 11

52

Ibid . , p. 14.

53

Ibid., 1910, pp. 16-17.

Ibid., 1917-18, pp. 73-79.

105

Relatively few changes in course of study, general
rules, requirements, or expenses of the College are percept-
ible in the catalogues from 1900 until 1913. Then a
Department of Domestic Science and Domestic Art with a well
equipped laboratory was added. Exhibits from the department
made at the Troup County Fair in November, 1913, were
awarded two first prizes and nine second prizes. 55

The Business Department which had practically died
was given new life by a new teacher, Miss Dana Tatum, who
was also Secretary of the College.

The Bible Department was enlarged to include Religious
Education. It proposed to make the department a Training
School for Christian Workers, prepared to work in the
various activities of the modern church, including the
mission fields. ^

There was practically no increase in expenses for
tuition, board, laundry, lights, etc. from 1900 to 191^.

Expenses for the scholastic year 1911-12 were as
follows :

Board, Laundry, Lights, and Fuel $150.00

All rooms for two are at the rate of $5 per year
extra for each occupant, except the corner rooms for
two which are $10 per occupant extra, and rooms in
Hawkes Building, which are $15 per year extra.

"^November Bulletin, LaGrange College, 1913, p. 6.

56

Loc. cit.

106

Literary Tuition $50.00

Voice culture under Pr'of. Alwyn Smith 60.00

Voice culture under other instructors .... 50.00

Piano under any instructor 50.00

Pipe-Organ (with use of electric blower) . . . 72.00

The rate of Pipe-Organ includes use of
Organ for practice.

Harmony or Counterpoint in class 12.00

Harmony or Counterpoint private lessons ... 50.00

Use of piano for practice 10.00

Use of piano for extra time for each addi-
tional hour per day 5.00

Violin (students furnish their own instru-
ments) 50.00

Pencil, Charcoal or Crayon Drawing Uo.00

Pastel, Water Color, Oil or China Painting . .. 50.00

Expression for private pupil 50.00

Expresseion in class of four or five 20.00

Sight-Singing, Free-Hand Drawing, Theory,

Musical History Free" 5

In spite of the fact that each catalogue stated that
all fees must be paid by certain dates , "Uncle Rufus" was
never known to turn any girl away who really wanted an
education. He credited many, who promised but never paid
him, and allowed several girls, who either lived too far
away and could not afford to go home , or who had no homes ,
to stay in the dormitory with his family during Christmas
holidays and even through the summer vacations. Most of
these girls proved themselves worthy by canning fruits and
vegetables during the summer for winter consumption, and
doing what they could to earn their board, and show their
appreciation to "Uncle Rufus. "5^

57

Catalogue of LaC-range Female College , 1911-12 , p. 7.
^Information furnished by Mrs. Paul Smith, op. cit .

107

However, the financial condition of the College con-
tinued to grow more serious. Many repairs were needed on
both b uildings and a new dormitory was a necessity. Attend-
ance was on the decline. Girls who could afford to go to
endowed colleges which had more up-to-date living conditions
were doing so. 59

Finally, in 1910, the "building of the Harriet Hawkes
Memorial Hall was made possible by a donation of $10,000
from Mr. A.K. Hawkes in memory of his mother. The remaining
$^0,000 necessary to complete the building was secured
largely by public subscriptions. In the spring of 1911, the
dedication service took place, and at the same time, the old
College Home, which had been greatly improved, was formally
named the Oreon Smith Building in memory of Mrs. Rufus
Smith, who died in 1907.

The new Hawkes building was considered one of the
finest college buildings in the South. It is four stories
high, built of brick and walls in the southern side of the
court or quadrangle. At that time it contained the offices
of the President, Bookkeeper and Registrar, and Librarian,
each separate, a large library and reading room, two large
rooms used for Geology and Biology, and a reception room on

59

Information furnished by Mrs. Jennie Lou Covin
Wooding, LaGrange, Georgia, Class 1891.
60

Benson, op . cit . , p. 36.

108

the main floor. The lower floor was extra large and con-
tained one of the largest gymnasium rooms in the South,
adjoining a swimming pool which held thirty thousand gallons
of water, and had several shower baths and lockers. The
upper floors contained dormitory rooms for about eighty
students .^1

Even though the new building and improvements on the
old building increased the value of the college property
tremendously, it also increased the responsibility which was
beginning to weigh heavily upon "Uncle Rufus." In his
Report of LaGrange College to the North Georgia Conference
in 1913, he seemed to have a premonition that his days were
running out. He had leased the College from the Horth
Georgia Conference in 1887 for twenty years . The time had
not lapsed but he had renewed the lease in 1902 for twenty
years more, in order to cancel some old bonds and issue new
ones, whereby he could make necessary improvements.^

His report stated in part:

The president, with his resident family, consisting
of wife, two daughters and five sons, as lessees,
assumed the responsibility of fulfilling the conditions
of the lease. This lease was taken, not as a pleasing
privilege and happy chance to make money but as a

61

Catalgue of LaGrange Female College , 1912 , p. 12

Rufus W. Smith, Report of LaGrange College to
North Georgia Conference," November Bulletin , 1913, p. 2.

.

109

burdensome opportunity of the lessees to "build up the
College and help the church and the cause of Christian
Education. With this controlling motive, for meager
compensation less than was offered some of them else-
where the entire family gave their best efforts , for
many years of their best time and strength to the
accomplishment of this worthy task. Without this
cordial co-operation, this task would never have been
undertaken and could not have been accomplished.

Educated Christian motherhood is the best asset and
the most helpful agency the church has for Christianiz-
ing the world. LaGrange College, as a material asset
of the Conference, is easily worth $200,000. Read the
history of the College in the lives of its graduates and
estimate in dollars and cents, if you can, what has been
its moral and religious worth to the world. In propor-
tion to its patronage, it has in late years led all
schools of Southern Methodism in its contribution of
Christian workers in its mission fields.

The attendance the past session was a little off,
and the burden of financial stringency a little in-
creased. . . . The causes that affected the attendance
the past session only emphasize the importance of
bringing the college interest now in closer touch with the
Conference. Bishop Pierce, speaking in behalf of
Christian education, said, "To educate women surely is to
refine the world." The time has now come when the
gereat Worth Georgia Conference needs a refining Dlant
to be operated under her own patent right and process
for the benefit of her own Methodist constitutuency.
LaGrange College is logically that plant which is in
good running order, and can be easily secured and
operated to the satisfaction and benefit of all parties
concerned.

Twenty-nine years of service, including twenty-seven
years of burdensome lease obligations, seem sufficient
to .justify the hope of rendering an account of my
stewardship acceptable to the powers that be. . . .
The burden of increasing years, the increasing require-
ments and expenses in every line of operating a standard
grade college, as well a.s in every detail and need of
domestic service, make it wise and desirable by all

110

parties concerned that the lease be annulled and the
College be committed to closer and more responsible
relation to the Conference.

We ask your body to devise large plans for financing
the college. Give it right of way next Conference year
with your cordial, moral and financial support. You can
thus easily satisfy the ambition and fill with gratitude
the heart of the president and give to the North Georgia
Conference one of the best educational plants in
Southern Methodism. 3

In his report to the trustees in 191^ he spoke pro-
phetically of his own affairs, statin*? that "age and
prudence suggest that they should be settled soon."^ For
more than fifty-six years he had given to the world the best
that he had, through wise and loving guidance of the youth
of the Southland. One of his girls said of his passing:

Uncle Rufus spent his last day on earth just as he
would have chosen in active service. On Saturday
morning, January 2, 1915, he greeted his friends on the
streets of LaGrange with his usual smile. About two
o'clock that afternoon while taking a nap, he was
translated into heaven. 6 5

During the thirty year administration of Rufus W.

Smith the college property was nearly quadrupled in value,

and its curriculum was advanced to that of a standard

63

Ibid . , pp. 2-4.

6k

Annual Report of the President of LaGrange College
to the Board of Trustees, 19lU.

^Mrs. Gene Coven Farmer, A.B. , 1893.

Ill

college. After his sudden death, his son Alwyn M. Smith,

who was head of the Music Department, served as president

66

until the end of the term.

66

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1917-18 , p. 8.

CHAPTER VI
A NEW CENTURY WELL BEGUN
(1915-1938)

In May, 1915* Miss Daisy Davies, a former teacher in
the Atlanta School System, and a woman prominent in the
Methodist Church, was elected to succeed Mr. Smith. For
the next five years the LaGrange Female College had its
first and only woman president. It was rather an odd
coincidence that during this time the trustees were induced
to eliminate the word "Female" from the title of the school.
Since that time it has been called simply LaGrangeCollege
although it was several years later (August 6, 193*0, when

p

the Superior Court of Troup County made the name official.

Miss Davies, aristocratic and stately in appearance,
a good business woman, and a remarkable public speaker,
began her administration with faith and enthusiasm. 3 Like
her predecessors, she assumed the struggle for adequate

iiiSsie May Brought, "LaGrange College History Is a
Century of Progress," LaGrange Daily News , October 8,
1931, p. 2.

2

Catalogue of LaGrange College, 1936-37, pp. 10-11.

3

Sara Tatum Reed, a member of the faculty during
Miss Davies' administration, now a close neighbor of the
writer, furnished information.

113

financial support. The College was heavily in debt, wing a
floating debt of eighteen thousand dollars, a bonded debt of

over nineteen thousand dollars, and the added debt of seven

thousand dollars for equipment bought from the Smith estate.

The entire property needed repairs and equipment, and there

was not a penny in the treasury. Two thousand dollars had

k

to be borrowed to get the building in order.

At a meeting of the Board of Trustees on May 29,
1916, the president's salary was fixed at two thousand
dollars per annum. Also, a campaign committee, which in-
cluded Miss Davies and four members of the Board, was
appointed to make plans for soliciting donations and sub-
scriptions for the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, to
be used for the College, first for the indebtedness, then
for permanent improvements, and the residue for endowment.
The North Georgia conference was to be canvassed for the
purpose of raising this money. ^

The Committee met at the Piedmont Hotel in Atlanta,
June 15, 19l6, and resolved to raise fifty thousand dollars
instead of one hundred thousand as first suggested. The
city of LaGrange was to raise twenty- five thousand dollars,
and twenty-five thousand dollars was to be raised outside of
LaGrange.^

h

Report of the President to the Trustees, May 31, 1920.

Journal, Vol. II, p. 11.
Ibid. , p. lU.

nk

Other committees were appointed to advertise the

campaign in newspapers, window displays, in the catalogues,

in the movies, in the pulpit, and by any other means which

would help in the solicitation of subscriptions. Miss

Davies was authorized to spend any amount she considered

necessary for publicity to raise the fifty thousand, and in

the campaign for students for 19 17-18, the total sum not to

7

exceed twenty-three hundred dollars. '

The high cost of living due to World War I made it
necessary for Miss Davies to suggest an increase in board,
and tuition. The trustees agreed to leave that to her dis-
cretion. 8 The catalopxie for 1917-18 stated that the total
for board and tuition would be $272 for the year. In
1919-20, it was raised to $350.00, with several extra fees.

" In 1917, it was decided to gradually eliminate the
preparatory department and confine all teaching to college
work. The first year high school was eliminated in 1918.9

At a meeting of the Board on June 6, 1917, the status
of the Laura Hay good With am loan fund was discussed. The
total assets of the gift of $10,000 had grown to $Uo,021

Ibid . , p . 16 .
Ibid . , p. 18.
Ibid . , p . 19 .

115

(Assets minus notes $26,127.00). A committee of three
members drew up the following report:
Resolved:

By the Trustees of LaGrange Female College that the
sum of ten thousand dollars of the Laura Haygood-Witham
Loan Fund be retained in said Loan Fund; and that all of
said Fund in excess of ten thousand dollars be diverted
to an endowment fund for this college, to be known as
the Laura Haygood-Witham Endowment Fund. 10

The resolution was unanimously adopted and hopes of
the President and trustees were high that at last an endow-
ment fund was begun. However, they were again doomed to
disappointment. The financial strain of the entire country,
due to World War I, made it necessary to apply the money on
the debts of the College, and only the most urgent repairs
and improvements were made possible by small donations from
special friends. 11

After years of financial struggle, then it became

necessary for the Southern Female College in LaGrange (usually

referred to as The Baptist College) to close its doors in
12

1917. This made the citizens of LaGrange, who had been
the recipients of a cultural and educational heritage of
long standing, realize that if they were to continue to

Ibid . , p. 32.

11

Report of President for Year Ending May 31, 1920.
12 .

Clifford Smith, op_. cit . , p. 133.

116

enjoy the privileges afforded "by having a college in the

town, adequate funds would have to be raised. Its very

13

existence depended upon it.

A meeting of the Board of Trustees was held at the
Wesley Memorial Church in Atlanta on March 26, 1918. After
Miss Davies read her report, she was highly complimented for
her efficient management of the affairs of the College, and
re-elected President for the next three years. The trustees
also turned over all the uncollected "building notes to her,
and authorized her, with the assistance of her secretary, to
collect them, retaining 10 per cent of all collections made
for her services and expenses.

A portion of Miss Davies 1 Annual Report for 1918
shows that there were more than financial problems connected
with the College:

The year opened with one hundred twenty nine students.
In spite of six weeks of strict quarantine, several cases
of influenza developed and for weeks our work was diffi-
cult, though we did not lose a day. We had only fifteen
cases, none serious. Frightened parents sent for their
daughters, and some of them, having lost so much time,
did not return. Sickness and death in homes of faculty
members required changes in teachers and increased the
problems. All of these things, added to the high cost
of living, made the year a very difficult one.

A gift of five hundred dollars from Mrs. R.D. Render
added many needed books to the library. 15

Miss Daisy Davies furnished information to the
writer ina personal interview April 3, 1955.

Ik

Journal, Vol. II, p. 35.

15

Report of the President of LaGrange College, 1918-19.
Journal, Vol. II, p. 55.

117

Although Miss Davies spent a great deal of time

looking after the business affairs of the College, the

students -were never neglected, and the standards were held

high. When it was necessary for her to be away from the

College, Miss Hilda Threlkeld, Dean, Registrar, and Professor

l6

of English, was Miss Davies' "right hand man."

Miss Threlkeld, a graduate of Transylvania University,
came to LaGrange from Maysville, Kentucky, and influenced
quite a number of young ladies from her home town and state
to attend LaGrange College. ^

The girls were not required to wear a strict uniform,
but the administration encouraged simple and inexpensive
clothes. Each student was required to have a simple dark
blue suit, and a simple hat to match for street wear. The
senior class wore Oxford caps and gowns in graduating
exercises. ^

Following the policy of other progressive colleges, a
Student Government Association was organized in 1917. Its
laws and powers were granted by the President and Faculty,
and it had control of all matters pertaining to the social

l6

Sara Tatum Reed, op . cit .

17

Loc . cit .

18 00
Catalogue of LaC-range Female College, 1917-18, p. 18.

-

118

life and conduct of the students. The life and work of the

19

College were based on the Honor system.

Secret societies were not allowed because it was
believed that they tended toward extravagance and exclusive-
ness which are based upon wrong principles. Student activi-
ties centered around departmental clubs. These organizations
were mediums through which the students gained a broader
knowledge of the various courses of study than was possible
in the classroom and library alone. They not only provided

for intellectual growth, but also for the social development
20

of each girl.

The two literary societies, the Irenian and the
Mezzofantian, described in the preceding chapter, continued
to meet weekly and to publish The Oreon each month.

The Young Women's Christian Association held weekly
meetings for prayer and religious instruction through which
it promoted intelligent interest in social and moral prob-
lems. "Graduates of the College in both Home and Foreipn
Mission fields are a compensating evidence of inspiration
from this organization. "21

19

bid. , I919-20, p. Ik,

20

Ibid., 19 IT- 18, p. 12.

21

Loc. cit.

-

119

The History Club was open to all students in the

College. Weekly meetings were held for the discussion of

historical and economic questions, biographies, and current

events. Monthly open debates on popular subjects added much

22

to their interest and enthusiasm.

The Dramatic Club was open only to members of the
Expression Department. They met each week for the purpose
of studying plays , ranging from Shakespeare to Modern
Comedies, some of which they produced at intervals through-
out the year m public performances.

The Modern Language Club met weekly to promote in-
terest in the respective language studied. Current litera-
ture, songs, and readings were given in the original

language, under the guidance of the Head of the Modern

2k

Language Department.

The Orchestra and Glee Club gave many public per-
formances and recitals throughout the year.

The Athletic Association, composed of members of the
student body under the supervision of the Physical Director,
had control of outdoor sports. It assisted in equipping the
outdoor courts and track, formulated the rules for eligibility

22

Loc . cit .

23

Loc . cit .

2k

Ibid . , p. 13.

120

in class and college contests, encouraged participation in
outdoor games, always maintaining a high code of honor and

true sportsmanship.*^

Miss Davies said that her work with the girls was a
joy, but the financing of the College was educating. It
required so much time and effort that she could not continue.
A special meeting of the Board of Trustees was called
March 26, 1920, to consider her resignation, to become
effective at the end of the term. It was reluctantly
accepted and the trustees expressed their appreciation to
her for the "great good accomplished during her connection
with the institution. "2^

VJhen asked why was she resigning, Miss Davies often
answered, "Because I am so tired going from one store to
another trying to save five cents on a barrel of flour, and
from room to room turning off lights to save a few pennies." 2
However, her real reason was to get back into evangelistic
work. 28

Each year there had been meeting after meeting of
the trustees, with renewed resolutions to raise various

2 ^Loc. cit .

Journal, Vol. II, p. oo.

27 .

Mxss Daisy Davies, ot> . cit .

28 T

Loc. cit.

121

amounts of money ranging from $25,000 to 3250,000 always
unanimously passed. However, due to distressing financial
conditions and general discouragement of the people during,

and immediately following the war, their good resolutions

29

did not materialize.

LaGrange citizens' had always cherished the College in
their hearts, but it was not until Bishop Candler suggested
moving it to Atlanta that they realized that they were about
to lose one of the oldest and most valuable assets in the
town. Every true and loyal citizen was indignant at the
thought of the removal of the beloved institution. "What
would the hill be without the college? "30 wag thg cry Qn

every side.

At last, in the spring of 1920, one of the most
remarkable campaigns for educational purposes ever known in
the State centered in LaGrange. It was heartily endorsed
and supported by the citizens of the town and surrounding
territory. Every high school boy wore a badge containing
the words: "Save the college for my sister"; and every girl
wore one with the inscription: "Save the college for me."^ 1

" Ibid . ; also Journal, Vol. II, pp. 10 f.

30 Mabel White, "College Campaign, 1920," The
Quadrangle , 1921, p. 8U.

31t t*
Loc. cit.

122

Young and old were so stireed out of their complacency that
success was the only possible result. The school had long
belonged to the Methodist Conference, but had always been
non-sectarian, and people of all denominations, held together
by civic pride and love of the finer things of life, gave
wholeheartedly of their time and money for the improvement
and reconstruction of LaGransce College. They swiftly
raised a quarter of a million dollar s.32

In the meantime the Methodist Episcopal Church, South,
was attempting to raise by subscriptions the sum of thirty-
three million dollars for the cause of Christian Education,
of which sum the North Georgia Conference was to receive
$1,775,000, and LaGrange College was to receive $350,000 of
that amount. 33

In Miss Davies' last report to the trustees May 31,

1920, she said that the past five years had been periods of

struggle and disappointment, but many improvements had been

made on the buildings and campus during that time; also:

The curriculum of the college has been revised and
the standard raised. The one desperate need has been
for raonev for reconstruction of buildings and endowment.

I rejoice that after five years of constant pleading,
the trustees have realized the need and the remarkable ^
campaign just finished insures the future of the college.

32 Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1920-21 , t>. 10.
33

Journal, Vol. II, p. 82.

3h

Report of President for Year Ending May 31, 1920.

123

In the summer of 1920, the sum of about forty
thousand dollars was spent in improvements and equipment.
The interior of the Oreon Smith Building was practically
rebuilt and repainted, new wiring and fixtures added, the
heating system repaired, and a new plumbing system in-
stalled. The dining room was refurnished, and the school
room equipment was greatly improved by the purchase of

teachers 1 desks , blackboards , globes , and other apparatus

35

and supplies for the chemical and physical laboratories.
All of these improvements, plus an endowment fund, naturally-
put the College on a different basis when it opened in
September, 1920, under the presidency of William E. Thompson.
His brother, A.H. Thompson, was a prominent lawyer of
LaGrange and a member of the Board of Trustees.

William E. Thompson was born June 21, 1871, in Oconee
County, South Carolina, where he received his early educa-
tion. He graduated from Emory University in 1895, and on
the day of his graduation accepted the position of superin-
tendent of the Dublin, Georgia, schools, where he organized
the public school system. Amon^ his other fields of activity
were Clinton, Kentucky, where he served as president of
Marvin College; Tallapoosa, Georgia, where he was superin-
tendent of schools for two years; and Savannah, Georgia,

35

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1923-21* , p . 10 .

12h

where he taught hoys in high school, and from which place he
came to LaGrange College. He had also served for several
years on the Board of Education of the South Georgia Con-
ference of the Methodist Church. He was vice-president of
the Southern Association of Colleges for Women, and twice
presided over their sessions.

Mr. Thompson did not claim to be any kind of preacher,
although he did admit preaching one sermon.

It was at a country church, and he must have set
forth his text and presented his message in true evange-
listic style; for at the conclusion of her sermon a pair
of bashful lovers approached and asked him to perform
their marriage ceremony. 37

On June 1, 1920, Mr. Thompson was unanimously elected

President of LaGrange College at a salary of $3,600 per

annu, with board for himself and family in the College

Home. He accepted the presidency, and was given full

authority to select and employ all members of the faculty

and other emplovees, and to use his discretion in namin^-

38

their salaries, wages, etc.

Since the College at last had a sound financial
status, Mr. Thompson wanted to keep it that way. He

36

Thompson Regime Reflects Industry of School
Leader, LaGrange Daily News and Graphic Shuttle , October 8,
1931, p. 5.

37

Loc. cit.

38

Journal' Vol. II, p. 80.

D.*B ,3.

125

recommended that "no student whose account is unpaid he

permitted to re-enter without settlement of her account

ti 39

satis f act ory to the President. His recommendation was
approved.

That gifts of all kinds were acceptable to the

College was shown in Mr. Thomnson's first annual report to

the Board of Trustees. On May 28, 1921, he wrote:

I take pleasure in reporting to you the gift to the
college of two very fine Holstein cows. These were
given by James W. Norton of Clarke County, whose wife I
prepared for entrance to LaGrange College, and who is
one of the brightest graduates of this institution. ho

Among other interesting entries in the Journal at the

same time were the following:

Prof. Thompson recommends that reduction or discount
in tuition to Minister's daughters be also applied to
the daughters of teachers in the schools of this state.
The motion was carried. hi

President Thompson recommends that Mrs. Warren A.
Candler be given an A.B. degree, provided that after
examination by him she seems entitled to same. This
was put in motion and unanimously carried. h2

Mrs. Candler was the former Antoinette Cutright of

LaGrange. When Bishop Candler delivered the commencement

address at LaGrange College in 1875 as a young ministerial

39

Ibid., Vol. Ill, p. 11.

hO

Report of President for Year Ending May 28, 1921.
Journal, Vol. Ill, p. 11.

126

student, Antoinette was a freshman. He spied her in the

audience and laughlingly said to the president, "I'm going yo
J+3

have that one.

The president laughed too, but the next year the
pretty little brovn haired sophomore put away her books
and pencils, and without saying a word to the president
or her devoted parents, slipped away and became the
bride of the young minister, who was destined to become
one of the South' s leading Bishops. hh

Ruth Whatley, Class 1921, told the following story

about Mr. Thompson, who appreciated a joke on himself as

well as on anyone else:

In June, 1921, the auditorium was filled with proud
parents and friends. The graduating class assembled in
a hall just off the auditorium was waiting for music to
start when Mr. Thompson welcomed every one and intro-
duced the speaker. The speaker addressed the graduating
class looking to his left, right, and behind him.
Everyone started whispering and looking around. Finally
one person stood up and said, "Mr. Thompson, the gradu-
ating class is waiting to march in." The music started.
The Seniors took their -daces. Mr. Thompson got up,
faced the class, and apologized by saying, "Don't feel
too badly. When I was to be married I forgot to go to
the Church to my own wedding. "^5

Even though the financial condition of the College

was greatly improved, it continued to have its problems. In

January, 1922, a fire broke out in the cupola at the north

end of the auditorium, burning part of the roof and resulting

'"Bishop Candler Met His Bride at LaGrange College,"
The LaGrange Daily News , October 8, 1931, p. 1.

Loc . cit .

U5

Information furnished by Ruth Whatley, Class 1921,
teacher of Home Economics, Bass High School, Atlanta, Georgia.

127

in damage by water to several pianos, four of which were a
total loss. The insurance was adequate to cover the cost of
repairing these damages, and it was decided to make other
needed repairs and to put the "building in first class con-
dition at the same time, at an added cost of about $1,500.

The Board of Education of the Methodist Church, South,
continued to raise its standard of education, and require-
ments as to admission, curricula, faculty, library, equip-
ment, endowment, and income for its colleges. The president
and trustees of LaGrange College, not wanting to lose the
recently acquired classification, met on November 8, 1923,
and among other resolutions made the following:

Whereas, additional funds are necessary not only for
endowment, but in the improvement of the property in
order to carry forward the great work for the womanhood
of the South which this college has been engaged in for
many years;

And, whereas, LaGrange College is the only College
for women owned solely by this Conference .... be it
resolved by the North Georgia Conference of this
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, that the responsi-
bility for the maintenance, improvement , and perpetuation
of said college rest upon this conference, as the owner
thereof.

That the citizens of LaGrange have met their responsibil-
ity for the college, with full measure, and running over,
and that now the responsibility rests upon this con-
ference .

U6

President's report to Board of Trustees, May 29,
1922, Journal, Vol. Ill, p. 25.

-

128

A motion is made that the board ask the North
Georgia Conference to endorse and sponsor a campaign
for $750,000 for the endowment of LaGrange College,
of which sum the citizens of LaGrange have already
pledged and raised $250,000.1+7

On October 28, 1921, Mr. Thompson and the Board of
Trustees agreed to offer a scholarship of one hundred dollars
for one year to the young lady taking the highest stand in
scholarship in each of the high schools in the North Georgia
Conference, and from each preparatory school operated under
the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, pro-
vided her average was not elow ninety. 118

Every effort was made to increase attendance. Mr.
Thompson and the representatives from the College were sent
out to visit the high schools in the State and canvass for
students.

Several towns were visited by the College Glee Club
during the Spring. The students , under the leadership of
the senior class, organized a "Booster's Club" for the
purpose of securing additional students. Results were shown
in the increase of fifty-nine students in the enrollment
from 1922 to 1923. 50

hi

Journal, Vol. Ill, p. 71.
Ibid . , p. 17.

h9

Ibid . , p . 27 .
50 Ibid. , p. 53.

-

129

"'Mr. Thompson soon recognized the need for enriching
and enlarging the course of study and strengthening the
academic rating of the faculty^ In less than ten years

the lowest rating of any member of the faculty was as high
as the highest had been in 1920. They held Master's degrees
and in some cases, Doctor's degrees from Columbia, Cornell,

Harvard, University of California., University of Chicago,

52

University of North Carolina, and others.

Mr. Thompson, who avoided all personal publicity, was
often called Dr. Thompson, to which he always replied, "I
have no degrees that entitle me to be called Doctor." How-
ever, his natural ability made up for what he lacked in
higher degrees, and he directed the destiny of the century-
old institution for eighteen years in a manner which upheld

53

the cultural traditions of LaGrange.

The College provided opportunities for students to

attend lectures , concerts , and other entertainments . They

also had the privilege of attending good entertainments in

town. During the scholastic year 1927-28, the following

lectures and plays were given under the auspices of the

College :

"Thompson Regime Reflects Industry of School
Leader," LaGrange Daily News , October 8, 1931, p. 6.

Loc. cit.

130

ii

'The Merchant of Venice" .
A Marriage of Convenience

The Avon Players

and

ii

1 1

The Rivals" .
Wales-Recital"

The Cambrian Concert Artists
The Cambrian Concert Artists

"Anglo-American Relations
and World Peace" . . .
Addresses by ..... .

C. Douglas Booth, London
Samuel Candler Dobbs, Jr.

Bishop Warren A. Candler, D.D.

William Davis Hooper
Rev. Louie D. Newton, D.D.

5^

The LaGrange College Scroll was organized in January,
1922. It was a paper designed to be a medium through which
the student body could express its best thoughts, and to
serve as a connecting link between the College and former
students and alumnae. It was the literary magazine of the
College. Students submitted short stories, essays, poems,
and reviews, the best of which were chosen for publication.
At the end of each year four students were selected to be on
the SCROLL OF FAME. Chosen for their outstanding contribu-
tions, these students were honored by having their pictures
framed and hung in the English room.^^

In addition to the literary clubs which were active
during Miss Davies 1 administration, the Honor Club vas
established in January, I92U. Eligibility to the club was
conditioned upon the literary hours taken and the character
and academic standing of the student. Election to this club

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1928-29 , p. lh.
The Quadrangle (College Annual), 1953, p. 62.

131

was the highest distinction that could be conferred upon a
student

The International Relations Club was a new organiza-
tion comprised of the entire student body. It was composed
of two rival sections, each containing five discussion
groups. Its program included round table discussions,

formal debates, and lectures centering around international
relations .57

The Quill Drivers' Club gave its members training in
journalism, and also kept the College in touch with the
outside world. A weekly report was made through its members

rO

to the prominent newspapers of the State.

The Dramatic Club, known as the Curtain Raisers,
limited its membership to twenty- five girls, most of whom
were students of dramatic art. Besides the plays that they
put on at various times in the auditorium during the year,
they sponsored the May Day pageant each year. This was an
elaborate affair, held on the quadrangle of the campus , in
which girls from every department participated. In 1931,

LaGrange College held the title of having a dramatic depart-

59

ment second only to Brenau among Georgia colleges.

5 6

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1927-28 , p . 15 .

57 T

Loc . cit .

58

Loc . cit .

59

The LaGrange Daily Hews and Graphic Shuttle , p. 5.

132

Due to the small enrollment and heavy expense of the
Home Economics Department for several years, the department
was abolished in 1927. In 1928, the Board of Trustees, of
which Samuel C. Dobbs of Atlanta was chairman, made a unique
departure from the usual curriculum by establishing a
Department of Household Science. It was not a Domestic
Science Department as was the case in most women's colleges
at that time.

The head of the department was a woman trained in the
science of housekeeping, biology, physiology, and profes-
sional nursing.

The purpose of the department was to teach rules of
health, pre-maternity care, care for babies, dieting, the
fundamentals of disease prevention, and all allied features
which would tend to establish and maintain Christian homes
of culture, comfort, cheer, and happiness. Supplementary to
such training was the preparation of food, canning, pre-
serving, etc.

The department was amply endowed by Mr. Dobbs in
honor of hxs wife, who was an alumna of LaC-range College.

60

Minutes of the Board of Trustees, March 2, 1927,
Journal, Vol. III.

.

Editorial page, The LaC-range Graphic , Friday,
June 15, 1928.

-

Much of the success of the College, under the leader-
ship of Mr. Thompson, was due to the unusually distinguished

Board of Trustees, all of whom were outstanding leaders in

62

their communities, and many national figures. The chair-
man of the Board, Samuel C. Dobbs, a nationally known
capitalist and philanthropist, was deeply interested in
education. He not only gave time and thought to the up-
building of the institution, but also made many valuable
contributions to its material prosperity. 63

He was also a close personal friend of Mr. and Mrs.
Thompson. In the spring of 1929, when Mr. Dobbs was in
LaGrange, he visited Mrs. Thompson in her three-room apart-
ment in the doraiitorv-, and was quite disturbed to see her
with four small children living under circumstances so
unfavorable to family life. He told her that he was going

to build a house for her and the children. Through his
generosity a handsome brick bungalow, to be used as a home

for the President of the College, was completed in the
summer of 1929. This convenient and comfortable home,
located on the northwest side of the campus , a short dis-
tance from the administration building, was erected by the

62 T

IjOC . Clt .

63

Loc . cit .

6k

Information furnished by Mrs. A.H. Thompson to

writer.

13k

donor in honor of his distinguished uncle, the senior Bishop
of the Methodist Church. A memorial tablet bears the follow-
ing inscription:

Warren A. Candler Cottage
Erected in Honor of
A Profound Thinker
A Great Teacher ^
A Noble Christian Statesman

Dr. Dobbs also gave a large tract of land adjacent to
the campus to be used for further expansion, a cash gift of
$25,000 to the endowment fund in 1930, and made the astound-
ing offer to match dollar for dollar any amount that might

66

be raised for any purpose of the College, up to S350,000.
In the report of the President to the Board of

Trustees, May 26, 1930, Mr. Thompson cited many improvements:

It may be of interest to you to note the growth of
the college during the last ten years, which comprises
the period of the present administration. The number of
degree students in 1920 was 6l; this year 128. The
average salary of teachers in 1920 was $900; this year
$1,6666. In 1920 there was spent for instruction $6,700;
this year $15,000. The lowest literary degree of any
teacher now is higher than the highest in 1920. At that
time a graduate of LaGrange College was given the same
certificate that a girl who attended the State College
at Milledgeville two years received. Now our graduates
get the highest grade certificate issued by the state.
Our work was not then regarded as standard; now our
students are given the same standing in the graduate

6 5

Catalogue of LaGrange Female College , 1928-29 , p. 12.

66

LaGrange Dally Hews and Graphic Shuttle , October 8 ,
1931, p. 2.

135

school of the two universities in the state as their own
graduates. 6 7

As the annual reports of the presidents of the

College for more than fifty years had pleaded for the

establishment of an endowment, Mr. Thompson pleaded every

year for the endowment to be increased. Lack of sufficient

endowment was the only thing which prevented LaGrange

College from being admitted to membership in the Association

of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Southern States.

In his report to the trustees May 26, 1930, he said: "It

would be a gratifying achievement for the college to secure

this standing and recognition in connection with the celebra-

68

tion of its one hundredth anniversary."

A committee had already been appointed to make plans
for the Centennial celebration in October. Mrs. Roy Dallis ,
who was chairman of the committee, reported to the trustees
that a wonderful program was being worked out, and that the
only difficulty was the matter of finances. Samuel C. Dobbs

agreed to underwrite all the expenses, and from that time

69

plans began to materialize.

At no time in the history of LaGrange have so many
cultured and outstanding citizens of the South gathered to

67

Report of President to Board of Trustees, Journal,
Vol. Ill, May 26, 1930, p. 5.

68

Loc . cit .

69

Ibid . , p. 16.

:

136

celebrate a more momentous occasion than on Friday, October

9, 1931, when LaGrange College celebrated its one hundredth

70

anniversary. The mayor declared a holiday for the town.

Hundreds of visitors, including outstanding civic,
religious, and educational leaders, alumnae, and friends of
the College were present. Greetings and congratulations
were sent from governors, senators, presidents of other

71

colleges, and manv other notables who could not be present.

Among the prominent speakers of the day were Bishop

Warren A. Candler, Bishop W.N. Ainsworth, Dr. Henry N.

Snyder, Judge John S. Candler, Chancellor Charles M. Snelling,

72

Dr. Harvey W. Cox, Dr. Samuel Candler Dobbs , and others.

Probably the most colorful and entertaining part of
the program took place at 3:30 in the afternoon when "The
Golden Wheel," a pageant depicting the century of progress
at LaGrange College, was presented. The pageant was written
by Miss Carrie Fall Benson, college librarian, and directed
by Miss Mildred Singer, director of Expression and Physical
Education. Approximately one hundred and fifty students,
teachers, and friends of the College made up the cast. It
endeavored to show the beauty and sublimity of the history

7

LaGrange Daily Hews , October 8, 1931, p. 1.

71

Loc . cit .

72

Loc. cit.

-

:

-

137

of the College through the mediums of color, movement, and
73

melody.

Among the unusual alumnae present were the four only
living members of a class of seven, who graduated in 1882:
Mrs. John M. Taylor, Juniper, Georgia; Mrs. R.F. Walker,
Decatur; Mrs. F.I. McDonald, Atlanta; and Mrs. M.F.
McClendon, LaGrange. At that time Mrs. McDonald had not
missed a commencement in the fort?r-nine years since she
graduated.

Many distinguished alumnae enjoyed a partial family
reunion at the centennial celebration; among them was Mrs.
Fay Gaffney of Columbus, Georgia, a prominent club woman
and executive officer of the Daughters of the American
Revolution and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. She
was one of five daughters of Major Scott MacFarlane of

LaGrange, all of whom were still living and attended the

75

celebration. There were many other family groups among

the alumnae consisting of sisters, cousins, mothers, daughters,

and even grand-daughters .

73

Loc . cit .

7h .

Ibid. , p . 7 .

75

Loc. cit.

76

Loc. cit.

138

From 9:30 in the morning when the academic procession

marched from the college quadrangle into the auditorium for

the program of music and speeches until the alumnae banquet

that night, the day was replete with interest to every

77

friend of the College. 1 1

In the college catalogues from 1920 to 1938, it is
quite noticeable that more space is given to Bible and
Religious Education than to any other course listed under
Courses of Instruction. Mr. Thompson was a strong Christian
character, who believed that daily living in a Christian
atmosphere was the most important phase of education. He
also believed in keeping the Sabbath day holy, and would
not allow his own children to read the comic sections of the
newspapers on Sunday. However, he did not express condemna-
tion of the youth of his day, as did so many of the older
nation.? 8

The well known depression of the late twenties and
early thirties left its mark on the College. A steady
decline was shown each year in attendance. In the scholastic
year ending May 28, 193^, the total enrollment was only one
hundred and forty- five, of which number only sixty-six were

77

Loc . cit .

78

Sara Tatum Reed, a member of Mr. Thompson's faculty,
;ave information to writer.

139

"boarding students. In 1935, there were sixty- five boarding

students and the total enrollment was one hundred twenty-
79

eight. The president's report also stated:

The salaries of teachers have, under your authority,
remained throughout the year the same as last year.
These salaries are kQ% of the salaries paid teachers and
officers three years ago. V/hile our report this year is
somewhat better than last year, the income did not even
seem sufficient to warrant any increase in salaries. 80

On April 19, 1938, at a called meeting of the Board

of Trustees, a letter was read from Mr. Thompson, requesting

that they secure a new president for the next college year.

A motion was passed acceding to the request, and a committee

8l

was appointed to nominate a new president.

A resolution was also drawn up expressing appreciation
to Mr. Thompson for his eighteen years of Christian service
to the College, and to Mrs. Thompson for being "the ideal
president's wife."^

79

A^uai Report of the President to the Board of
Trustees, June 3, 1935 (pages not numbered).

80

Loc . cit .

81

Journal, Vol. Ill, minutes of Board of Trustees,
April 19, 1938.

82

Loc . cit .

CHAPTER VII
AN OLD COLLEGE IN A NEW ERA
(1938- 19U8)

Hubert T. Quillian accepted the presidency of
LaGrange College July 20, 1938, after a record of civic and
educational service in the State. Coning from a family
noted for several generations in the ministry of the Metho-
dist Church, and having had a wide range of interests and
experience, he was well qualified to assume the responsi-
bility of the historic College.

Dr. Quillian was horn June 26, 1890, at Thompson,
Georgia, a son of J.W. Quillian, M.D., D.D. , and Lucy
(Zachary) Quillian. He had lived in LaGrange three times
before he came to be president of the College. Twice his
father had served as presiding elder of the district.
During his first residence, Hubert had attended Lynch School
for Boys. When his family returned the second time, he was
attending Emory College. In 1911 he received the degree of
Bachelor of Arts at Emory University, after which he accepted
a position in the Personnel Department of the Callaway Mills
in LaGrange. From 1931 to 1933, he was similarly occupied
at Georgia School of Technology. In 1933, he went to Rome,
Georgia, and served as vice-president of Shorter College
until July, 1938, when he came back to LaGrange for the fourth
time.

lUi

Dr. Quillian had always been active in Church work,
having been on the Board of Stewards of the Methodist
Episcopal Church in Rome, and a lay leader and district
educational director. He had been a trustee both of LaGrange
College and the Young Men's Christian Association Graduate
School at Nashville, Tennessee, for many years. He received
a hearty welcome from the citizens of LaGrange as President
of the College. 1

Dr. Quillian' s first annual report to the Board of
Trustees in 1939 showed an increase in attendance; the total
enrollment for the year being one hundred eighty-one. The
Commercial Science and Home Economics Departments were re-
established with thirty-six girls enrolled in the two depart-
ments. Three hundred fifty books had been added to the

library, and many other improvements had been made in the

p

buildings and on the campus during the year. Dobbs Audi-
torium, in the oldest building on the campus, was greatly
improved and named for one of the greatest benefactors of
the College, Samuel C. Dobbs, chairman of the Board of
Trustees. Mr. Dobbs often laughed and said that it was the
only building ever named for him that he didn't have to

Lucille Bryant Johnson, "New President Is Widely
Acclaimed," LaGrange Daily Hews , October 18, 1936, p. 2.

2

Annual Report of the President to the Board of
Trustees, May 29, 1939, t>t>. 1-2.

Ih2

build. The dedication service was held at the 1939 Commence-
ment. ^

A building campaign, which was a remarkable success,

was begun on the day that Hitler started through Holland,

and the contract was let for a new dormitory on the day that
k

Paris fell. Of the campaign, Dr. Qui Hi an said:

We are hoping that its contribution to the welfare of
society may be as constructive in its realm as these two
events were destructive. Our deepest appreciation and
gratitude is expressed to Mr. Cason Callaway and to Mr.
Fuller Callaway for their generous gift to the endowment
fund of $50,000 to match the fund for the erection of
the building; and to all those who had a part in this
truly magnificent enterprise. The total addition to the
resources of the College during; the past year amount to
approximately $125,000.

The landscaping and planting about the new building,
and the formal garden facing it, have been accomplished
without the expenditure of any money on our part, but
through the cooperation of Miss Tommie Martin and the
Alumnae Association. 5

The new residence hall was completed during the

summer of 19^0, at a cost of approximately fifty thousand

dollars . It added much to the beauty of the campus , and to

the joy of the upper classmen who were privileged to live

there. Although it repeated the southern architecture of

3

sights G. Henry, "Old South, New Era Join to Make
College Great," The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer , p. 5.

k

Annual Report of the President to the Board of
Trustees, June 2, 19^1, p. 2.

^Loc. cit.

1U3

the historic buildings on the campus , it offered the newest

and most modern conveniences for the comfort of the students.

The dedication of the New Residence Hall was the feature of

the Autumn Convocation September 27, 19^3. It was named the

Pitts Building, in honor of Mr. And Mrs. W.I.H. Pitts,

whose generous philanthropy in the establishment of the

Pitts Foundation had meant so much to the College.

Since the entire nation was so deeply involved in

World War II, Dr. Quillian, in his second Annual Report,

June 2, 19^1, pointed out that with the social and political

unrest of the time, there was a need to restate the place of

the Christian College in national defense. He said:

As the college contributes to the morals of its
students, its community, and its generation, it is
helping to defend the inner ramparts of society, so
essential to the preservation of our democratic ideals.
Our great American tradition rests on a spiritual
foundation, and it would seem that never more than now
have we need for the influences that radiate from our
Christian institutions. We are pledging ourselves anew
to this high enterprise in the hope that we may be true
to the best tradition of our heritage, and equal to the
testing challenge of this hour. 7

The report from the standpoint of the general opera-
tion of the College was very optimistic. The total enroll-
ment had increased to two hundred ten. There had been no

President's Report to the Board of Trustees,
September 21, 19 UU, p. 2.

7

The Annual Report of the President to the Board of
Trustees of LaCrange College, June 2, 19 Ul, p. 1.

r

lkk

major nroblems of health or discipline; and the academic

standing, as revealed by the Dean's List, was better than it

8

had been for several years.

The total enrollment in September, 19^1, was about the
same as the preceding year, though there were five less
boarding students. Dr. Qui Hi an felt that it was remarkable
that the reduction was no larger, due to the unusual circum-
stances which made it possible for girls to be able to get

9

jobs replacing boys who had been drafted into service.

During the summer of 19^+1 many improvements were made
in the buildings and on the campus. Repairs, new equipment,
and provisions in preparation for the opening of school in
the fall were made at a cost of approximately six thousand
dollars. The entire physical plant of the College was in a
satisfactory condition. However, an even more important
thing had happened during the summer of 19**1. Mr. W.I.H.
Pitts, of Waverly Hall, had established the William I.H.
and Lula E. Pitts Foundation under the direction of the
Trust Company of Georgia. The income from the fund was to
be distributed to enable worthy boys and girls of the
Methodist Church in rural communities to receive an

8

Ibid . , pp . 1-2 .

Report of the President to the Board of Trustees,
September 11, 19^1, p. 1.

Ih5

education. Anions- the five colleges mentioned as benefi-
ciaries of this fund, LaGrsnge College was the only senior
college, and was first on the list. It was specifically
designated by Mr. Pitts as an institution doing the type of
work that he wanted to encourage and facilitate."^

The following expression of appreciation appeared in
the He s ley an Christian Advocate and several of the state
newspapers :

A NOBLE CHRISTIAN STATESMAN

In a small Georgia community there lives a man whose
insight and generous philanthropy has made provision for
training and development of Christian leadership amone
the Methodist rural youth of the state. He has- estab-
lished a Foundation of many hundreds of thousands of
dollars , the income from which may be used to develop
Christian character, and train Christian leadership in
the group of splendid young Methodists from small com-
munities of Georgia. Is not this real statemanship,
in providing for the future leadership of his native
state? In this time of war he prepares for peace.

This man in the modesty of spirit of true Christian
culture prefers to stand in the background, and without
ostentation or publicity provides a philanthropy that
will prompt other men of wealth to emulate his example.
"As one lamp lights another, nor its flame grows less,
so nobleness enkindleth nobleness." Here is one who
has been a "tither" through the years and who considers
his wealth as a sacred trust from the Great Giver of all
good and perfect gifts. He has learned through experi-
ence the joy of sharing with others, and that "Who
giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord."

Of him if may be said as of one of England's noble
great: "He gave of his substances to the poor, his

Ibid . , p . 3 .

Ih6

sympathy to the suffering, his hand to the helpless, and
his heart to God." Truly the qualities of nobleness are
so mixed in him that all the world may stand up and say,
"Here lives a man. "11

In spite of war conditions, the president's annual

report of June 1, 19^2, was most encouraging. He said that

in many ways it had been the best year in the entire history

of the college. The graduating class had the largest number

ever recorded, and twice as many new students had made room

reservations for the fall term as had made them at the same

time the year before. Gifts from the new Pitts Foundation

12

alone had amounted to six thousand dollars.

He also said that perhaps the best job that LaGrange
College could do for Christian education was to train
Christian teachers. The department of teacher training
adopted the slogan, "A College Dedicated to Christian
Culture . "

Many efforts were made to improve the library in
order to meet the standard required by the Southern Associa-
tion. Mr, and Mrs. Charles Candler gave $150 to the library
fund and seventy- five volumes from Bishop Candler's library
valued at $205, but their real value to the College could

Wesley an Christian dvocate .

12

Annual Report of the President to the Board of
Trustees, June 1, 19^2, p. 1.

13

Ibid. , p. 3.

not to be estimated. Plans were being made to build a new
library/ 1 as soon as the war was over.

At the annual commencement meeting of the Board of
Trustees June 1, 19^2, Mr. Dobbs , chairman of the Board,
suggested that the?/ each write letters or personally/- contact
the Senators and Congressmen of the Southeastern States and
urge them to vigorously oppose legislation which had been
suggested relative to taxation of endowed colleges and
universities. Among the many reasons given were the follow-
ing:

The education and character building work heretofore
done by Denominational Colleges in this section has been
of tremendous advantage to the Nation in that these
trained men along with other men of like education from
other states have done much to make the Nation great,
and the Nation can ill afford to interrupt a continuous
flow of this type of educated citizen into the body
politic. Indeed, unless this work, if abandoned by the
Church schools, is thereafter immediately done as well
by some other agency, it would be national suicide.

Healthy rivalry between state institutions and those
supported by charity tends to improve the quality of the
work of both, ajid this rivalry would be destroyed if
either type of institution should cease to function. 15

During the scholastic year 19^2-U3, books and cash

gifts amounting to $2,126.89 were given to the library. 1 ^*

Ik

Ibid . , pp. 2-3.

^Minutes of Board of Trustees of LaGrange College,
June 1, 19^2, p. k.

16

Annual Report of the President to the Board of
Trustees, May 29, 19^3, p. 2.

1W

A bequest of approximately $7,500 came to the College from

the estate of Ben Red-wine, Hewnan, Georgia. There had been

some controversy- about the will, but through the skillful

management of Mr. Dan Manget of Herman, bequests were saved

not only for LaGrange College, but also for Wesleyan and
IT

Smory as well.

During the scholastic year 19^2-^3, the College was
admitted to membership in the Association of American
Colleges. This was an honor which indicated high rating
but not accreditation. The College had been on the non-
member list of the Southern Association for four years, but
that list was to be discontinued in 19^. That meant that
the -twenty standards of the Association must be met during
the next year, of which seventeen had already been met. The
three remaining had to do with teachers' salaries, permanent
endowment funds, and the library, all of which Mr. Q.uillian
believed could be met. In his report to the trustees he
said:

We are too near the goal now to fall by the wayside
and miss the mark completely; and yet in all fairness
I must share with you the conviction that, unless we do
quickly what we must do eventually, LaGrange College
cannot hope to carry on.

The splendid example which Mr. Pitts has set in the
establishment of the fund from which we have received
$12,000 to date should be an inspiration to all of us,

IT

Ibid . , p . k

1U9

of his abiding faith in the worth of the institution,
and his confidence in its future. 18

The Endowment Fund Committee, which was appointed at

that time, held an historic meeting at the Capital City Club

in Atlanta, July 22, 19 1+3. Of this meeting Pierce Harris

said in an article in the Wesley an Christian Advocate , July

13, 19^+5, that Stewardship was the power behind the success

of the Endowment Committee of LaGrange College and that he

had never seen anything like it in his life.

Each of the seven men on the committee had his say,
and every man came back to the inspiring idea that they
were doing God's work, handling God's money, and hunting
for a way to do God's will. The longer they talked the
smaller the $200,000 seemed. I knew for sure then that
we would get it maybe more. 19

The scholastic year 19^3-UU was outstanding in many

ways. It was opened with an address by Bishop Arthur J.

Moore, and closed by his wife who gave the baccalaureate

address .

In Bishop Moore's opening address he expressed

beautifully the meaning and purpose of education as it is

planned for students at LaGrange College:

There are those who regard education as something
apart from the training of our spiritual natures , but
no education can be considered adequate which leaves
out spiritual capacities. To claim that one is edu-
cated simply because he has been well instructed in

18

Ibid . , p . 6 .

19

Pierce Harris , "Stewardship , teh Power Behind LaGrange
College Endowment Successes," Wesley an Christian Advocate ,
July 13, 19^5, P. 1.

150

the arts or sciences, history and literature, or in
anything which leaves out these higher ranges of our
nature is to hold a false interpretation of education.
To be ideal and adequate, education must make us better
as well as more intelligent. 20

During the year seventy girls received scholarships
from the Laura Haygood With am Fund amounting to $6,500; more
girls were on the Dean's List than in any previous year;
teachers 1 salaries had been raised 10 per cent; all out-
standing obligations of the college had been met, and a
small surplus had been left in the treasury.

The general condition of the various departments was

sound. The personal library of Miss Mai dee Smith had been

turned over to the college library and about 32,000 had been

spent for additional books necessary to meet the standards

21

set up by the Southern Association.

Miss Maidee Smith, in her forty-ninth year at the
College, passed away on May 5, 19^. Dr. Qui Hi an referred
to her as the "Mr. Chips" of LaGrange College. Through the
years she had endeared herself to the various college genera-
tions who had been privileged to share her beneficent in-
22

fluence.

20

Editorial, "LaGrange College," ' he Christian
Advocate , July 12, I9U5, p. 19.

21

Annual Report of the President to the Board of
Trustees, June 5, 19^, p. 2.

22

Ibid. p. 1.

151

On Founders' Day, April 13, 19^6, the nieces and
nephews of Miss Mai dee presented a beautiful silver service
to the College honoring her memory and in tribute to her
forty-nine years of service to the College. 2 ^

In June, 19 kk 9 the feature of the Commen cement

exercises was the awarding of the honorary degree of Doctor

of Laws upon Martha McDonald Moore, wife of Bishop Arthur

Moore. It was the first time such a degree had ever been

conferred by the College. Mrs. Moore's baccalaureate

address on this occasion attracted such wide and favorable

comment that it was printed in pamphlet form for general
2k

distribution.

Dr. Quillian had also recently had the honorary
degree of Doctor of Laws conferred upon him by Piedmont
College.

On April 13, 19^5, LaGrange College observed its
first annual Founders' Day, which was a momentous occasion.
Samuel Candler Dobbs , LL.D. , chairman of the Board of
Trustees, was honored for his eighteen years of service,
generous contributions of time, effort, and money to the

23

President's Report to the Board of Trustees,
June 3, 19^6, p. k,

2k

President's Report to the 3oard of Trustees,
September 21, 19 M, p. 2.

25

Hubert T. Quillian, Jr., furnished information to

writer.

152

College. Dr. Quillian announced that the College had net
the twenty standards set up by the Southern Association, and

that he had been notified that it would become a member of

26

the Association at an early date.

Due to the efficient handling of the Redwing estate
by Dan Manget and William Banks of Hfewaaa, they provided
more than seven times as much for the College as the original
bequest would have been. LaGrange College was made sole
owner of the splendid estate of 3,600 acres of Coweta County
land. 2T

During the scholastic year 19^5-^6, the dream of the

president and the trustees came true. LaGrange College was

fully accredited by the Southern Association, and received

national recognition through the invitation to membership in

the American Council on Education. Dr. Quillian said that

the words of General Wainwright's prayer of thanksgiving

after his release from prison seemed appropriate as an

expression of gratitude and rededication:

Keep us humble in the day of victory, make us wise
in the presence of great problems , strong and brave in
the face of any danger, and sympathetic and generous as
we face the appalling need of a wartorn world. In
gratitude for all those who paid the price of victory,

Report of the President to the Board of Trustees ,
May 25, 19^5, P. 1.

27

Report of the President to the Board of Trustees,
September, I9U5 , p. k.

153

we now dedicate ourselves anew to that cause for which
they gave their last whole measure of devotion. Lord of
Hosts, be with us yet, lest we forget. 28

Due to high costs, the total charges to students were

raised fifty dollars for the next year, making tuition $225,

> 29
room and board v325.

Under the direction of Dr. Qui Hi an, the curriculum
of LaC-range College continued to show evidence of loyalty to
the liberal arts tradition. However, there was no blind
devotion to the classics simply for the sake of scholarship.
Language, history, mathematics, and the sciences were recog-
nized as fundamental for sound education. Music, art,
speech, and drama were considered essential to gracious
living. 30

The fact that about sixty-seven per cent of the
LaGrange College graduates were teachers was a compliment to
the Department of Education and Psychology. In addition to
such courses as Counseling and Guidance, The School and The
Social Order, etc., the girls participated in practice
teaching in the city schools.

Annual Report of the President, June 3, 19*+6, p. 1.

29

bid . , p . 5 .

30 T. Otto Hall, "LaGrange College," Wesley an Christian
dvocate , July 13, 19^-5, p. a.

15k

Since most graduates "become homemakers sooner or
later, they were taught that faith, love, trust, and under-
standing are the most important components of a real home.
The character-building liberal arts courses offered at the
College developed all four. Home economics majors were

required to take three courses in Bible, four in art, and

31

others from the liberal arts curriculum.

The tempo of the schedule is unhurried, with plenty
of time for concerts and lectures and golf at the
country club, with all the girls enjoying all the
privileges without charge. Hospitality is simple and
sincere, and the president knows all the students by
their first names. Friendliness is the very climate of
the place. When an old Negro servant who had been with
the school some thirty years passed on, the girls put up
a memorial plaque in his honor. 32

One of Dr. Quillian's favorite stories was about the

old negro servant, Ike Lewis, who felt that his thirty years

experience should give him priority in the kitchen. "Uncle

Ike" had been the cook for so long at LaGrange College that

Mrs. Youngblood, the dietitian, often had difficulty in

managing him. "Uncle Ike" insisted on doing things his own

way regardless of Mrs. Youngblood' s instructions. Finally,

she had to send him to the ^resident for discipline. After

some counseling, Dr. Quillian saw the necessity of becoming

more firm with "Uncle Ike." In a very serious tone, he

31

Loc. cit.

32

Loc. cit.

155

informed the chef that unless he improved, the two of them

might have to come to the parting of the ways. To that

Uncle Ike replied: "Lawsy mercy, Mr. Qui Hi an, whar is you

thinking about gwine?

On September lU, 19^5, Dr. Qui Hi an made a report to

the Board of Trustees in which he stated:

As we come to the end of the seven full years, we
find the total resources of the College increased to
around a million and a half dollars, its income increased
from $U2,909 in 1938 to $111,370.27 in I9U5, of which the
income from endowment and grants rose from $9,963.61 in
1938 to $1*5,1+62.60 in 19^5; its faculty paid on the basis
of the Southern Association schedule of $3,000 to depart-
ment heads and assistants in proportion, an increase from
$19,7ll+.8o to $57,553.70; its buildings in good repair
and repainted, with insurance increased from $91,000 in
1938 to $250,000 in 19^5; two new departments have been
added in Secretarial Science and Home Economics; with
enrollment increased from an all-time low to an all-time
high.3l*

V/hen school opened in the fall of 191+6, Dr. Qui Hi an
announced that at least fifteen different individuals or
organizations had established scholarships to assist students
through college. Those in addition to the Dobbs Scholarship,
Witham Fund, Pitts Fund, and five scholarships provided by
the General Board of Christian Education in Nashville,

33

Information furnished by Mrs. Emmie Durham Murray,
Head of the Department of Home Economics during Dr. Quillian's
administration.

3h

Report of the President of LaGrange College to the
Board of Trustees, September lk 9 19^5, p. 6.

156

amounted to approximately $13,000 for that year.^

A sad note in the president's report for 19h6 was the

passing of Mr. Alwyn M. Smith. It said in part:

The last member of a distinguished family dedicated
to God and the service of mankind, his influence, and
that of his family, has helped to shape the present life
of our community through LaGrange College, through the
Church , and through the channels of our civic life. His
years of service as professor of music brought honor to
LaGrange College. The testimony of his influence of
good upon the lives of the alumnae is in evidence
today. 36

In the spring of 19^7, a survey of student opinion
revealed that the spirit of democracy on the camnus , the
accent on the dignity and worth of the individual student,
and the wholesome prevailing Christian atmosphere were con-
sidered the outstanding characteristics of the College.
Nineteen students in the Religious Majors Club dedicated
their lives to Christian service during the year. 37

On Founders' Day, April lU, 19**7, three distinguished
service pins were awarded to members of the faculty who had
served twenty- five years or more at the College. The reci-
pients were; Miss Rosa Muller, teacher of piano, a graduate
of Leipzig Conservatory; Miss Carrie Fall Benson, librarian,

35

Report of the President to the Board of Trustees ,
September 12, I9U6, p. 1.

36

Ibid . , p . 7 .

37

Annual Report of the President of LaGrange College
to the Board of Trustees, June 2, 19^7, p 6.

157

also a member of The Atlanta branch of American Pen Women,
the Poetry Society of Georgia, and The Georgia Writers'

q O

Association; and Dean E. A. Bailey.

By June 2, 19^7 more reservations had been made for
new students for the coming year than ever before at the

same time. One applicant was from Havana, Cuba, and one

39

from Soochow, China.

The many gifts and bequests made to LaGrange college

during the scholastic year 19^6-1+7 proved the truth of Dr.

Quillian's favorite quotation: "As one candle lights

another, nor its flame grows less, so nobleness enkindleth

nobleness." Notable gifts were made by Dr. S. C. Dobbs ,

Cason J. Callaway, Fuller E. Callaway, D. T. Man get, "William

Banks, Mr. and Mrs. George S. Johnson, Judson J. Milam, and

others. The terms of a bequest of $500 from the estate of

Miss Ruth Nothern, to establish a scholarship in memory of

her mother who graduated at the College, specified to girls

who do not drink or smoke. The total amount of all gifts and

hi

bequests for the year was well over 5100,000.

38

Ibid . , p . 6 .

39

Ibid . , p . 5 .

hQ

Loc . cit .

hi

Loc . cit .

. 158

The next big step in the improvement of the College,
planned by Dr. Qui Hi an, was the building of a new library
at a cost of something over fifty thousand dollars. Of this
amount, Mr. William Banks, chairman of the Board of Trustees,
gave thirty thousand.

Although the contract had been let for the building,
Dr. Qui Hi an never realized that dream because of failing
health. For several months, Dean Bailey, with the cooperation
of the faculty and the trustees, carried on the business of the
College. ^

After an illness of six months Dr. Quillian passed
away July 10, 19^8. Bishop Arthur J. Moore was assisted by
Rev. C. 3. Forrester, pastor of the First Methodist Church
in LaGrange, in conducting the funeral services.

Dr. Quillian' s leadership and services were not con-
fined to the College. His contributions to the civic life
of LaGrange have rarely been equalled. He was president of
the Rotary Club, served on the Board of Trustees of the
LaGrange Memorial Library for several years, and was chair-
man of the committee which raised funds to erect the library
building. He served for several years as president of the
LaGrange Welfare Assoc ait ion. He was also chairman of the

h2

Annual Report of LaGrange College to the Board of
Trustees, May 31, 19^8, p. 1.

h3

Loc. cit.

159

local chapter of the American Red Cross. He seemed to be a

vizard at raising necessary funds. After his death an

article in the LaGrange aily news stated:

It is safe to estimate that Mr. Quillian raised
during his life time more than a million dollars for
others. And those who gave, gave willingly "because of
the incomparable charm and the unselfish motives of the
man who sought the contributions. hk

Because of the serious illness of Dr. Qui Hi an, the

Board of Trustees appointed Dr. Waights Gibbs Henry, Jr.,

acting president of LaGrange College June 15, 19^8. Dr.

Henry was at that time Executive Secretary of the Board of

Education of the North Georgia Conference. After the death

of Dr. Qui Hi an July 11, 19 H8, Dr. Henry became president.

hk

LaGrange Daily News , July 12, 19^8, pp. 1 and 8.

". G. Henry, Jr., Named to Head Local College,"
LaGrange Daily News , August 6, 19^8, p. 1.

i

CHAPTER VIII
LAGRANGE COLLEGE TODAY
(19^8-1955)

The investiture of Waights G. Henry, Jr., as president
of LaGrange College by William N. Banks, chairman of the
Board of Trustees, was the feature of the 118th Convocation
at. LaGrange College, September l6, 19^8. When Mr, Banks
presented the new president, he said: "The trustees made a
wise choice in selecting a new president to carry on Christian
education, a bulwark against evils that could overtake us."" 1 "

Dr. Henry was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, February 13,
1910, the son of Waights Gibbs and Mary Elizabeth (Davis)
Henry. He attended Emory University in 1927-28, and received
his A.B. degree from Birmingham Southern College in 1930,
his B.D. in 193^ from Yale, and his D.D. in 19^7 from
Birmingham-Southern College.^

On February l6, 1935 , he married Mamie Lark Brown.
They have three children: George Madison, Waights Gibbs ,111,
and Mary Ann.

The Columbus Enquirer , September 18, 19^8, p. 2.

2

Who's Who merica , Vol. 28 (Chicago: Marquis Who's
Who, Inc., 1954-1955) , p. 1,200. Also, Who's Who in
Methodism (Chicago: The A. li. Marquis Company, 1952), p. 322.

i6i

Dr. Henry was assistant pastor of the Bunker Bill

Congregational Church in Waterbury, Connecticut, from 1932

to 1936. He Joined the North Georgia Conference of the

Methodist Church in 1936, and was ordained to the ministry

of the Methodist Church in 1938. He served as pastor of the

Methodist Church in Hoschton, Georgia, in 1937-38; Clayton,

Georgia, in 1939-^2; the Epworth Church, Atlanta, 19^3-UU;

executive secretary of the Board of Education of the North

Georgia Conference from 19**5 to 19^8, when he became presi-

3

dent of LaGrange College.

Since that time he has not only brought about unpre-
cedented progress at the College, but his extra curricular
activities also included the following: Chairman of the
Joint Radio Commission of the Methodist Church which pro-
duces the Methodist Hour and the Methodist Division of the
National Radio Pulpit; President of the Georgia Association
of Methodist Colleges; Executive Committee of the North
Georgia Conference Board of Education; Director, LaGrange
Community Chest; Artists Committee, LaGrange Concert Series
Board of Managers , Camp Glisson; Director, Pitts Foundation;
Director, Methodist Foundation for Retired Ministers;
Director, LaGrange Chamber of Commerce; Delegate to regional
and national church conferences; contributor to church

3

Loc. cit.

lo2

publications; preacher on nation-wide broadcasts over CBS;
columnist for Columbus ( Georgia ) Ledger-Enquirer ; judge of
Miss America Pageant, 1952; member of LaGrange Rotary Club,
and Highland Country Club.^

Dr. Henry is a speaker in great demand. He has con-
ducted Religious Emphasis programs in many Georgia colleges
and universities, and delivered commencement sermons and
convocation addresses at others both within and outside the
State. It is impossible for him to accept all the invita-
tions to speak that he receives from churches, schools, and
civic clubs in and out of the State. ^

In accepting the presidency of LaGrange College, Dr.
Henry said:

Looking at the past with pride and gratitude and at
the future with exultant expectation, we examine the
present to see if it be the logical fulfillment of the r
dreams of yesteryear and an adequate foundation for a
greater day to come. 6

When he did "examine the present" by making a check

on LaGrange College students, transferred to other colleges

or in the graduate schools of universities, Dr. Henry was

pleased to find them irell at the top of their classes.

Also, the graduate record examinations given to all

k

Loc . cit .

^ Rome Hews Tribune , February 27, 19^9, p. 1.
6

Waights G. Henry, Jr., "Address to the North Georgia
Conference of the Methodist Church," Atlanta, July l6, I9U8.

163

sophomores and seniors indicated that their progress com-
pared favorably with other American institutions of higher
learning.^

The year I948-U9 began in a portentous mood because
of the illnesses and deaths of Dr. Qui Hi an, former presi-
dent, and Miss Lucie Billant, beloved professor of Romance
Languages at LaGrange College for seventeen years. However,

at the end of his first year, Dr. Henry said that the out-

8

look for the College had never been brighter.

With a sizeable endowment and having been fully

accredited, plans were begun for immediate improvement of

the property, and increase of the resident membership of the
9

student body. In order to speed the latter, Mr. William N.
Banks paid the travel expenses for a full-time student-
recruitment man for the year 1949-50. Also, for the first
time, men were encouraged to enroll as regular students of
LaGrange College. A few local men had been admitted to
classes at various times for various reasons for several
years, but thirty-seven men from LaGrange and neighboring

Annual P.enort of President , 19^9-50, p. 1.

r

' ibid . , June 6, 19^9, p. 1.

1

Ibid . , p . 5 .

Ibid . , 19^9-50, P. 3.

l6h

communities were admitted as regular students in the
scholastic year 19U8-U9. In the fall of 1953, LaGrange
College was formally declared a coeducational institution
by the Board of Trustees. After one hundred twenty- two
years of operation as an institution of higher learning for
women, the doors were officially opened to men. Since that
time the curriculum, progress, and facilities have been
gradually changed to meet the demands of men students."^
The new William N. Banks library was completed in
March, 19^9, at a cost of $50,000 which was donated by Mr.
3anks , chairman of the Board of Trustees. The dedicatory
address was made by Bishop Arthur J. Moore, May 13, 19^9.
On the same day the LaGrange Rotary Club presented a check
for one thousand dollars for the establishment of the Hubert
T. Quillian Memorial Collection. Dr. Quillian, the late
college president, had been a charter member of the local

Rotary Club and had served as president. Since that time

12

the Rotarians have given $100 each year to the library.

Among interesting volumes in the library is a group
of books by an alumna, Miss Fanny Andrews, a graduate of
the Class of 1857. The volumes include: "wartime Journal of

11

Ibid . , May 18, 195^, p. 1.

12

Lucille Johnson, "LaGrange College Library,"
LaGrange College Alumnae Bulletin , Vol. 1, No. 3, December,
1951, p. 1.

165

Georgia- Girl , A Family Secret , published in 1876; j :-lere

Adventure , published in 1878; and Prince Hal , published in

1882. Also included is a volume by Miss Andrews, Botany thi

Year Around , which has been used in translation as a text in

French schools."^

The late Carrie Fall Benson, college librarian for

twenty-six years, was a well known Georgia poet. In the

library is her volume of poetry, Every Year An April . There

are also a number of plays and articles on Southern history

by the late writer and librarian. Since her death Mrs. Davis

Ik

P. Me Is on has been college librarian.

Among the other improvements made in 19^9 in the
buildings were the following: a new guest room with private
bath was exquisitely furnished by Mr. William N. Banks;
Mrs. William H. Banks, and Mrs. Fuller E. Callaway, Jr. pre-
sented needed furnishings for the parlors ; a suite for the com-
fort and convenience of town girls was redecorated and furnished;
the Alumnae gave new stage curtains; and Dr. and Mrs. Emory Park

gave a pulpit desk, lamp, and Bible for Dobb's Chapel in memory

. . 15
of Dr. Hubert Quillian.

13

Ibid . , p. 4.

Ik

Loc . cit.

15

Annual Report of the President to the Board of
Trustees of LaGrange College, 19^9-50, p. 2.

An event of great interest at the College in the fall
of 19^9 was the entrance of "Miss Georgia of 19^9." Dorothy
Johnston, a lovely LaGrange High School graduate, who scored
high in the Miss America Pageant with her coloratura soprano
voice, was awarded a scholarship "by the LaGrange Junior
Chamber of Commerce when she was crowned "Miss LaGrange,
19U9." 16

Beginning in the summer of 1950 a renovation program
involved the expenditure of $121,757.50, which was raised by
a committee from the Board of Trustees, headed by Lewis
Price and William H. Turner). The renovation program added
greatly to the beauty and efficiency of the Dobbs and Hawkes
buildings, and provided ample protection from fire hazards.
It was a wonderful way to celebrate the one hundredth birth-
day of Dobbs Hall, which had stood since the College was
twenty-one years old. 1 '''

An article in the LaGrange Daily News said:

If you are of the opinion that a dollar won't go far
these da^rs (and most of us are) it will do you good to
make a personal tour of the LaGrange College Campus some
time in the near future and see just how far they made
$125,000 go in the big face-lifting job that has been
done "on the hill" recently.

16

"Miss Georgia to Vie Today for Top Title," The
Atlanta Constitution , September 5, 19^9, p. 3.

17

Report of the President to the Trustees of LaGrange
College, May 15, 1951, p. 1.

167

Buildings rebuilt from, the ground up, porches sub-
tracted, terraces and services added, whole departments
moved and enlarged; these are but a few of the spectac-
ular achievements that have been accomplished in the
past year.

The Board of Trustees ix anxious, however, to keep
the general public from getting the idea that the job
is done, "That the tools may be laid away to rest."
Said a spokesman for the board, "We need at least
:100,000 to finish the renovation we have already under-
taken. 11 18

In addition to the improvements mentioned above, the
Science Department was completely equipped with modern
apparatus and furnishings at a cost of $25,000 which was
contributed by the Fuller S. Callaway Foundation for that
purpose."^

A campaign for continuing the building and improve-
ment of the College was launched on August 15, 1951. The
campaign committee, composed of some of the leading citizens
of LaGrange, West Point, and Hogansville, did an outstanding
job, which resulted in raising $15 ^,1^5 . 5 8. Among the
larger donations were: $50,000 by the Callaway Community
Foundation, 512,500 from the General Board of Education of
The Methodist Church, $10,000 from Mr. William H. Banks,
$10,000 from Mr. Dan Manget, and $10,000 from Mr. Abbot Turner.

18

Don Downs, "5125,000 Face-Lifting Accomplished at
LaGrange College," LaGrange Daily Hews , October 12, 1950, p. 7.

19

Report of the President to the Board of Trustees ,
May 15, 1951, p. 1-

168

There were, in all, over five hundred donors, a fact which

indicates the widespread interest which citizens generally

20

have in LaGrange College.

Dr. Henry's annual report at the end of the scholastic
year 1952-53 shoved a total enrollment of 301, an increase
of h'J over the previous year. Also, salaries of both the
faculty and staff had been increased until they compared
favorably with salaries of other first class church-related
colleges.^

During that year, a special faculty committee spent

weeks of serious study, drawing up a statement of the

Philosophy of LaGrange College. It states in part:

The purpose of LaGrange College is to foster the full
development of the students as individuals and as members
of society. The aim of Christian education is to pro-
vide for growth intellectural, physical, emotional,
social, and spiritual. Therefore the program should be
flexible enough to prepare each student according to the
individual interests, needs, and capacities for a life
of maximum usefulness and service to society. The
curriculum and program should be broad enough to provide
opportunities for the students who wish to do graduate
work, or transfer credits, and for the students who wish
to go to work immediately after graduation. Fundamentals
which are necessary for success in modern society should
be provided for all.

The curriculum and program should provide for an
appreciation of our national heritage. We should make

20

President's Annual Report to the Board of Trustees
of LaGrange College, November 7, 1951, p. 1.

21

Annual Report of President, May 29, 1953, p. 1.

169

an attempt to retain the best cultural heritage of
civilization and build on that heritage. At the same
time the curriculum and program should provide for an
appreciation of world-wide conditions and make an effort
to contribute toward international-mindedness.

The administration and faculty seek to guide students
in solving their problems , in making adjustments , and in
selecting their life's work. The student's welfare is
of paramount importance and the teacher-pupil relation-
ship of prime significance. Training is given in the
development of initiative, self-confidence, and depend-
ability. The program seeks to instill within the
individual courtesy, honesty, and respect for the rights
of others, so that the students will be able to take
their places as responsible members of a society, within
the framework of the home and the community, in civic,
religious, social, and business or professional activi-
ties. 22

A real contribution toward friendly international
relationships has been made at LaGrange College through a
number of foreign students who have attended LaGrange College
for several years. They have come from Japan, China, Korea,
Holland, Brazil, Malaya, England, France, Egypt, and Cuba.
The support of these students has come from contributions
made by Mr. Dan Mange t, Mr. William H. Banks, the LaGrange
Rotary and Lions Clubs, the Men's Bible Class of the West
Point Methodist Church, the Men's Bible Class of the Peach-
tree Road Methodist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, and the Woman's

Society of Christian Service of St. Johns Methodist Church,

23

Augusta, Georgia.

22

Bulletin , 1953-55, p. l6.

23

Annual Report of the President to the Board of
Trustees of LaGrange College, May 20, 1952, p. 3.

170

The academic program of LaGrange College reveals a
strong and -well balanced corriculum, with seventeen majors

offered. Students are expected to spend approximately two

2k

hours in study for every hour in class. With classrooms,
dormitories, and recreational facilities so conveniently
located, there is plenty of time for study, work, play, and
worship.

Cultural subjects are considered essential for
gracious living. The departments of art, music, speech, and
drama offer students ample opportunity to develop talents
and abilities that will help them to live a rich full life.

The social life at the College is quite different
with men in the student b ody. A student recreation center
has been provided in the basement of the Hawkes Building,
-foich meets a great demand for a place to enjoy a snack,
listen to music, and dance. On May 6, 1950, for the first
time a full scale formal dance was given the students by the

local alumnae. It concluded the May Day Festival which is

26

an outstanding occasion at the College ever}/ year.

There are four sororities on the campus with every
girl invited to join one of them. They are local sororities,

2k

Ibid. , p. lh.

25

Ibid . , p . IT .

26

Report of the President to the Board of Trustees of
LaGrange College, 19^9-50, p. h.

171

but are older than many nationals. They keep their local

status for two main reasons. It is inexpensive to belong to

then, and their aim is to develop social graces rather than

social superiority. The sororities sponsor parties, house

parties, and athletic contests. They also sponsor two major

dances each year, with escorts invited from Emory, Georgia

Tech, University of Georgia, University of Alabama, and
27

Auburn.

The men students have three fraternities, and promote

an athletic program, and social events. They enjoy their own

musical organization and present programs to the student body

and to service clubs by invitation. They also take a major

part in the production of drama, which is one of the most

popular features of the College. The Curtain Raisers present

28

several full length plays each year.

Miss Irene E. Arnett has been head of the Speech
Department at LaGrange College since 19^1 , during which time
many of her students have gained national recognition. Ten
of them have played leading roles with the Barter Players in
Abingdon, Virginia. Three have gone on to the Pasadena
Playhouse, in Pasadena, California, where they have taken
part in playwriting, producing, and acting. Five have been

27

LaGrange College Bulletin , 1953-53 , p. 13.

28

Loc. cit.

172

with the Priscilla Beach Sunnier Theater, at Plymouth,

Massachusetts, and six of them have their own private

29

studios where they are teaching speech.

Thirteen members of the 195^-55 Curtain Raisers
belong to Alpha Psi Omega, a national Dramatic Fraternity.
They are also represented each year at the conventions of
the American Educational Theater Association, the National

Association of Speech, and the Southeastern Theater Associa-

.. 30
tion.

Radio training is part of the Speech Department work,

with emphasis on script writing, sound effects, productions,
31

and announcing. The front cover of the Georgia educational
Journal , April, 1950, depicted the LaGrange College Radio
Theater in action. That particular program featured the
modern teacher in the elementary schools. It was instigated
and broadcast over station W.L.A.G. F.M. under the direction

of Miss Irene E. Arnett in cooperation with Miss Opal T.

32

Shaw, Atlanta Association for Childhood Education.

29

Information furnished by Irene E. Arnett, Head of
Speech Department, LaGrange College, May 18, 1955.

30

Loc . cit .

31 .
LaGrange College Bulletin , 1953-55, p. 14.

32

Georgia Department of Education Journal, Vol. ^3, No. 8,
April, 1950, p. 5.

173

Music has always held a strong position at the
College. From its beginning the best in faculty and instru-
ments have been maintained.

Miss Elizabeth Gilbert, vho has been a voice teacher

and director of the Glee Club at LaGrange College for twenty

years, said that her most promising students, who could have

ha.d outstanding public careers in voice, had chosen marriage

as their major career. Under Miss Gilbert's direction, the

College Glee Club, known as the Chapel Choir, entertains the

music lovers of LaGrange and other Georgia communities

throughout the year singing at schools, churches, and civic

clubs on invitation. For five years they have given at

least one concert jointly with the Emory-at-Oxford Glee

Club at Oxford and LaGrange, usually during the Christmas or

Easter season, presenting such oratorios as the Messiah,

Elijah, and The Creation. The Chapel Choir was the first

college sroup to sing on the Protestant Hour Broadcast,

33

heard around the world.

Since 19^5, Miss Gilbert and her choir have made
annual tours, lasting from three to ten days, giving concerts
in various towns in Georgia and Florida. In the spring of
195^, they went to Miami where they sang at the Easter Sun
Rise Service in the Orange Bowl, and at the regular service

LaGrange College Bulletin , 1953-55 P. 1^

174

of the First Methodist Church in Miami. They also sang in
several towns on their way to and from Miami.

Even though hundreds of graduates from this depart-
ment chose marriage as their major career, they have made
remarkable contributions to the social and cultural life of
their home towns all ove rthe South and will probably con-
tinue to do so for years to come.

The Art Department, under the direction of Mrs.
Peaunette Everett Vaughn, a former student of Lamar Dodd,
is outstanding. It presents exhibits in its modern gallery
and showings are exchanged with other schools. Professional
exhibits are offered to the student body and to the com-
munity. The department boasts the fact that Lamar Dodd, one
of America's top modern artists, got his foundation in art
while a student at LaGrange College. The College also

conferred the degree of Doctor of Humanities upon him at

35

the graduation exercises in 19^-7.

Emphasis is placed upon Christian culture at the
College. Outstanding ministers and religious leaders are
brought to the campus for chapel addresses and sermons. In

Information furnished by Miss Elizabeth Gilbert,
Associate Professor of Voice, LaGrange College. Also
LaGrange College Bulletin , 1953-55 p. 13.

35

Annual Report of the President to the Board of
Trustees of LaGrange College, June 2, 19^7 p. ^

175

the fall a Religion-in-Life Week is observed, at which time
a noted scholar is invited to lecture on the place of reli-
gion in his field of learning, and the contribution of his
specialty to religion. In the spring a Religious Emphasis
Week is scheduled, with a noted evangelist preaching two
sermons each day and making himself available to students

for personal counseling. All students are required to study

36

the Bible and to attend chapel three times each week.

The Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian Churches
have active student organizations for men and women. The
Y. W. C. A. promoted a vital program until May, 195*+ when its
name was officially changed to the LaGrange Christian

37

Association in recognition of the co-educational program.

During the scholastic year 195^-55 the sum of

$122,666 was added to the endowment fund, bringing the total

endowment assets to $1,^75,^99. The two largest gifts were

$50,000 contributed by William N. Banks, and $Ul,917 from

38

the Callaway Community Foundation.

Mrs. Mary Will Thompson, alumna, contributed $U,000,
which, with an appropriation of $1,000 from the general

36

Ibid . , p . 12 .

37

Annual Report of the President to the Board of
Trustees, May 18, 195^, p. 5.

38 .

Ibid. , p. 1.

-

176

endowment funds of the College, will constitute the special

endowment fund to support the Arthur H. Thompson Lectureship.

This will bring to the campus each year a scholar to lecture

on the interrelationship of his field of learning and reli-
39

gion.

Mrs. William C. Key, alumna, gave forty shares of
West Point Manufacturing Company capital stock to establish
an annual scholarship award to a Baptist or Methodist senior
student who plans to enter a full-time Christian occupation.
During the same year, from the W. I. H. and Lula E. Pitts
Foundation the College received $*f t 50h for current opera-
tions. The annual grants since its establishment totaled
$87,703. From the North Georgia Conference the college

received $12,0^6.63, and the Callaway Mills Company made a

ho

special gift of $5,000 for the purchase of library books.

E. Aubrey Bailey, dean of LaGrange College, was
awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by Florida
Southern College, Lakeland, Florida, in March, 1950. The
degree was conferred upon Dean Bailey in recognition of

hi

twenty-eight years of service as dean at LaGrange College.

Dr. Waights G. Kenry, President of LaGrange College, deli-

U2

vered the graduating address.

39

Ibid . , pp. 1-2.
Loc . cit .

Ul"Dean E. A. Bailey gets Honorary Degree in Florida,"
Atlanta Constitution , March 27, 1950, p. h.

Loc. cit

ITT

At the commencement exercises of LaGrange College in
195^ Dr. Weston L. Murray, professor of social science, was
presented with a diamond pin in recognition of his twenty-
five years of effective service.

The members of the college staff who have been
awarded the twenty-five year service pins are: Dr. Hurray,
Dean Bailey, and Miss Rosa Muller who retired in 195^ as
head of the Music Department of LaGrange College after
forty-eight years of service. Miss Muller came to LaGrange
College from Leipzig, Germany, on the invitation of Mr.
Alwyn Smith. In Appreciation of her services at the College
for nearly half a century, the executive committee of the
Board of Trustees made provision for her to continue to
receive a monthly salary. ^

It has often been said that "Going to LaGrange

tl li5

College is a family tradition. ' a number of girls who have
attended the College in recent years have been members of
the third and fourth generations of the same family who had
graduated there.

U3

Annual Report of the President to the Board of
Trustees, May 18, 195*+, p.

Loc . ext .

"Going to LaGrange College Is a Family Tradition,"
Wesley an Christian Advocate, February 3, 19^9, p. 12.

178

Mary Perkerson, Greenville, Georgia, Glass 1952,

said: "I like the sentiment and tradition that links our

family with this wonderful old College." Her great-
er ^6

grandmother, Lavma Byrd, was a graduate of lool.

Elizabeth Reed Jackson, Hogansville, Georgia, Class
19^1, is the great granddaughter of Sara Cameron Kill, one
of the three members of the first graduating class of the
LaGrange Female Academy, in 18U6. Elizabeth's grandmother,
Minnie Wilkinson Tatum, graduated in I89I, and her mother,
Sara Tatum Reed, vas a graduate of the Class of 191 1 *.
Elizabeth now has a daughter in the sixth grade of the
Hogansville Elementary School who is planning to enter
LaGrange College m 1961.

In October, 1938, an article in the LaGrange Daily
News began:

The girls at LaGrange College are Just like the oft-
mentioned "one big family," but they are related to each
other in a much more literal sense. There are sisters,
there are cousins , and there are daughters . . . . HQ

Little did they think that in 195^ there would be

brothers too.

k6

Loc . cit .

hi

Information furnished by Sara Tatum Reed, Class

kQ

Margaret Cubine, "College Is Like One Big Family,"
LaGrange Daily News , October 18, 1938, p. h.

179

Many cultural and social affairs are enjoyed on The

Hill by innumerable citizens of LaGrange throughout the

year. For example:

The Circle K Club of LaGrange College sponsored by
the Kiwanis Club of LaGrange received its charter
Thursday night, March 3, 195 5 at a joint dinner meet-
ing of the two clubs held at LaGrange College with wives
of Kiwanians and sweethearts of Circle K members as
guests .

Hilton Estes , president of Circle K, accepted both
the charter and leadership of the club in an impressive
manner. k9

In Dr. Henry's annual report for 195^-55, he expressed

appreciation to the Callaway Community Foundation for the

gift of several lots of land adjoining the campus; to the

Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation for a new scholarship fund

of $1,500; and to Mr. and Mrs. . I, H. Pitts and Miss

50

Margaret Pitts for their continued strong support.

51
Aid to students for the year 195^-55 was as follows:

Cash scholarships provided by benefactors . . $20,738.27

Honors and Music scholarhsip 5,7^2.00

Ministerial discounts 2,015.63

Work scholarships 6,268.75

Professional discounts 800.00

Other discounts 70.00

h9

Eleanor H. Orr, "Circle K Group Receives Charter,'
The LaGrange Daily Hews , March U, 1955, p. 1.

50

Annua,l Report of the President to the Board of
Trustees of LaGrange College, May, 1955 , p. 6.

51

Loc. cit.

180

During the scholastic year 195^-55 the curriculum of
the College was reorganized. Instead of the many one-man
departments, five basic departments with a person holding a
Ph.D. degree at the head of each one except for the Depart-
ment of Fine Arts, were established. The departments are:

Business Administration, Humanities , Science, Social

52

Science, and Fine Arts.

Three courses in Bible, or two courses in Bible and
one in Fine Arts, are required of every student at LaGrange
College. In the spring of 1955 a. serious young man, repre-
senting a group of students , asked Dr. Henry why students
majoring in Business Administration were required to take
Bible and a foreign language. Dr. Henry's answer was rather
lengthy, but he ended his many reasons for both requirements
by saying that he and the faculty wanted to make it possible
for every graduate of LaGrange College to be conversant in
all fields of knowledge represented in the liberal arts. He
also said, "Take away the study of the 3ible and eventually
the fruits of its influences will also pass away. The Bible
is the single and irrevocable source of all human freedoms."

Dr. Henry says that even though the enrollment of the
College has increased, it is still not as great as it should

52

Ibid . , p. 3.

53

Ibid . , p . 2 .

181

be. In his annual report of May, 1955 he stated:

LaC-range College , which has lived through many eras ,
is approaching the end of another one. We will not
accept our present status as that announced by Matthew
Arnold who declared that "we stand between two eras. The
one dead, the other powerless to be born." We pass from
life to life as we stand at the threshold of the 125th
birthday of this institution. We have reason to believe
that the future portends a greater development than
LaGrange College has ever known. The foundations have
been laid and we are building toward a nobler struc-
ture. 5 h

5h

Ibid. , p . 1 .

CHAPTER IX
CONCLUSION

More than times have changed at LaGrange College
since 1831, when the loveliest young ladies of the South
began their quest for higher education. It is no longer
necessary for a colored mammy to go up to the school "to
tub, button, and curl young miss,"^ nor do the young ladies

march in prim pairs from the dormitory to classrooms with

eyes demurely downcast lest young gentlemen on the wayside

2

detract their minds from their studies. instead, coeds
stroll hand in hand into the classrooms and there prove and
improve their abilities to take their places in the modern
world.

For the past century and a quarter LaGrange College
has held aloft the torch of intellectual and spiritual
advancement. It was fitting that such an institution was
set upon a hill, symbolizing the light which was not hid
under a bushel, but shedding its rays of influence into all
parts of the world through the lives of its alumnae.

It would be impossible to estimate the extent of the
contributions made to the religious, cultural, and social

Benson, op . cit . , p. 7.
Ibid . , p. Ik.

183

life, not only of this nation but to nations around the
world by approximately four thousand alumnae of LaGrange
College.

A list of some of the outstanding alumnae, recorded
in Appendix D, only gives an idea of the variety of contri-
butions which have been publicized. It says nothing of the
hundreds of wives , mothers , teachers , and others whose
influence could not be measured.

The sentiment of patrons for LaGrange College was
illustrated in a letter to Dr. Henry from the mother of a
young lady who received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the
College a few years ago, with a major in mathematics. The
young lady went on to a graduate school for her Master of
Arts degree, and subsequently married a young man with his
Ph.D. in nuclear physics. The letter to Dr. Henry stated in
part :

I am so glad that my daughter had four years at
LaGrange College. The Christian faith which was taught
her in her childhood and youth was strengthened and
confirmed during those years at the College. 3

Dr. Henry said that this letter demonstrated what Dr.

Hubert Quillian once said in an article in the Wesley an

Christian Advocate ;

Christian Education for Christian living is stressed
in all the policies and activities of the college pro-
gram, with the objective of the development of social

3

Letter in the files in the president's office.

18U

and mental poise in the individual student in prepara-
tion for service in home, community, church, and
state, k

The regard of the present administration for the
rich history of the College is indicated on two historical
markers erected on the north and south sides of the campus
April 1, 1955. The markers were made available through the
Georgia Historical Commission at no cost to the community or
the college.

It reads as follows :

LaGrange College 1831. La-Grange College is the
oldest non-tax supported institution of higher education
in Georgia. It was chartered in 1831, as LaGrange
Female Academy. The charter has been changed three
times as the trustees altered the name to LaGrange
Female Institute in I8U7, to LaGrange Female College in
1851, and finally to LaGrange College in 193k. It was
formally declared a co-educational institution in 195*+.
The LaGrange College is owned by the Horth Georgia Con-
ference of the Methodist Church. 6

LaGrange College has an illustrious heritage which

could be either a blight or a blessing a blight if a spirit

of self-complaoency were allowed to creep in, or a blessing

if past achievements are used only as an inspiration to

higher levels of service.

Words for the inscription were prepared by Dr. Henry.

k

Hubert Quillian, "LaGrange
Christian Advocate , July 13, 19^5

College," "Wesley an

p. 7.

LaGrange Daily News , April

1, 1955, p. 1.

6

Loc. cit.

It is deeply gratifying to all friends of the insti-
tution that its alumnae, patrons, and 'leaders are so
enthusiastically and unselfishly striving to build an even
more glorious future.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. BOOKS

Barrett, George W, , compiler. Year Book : iinutes i* the
Twenty-s e venth Session of the ..orth Georgia Conference .
Atlanta: Press of the Foote and Davies Company, 1893.
T2 pp.

Callaway, T. W. Callawa; Baptist Preachers , 1789-1882 .

Compiled Toy T. W Callaway and evidently published by
him for members of the Callaway Family only one hundred
copies were printed. No publisher or printer's name
given.

Catalogues of LaGrange Female Institute , 18U8 , 1851, 1853,
I856, l557 , 1858-59 .

Catalogues E* LaGrange Female ollege , l859 1876-77, 1878-
79, 1879-80, 1881-82, 1887-88, 1888-89, 1890-91, 1892-93,
1900, 190U-05, 1908, 1910, 1911-12, 1913, 1917-18, 1919-
20, 1920-21, 1923-2U, 1927-28, 1928-29.

Catalogues of LaGrange College , 1936-37, 1953-55.

Cooper, H alter G. The Story of Georgia , Vol. II. New York:
The American Historical Society, Inc., 1938.

Gordon , John B . Reminiscences of th Civil r ar . New York :
Charles Scribner and Sons, 1903.

Memories of Georgia , Historical and Biographical , Vol. II.
At.la.nta: The Southern Historical Association, 1895

Mitchell, Margaret. Gone with the Wind . Hew York: The
Macmillan Company, 1938.

Monroe, Walter S., editor. Encyclopedia of Educational
Research (American Educational Research Association) .
Hew York: The Macmillan Company, 19^1.

Smith, Clifford L. His tor;/ - of Troup County . Atlanta: Press
of the Foote and Davies Company, 1933.

Smith, George G. rhe Story of Georgia and the Georgia

People , 1732 to i860 . Macon, Georgia: George G. Smith,
Publisher, 19 00.

. The Story of Georgia Methodism from 1786-1866 .

Atlanta: A. B. Caldwell, Publisher, 1913. P. 335.

188

White, Mary Culler. The Life Story of Ali ce Culler Cobb .
New York: Fleming K. Re veil Company, 1925.

ho's Who in i merica , Vol. 28. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who,
Inc., 195^-1955. 3,099 pp.

.Tap's Who in Methodism . Chicago: The A. IT. Marquis Company,
1952. 860 pp.

"Woody , Thomas . His tory of Women ' s Education in the United
States, Vol. II. New York: Science Press, 1929.

B, PERIODICALS

Forrester, Charles S. "Commencement Address ," LaGrange
College Bulletin , Vol. CII , Ho. 3, May 29, 19^8.

Georgia Educational ournal , Vol. U3, No. 8, April, 1950,
p. 5.

"Going to LaGrange College Is A Family Tradition," 'Wesley an
Christian Advocate , February 3, 19^9, p. 12.

Harris, Pierce. "Stewardship a Power Behind LaGrange
College Endowment Successes," Wesley an Christian
Advocate , July 13, 19^5, p. 1.

Johnson, Lucille. "LaGrange College Library," LaGrange

College Alumnae Bulletin , Vol. I, Ho. 3, December, 1951,
p. 1.

Hall, T. Otto. "LaGrange College Custodian of the

Intangibles," Wesley an Christian .Advocate , July 13,
19^5, p. a.

Qui Hi an, Hubert. "LaGrange College," Wesley an Christian
Advocate , July 13, 19^5, p. 7.

White, Mabel. "College Campaign, 1920," The Quadrangle ,
1921, p. Ik.

C. NEWSPAPERS
At lant a C ons t i tuti on , September 5, 19^9 p. 3.
Atlanta Journal . October h 9 1931, p. 5.

189

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer , September 18, 19kQ,

Columbus Sunday Ledge r-Enouirer , "Mid-Century Panorama of

Progress, 1900-1950," " January 28, 1951, Section No, p. k.

LaGrange Daily Mews , October 18, 1938; July 12, I9U8;
October 9, 1931.

LaGrange Graphic , June 15, 1928.

LaGrange Reporter , July IT , 1879 .

Rome Revs Tribune , February 27, 19^9, p. 1.

D. LETTERS

Gramly, Dale H. , President of Salem Academy and College,
Winston Salem, Ilorth Carolina, letter to the writer
dated November 15, 195

Letter from the mother of a LaGrange College graduate to
Dr. Waights G. Henry, president.

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., to Dr. Waights G.
Henrj'', President of LaGrange College, dated March 2,
1951.

Polhill, Mary Park, a letter to the writer containing

biographical sketch of Major John Park, second president
of the LaGrange Female Academy ( 195*0 .

Varner, Cinthia, a letter to her daughters at LaGrange
College, dated April 3, 1952.

E. UNPUBLISHED MATERIAL

Benson, Carrie Fall. "Century End." Unpublished story of
LaGrange College, 1831-1931, 36 pp.

Caswell, Render R. "The History of Bowdon College," Unpub-
lished Master's thesis, The University of Georgia,
Athens, Georgia, July, 1952, 225 pp.

190

Miller, Margaret. "The Founding and Early History of
Wesley an College." Unpublished Master's thesis, The
University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 1935.

Smith, Luther M. "Commencement Address," LaGrange Female
College, July 10, 1856.

F. MISCELLANEOUS

Acts of the General Assembly of Georgia , 1831, I8U7, 1851,
1859* Published separately for each session.

Act of Superior Court , Troup County, August 6, 193*+.

Annual Reports of the President and Minutes of the Board of
Trustees from January, 1857, to May, 19^2. Journal
of LaGrange Female College, Volume I, II, III.

Annual Reports of the President to the Board of Trustees of
LaGrange College, May 29, 1939. Hot included in Journal,

19 Hi, 19^2, 191*3, 19^5, 19^6, 19U7, 19^9, 1950,

1951, 1952, 1953, 195k a 1955.

Deed Files of Troup County , Book J, pp. 99-597; Book L,
p.

Stories and incidents furnished by the following alumnae and
faculty members of LaGrange College:

Mrs. Emmie Durham Murray

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Smith

Mrs. Sara Tatum Reed

Mrs. A. H. Thompson

Mr. Hubert T. Quillian, Jr.

Mrs . Frank Davis

Miss Ruth Uhatley

Mrs. H. S. Wooding

Mrs. E. K. Farmer

Miss Daisy Davies , president 1915-1920
Dr. W'aights G. Henry, president, 19^8 -
Miss Irene E. Arnett
Miss Elizabeth Gilbert

-

APPENDIXES

APPENDIX A
CHARTERS

193

Text of the first "bill introduced into the Georgia
Legislature "by Honorable Duncan G. Campbell in Hovember,
1825, to secure a seminary of learning for females:

A BILL

"To be entitled an Act to establish a public seat of
learning in this State for the education of females.

It is the distinguished happiness of the present
generation to live in an age of improvement, and enjoy
the means of ameliorating the condition of all classes
of society. In a review of the progress of literature
throughout the country in which we live, we are fur-
nished with the fact that in no part of this vast Con-
federation has the education of females been the object
of public munificence.

To this class of society is entrusted the early in-
struction of both sexes, and our feelings and principles
are of maternal origin. How necessary, then, that a
department so high, and charged with duties so delicate
and important should be early placed under the regenerat-
ing hand of science and religion. These are the strongest
safeguards, under Providence, of political security and
individual excellence. To direct them in their appro-
priate destinies is the grateful duty of those who wish
well to the national prosperity. For the acquirement of
solid and useful female education our sister states will
afford but incompetent reliance. And if we were but
satisfied of their sufficiency, the resort would be too
humiliating for the generous ambition of Georgia and her
means of indulging it. For the purpose, therefore, of
rescuing from comparative obscurity the fairest portion
of our community and enabling them to contribute to the
vast store of literature, philosophy and religion,

Be it therefore enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the State of Georgia, in General
Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by authority of
the same, That the superintendence and regulation of
female education throughout the State, and parti cularly
of the public seat of learning hereby established for
that purpose, shall be committed and entrusted to one
board of trustees to be denominated 'The Board of
Trustess of the Female Seminary of Georgia. 1 Said
Board shall consist of fifteen males and fifteen
females : and that the seminary may be carried into
effect as speedily as possible the following persons
are hereby appointed trustees."
(Here follow the thirty names.)

19 k

There were seven other sections to the bill defining
the authority of the Board and making all other necessary
provisions for the permanent establishment of the institu-
tion. The hill passed the House by a large majority, but
contrary to expectation, met with strong opposition in the
Senate and was lost.

ACTS OF LEGISLATURE REFERRING TO LAGRANGE COLLEGE

Sec. k Act approved December 26, 1831, Acts of 1831, page h.

Sec. k. And that Wilson Williams, Julius C. Alford, Rufus
Broome, James Herring, John L. Gage, William A. Redd, and
Joseph Poythress, and their successors in office, be, and
they are hereby appointed and declared to be a body corpor-
ate, under the name and style of the Trustees of the
LaGrange Female Academy, in the county of Troup.

From Acts of iQkj , pp. 120-121, approved December IT, I8U7.

Sec. 5. And be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That
the principal of the Institute shall have power to confer
all such honors, degrees, medals and privileges as are
usually conferred in colleges and universities. . . .

From Acts of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia
passed in Milledgeville , 1851-52, p. 312.

. . . That from and after the passage of this Act, the name
of the LaGrange Female Institute, Incorporated by the Act of
the General Assembly, approved 17th of December, iQkj t be
and the same is hereby changed to the name of the LaGrange
Female College.

From Acts of the Legislature December, 1859.

Preamble, /.here as, the LaGrange Female Academy was originally
incorporated by the Legislature of Georgia, and the same was
duly organized according to the true intent and meaning of
said Act; and whereas the name of said Academy was afterwards
changed to the name of the LaGrange Female Institute; and
whereas, the name was subsequently by act of the General

195

Assembly changed to the name of the LaGrange Female College,
and certain privileges and rights were conferred by each of
the said several Acts; . . .

By Act of the Superior Court, Troup County, August 6, 193^,
the name of the Institution was changed to LaGrange College.

FROM ACTS OF 1831, p. 3, INCORPORATING
LaGRANGE FEMALE ACADEMY

Sec. k. And that Wilson Williams, Julius C. Alford, Rufus
Broom, James Herring, John L. Gage, William A, Redd and
Joseph Poythress , and their successors in office, be, and
they are hereby appointed and declared to be a body corpor-
ate, under the name and style of the Trustees of the
LaGrange Female Academy, in the county of Troup.

Approved December 26, 1831, Acts of 1831, page It:

/Signed/ Wilson Lumpkin, Governor

AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE LAGRANGE FEMALE INSTITUTE

Sec. 1 . 3e it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the State of Georgia in General Assembly met, and
it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that from
and after the passage of this act, Sampson Duggar, Hampton W.
Hill, Daniel McMillan, Orval A. Bull, and Thomas 3. Greenwood,
and their successors in office, be, and they are hereby con-
stituted a body corporate and politic by the name and style
of the LaGrange Female Institute, said board to augment in
number by the present board at pleasure, provided that not
more than twenty-four shall at any time exist.

Sec. 2 . And be it further enacted, That the trustees, and
their successors in office, under the name and style afore-
said, may use a common seal, and shall be capable of suing

196

and being sued, pleading and being impleaded; also, to have,
take, possess, and acquire, by gift, grant, or purchase,
lands , tenements , hereditaments , goods , chattels , and other
estates, and the same to be used for the purpose of education.

Sec. 3. And be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That
the trustees, or a majority of them, shall have power to
appoint a principal for the Institute, and that said princi-
pal shall have the right and power to appoint assistants,
prescribe a course of studies, to make and enforce all such
laws as the internal policy of the Institute may require,
establish the rate of tuition, adjust expenses, and adopt
such regulations as the good of the Institute may require.

Sec, k. And be it further enacted, That the trustees afore-
said, in their corporate character and name, shall have
peroetual succession; and when any facancy shall occur in
said board of trustees, by death, resignation or otherwise,
the remaining trustees, or a majority of them, shall have
the power of filling each vacancies.

Sec. 5 . And be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That
the principal of the Institute shall have power to confer
all such honors, degrees, medals and privileges as are
usually conferred in colleges and universities, and shall
preside at all the public exercises of the Institute.

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the charter shall
be and remain in force for and during the space of twenty
years from the date of its passage.

Sec. 7* And be it further enacted by the authority afore-
said, that all laws and parts of laws, militating against
this act, be, and the same are hereby repealed.

/signed/ CHARLES J. JENKINS,

Speaker of the House of
Representatives

ANDREW J. SELLER,
President of the Senate

Approved Dec. IT, I8U7

GEORGE W. TOWS, Governor
(See Acts I8U7, pp. 120-121)

197

FROM ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA
PASSED III MILLEDGEVILLE, 1851-52, p. 312

No. 195

An Act to change the name of the La Grange Female Institute,
incorporated by Act of Legislature, approved, December 17,
lQk'J t and for other purposes therein mentioned. Approved,
December 26, 1851.

Sec. 1 . Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represen-
tatives of the State of Georgia in General Assembly met, and
it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That from
and after the passage of this Act, the name of the LaGrange
Female Institute, incorporated by Act of the General Assembly,
approved, 17th of December, I8U7, be and the same is hereby
changed to the name of the LaGrange Female College, and that
all the powers, privileges and immunities, granted to the
LaGrange Female Institute, shall continue and inure to the
LaGrange Female College.

No. 182

An Act to amend the several acts heretofore passed in rela-
tion to the LaGrange Female College, to ratify the same of
the same, and for other purposes therein named.

Whereas, the LaGrange Female Academy was originally
incorporated by the Legislature of Georgia, and the same was
duly organized according to the true intent and meaning of
said Act; and whereas, the name of said Academy was after-
wards changed to the name of the LaGrange Female Institute;
and whereas, the name was subsequently by act of the General
Assembly changed to the name of the LaGrange Female College,
and certain privileges and rights were conferred by each of
the said several acts; and whereas, Joseph T. Montgomery and
Hugh B. T. Montgomery removed said Institution to a more
eligible location, and incurred great expense in erecting
buildings and procuring apparatus, and in making great
improvements; and whereas, on the 29th day of January, 1857,
said Joseph T. Montgomery and Hugh B. T. Montgomery, by
indenture, did duly convey said LaGrange Female College to
William J. Parks, Caleb W. Key, Albert E. Cox and others,
as trustees appointed by and acting for the Georgia Annual

193

Conference of the Methodist E. Church, South; and -whereas,
said Conference has since said day held and managed said
College, by its Trustees and has at various times added to
and filled vacancies in said Board of Trustees, therefore,

28. Section 1. The General Assembly do enact, That
the transfer and sale of said LaGrange Female College to
the trustees named in said deed, and for the purposes there-
in named, be, and the same is, hereby ratified and made
legal, and that said new trustees and their successors do
hold and enjoy and exercise all the powers, rights, fran-
chises and privileges heretofore granted by the several Acts
aforesaid, as fully as if they had been the original
Trustees for said institution of learning.

29. Section 2. Be it further enacted, That the present
Board of Trustees, to wit: Robert A. T. Ridley, President;
James B. Payne, Caleb W. Kay, John C. Simmons, Cadwell J.
Pearce, Charles R. Jewett, William J. Scott, John W. Talley,
Robert B. Lester, George C. Clark, William H. Evans, James

W. Hinton, Eustice W. Speer, William D. Martin James M.
Chambers, James M. Beall, Simon W. Yancey, Albert E. Cox and
Benjamin H. Hill, and their successors in office, be, and
they are hereby incorporated and made a body corporate, under
the name and style of the LaGrange Female College, and as
such may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded in any
court of law or equity in this State, and may have a common
seal, and adopt all by-laws and regulations for the govern-
ment of said College that may deem fit and proper, and not
repugnant to the Constitution and laws of this State and of
the United States.

30. Section 3. Be it further enacted, That said
LaGrange Female College may confer degrees , grant diplomas ,
regulate instruction, and do all things necessary to be
done, and have all the powers, privileges and franchises
heretofore conferred upon any literary female college in
this State, and may do all things properly attached to a
college of the highest grade.

31. Section h. That said Board of Trustees shall have
power to fill vacancies and enlarge their number, as

1

The Church body is now the North Georgia Conference
of The Methodist Church.

199

desired, and shall have power to sell and transfer any
property originally belonging to said LaGrange Female
Academy or LaGrange Female Institute and to invest the pro-
ceeds of said sale in accordance with the true intent and
meaning of the original incorporation, and shall have power
to hold and possess property, real and personal, by gift,
grant, bequest, or otherwise, and to alien and dispose of
the same under the direction and by the consent of the said
Georgia Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South.

Sec. 5. Repeals conflicting laws.
Assented to December the 19th, 1859

APPENDIX B
LIST OF PRESIDENTS

201

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF PRESIDENTS
OF LAGRANGE COLLEGE

Rev. Thomas Stanley

Hr. John Park

Rev. Joseph T. Montgomery

Rev. W G. Conner

Rev. W. J. Sassnett, D.D.

Rev. W, A. Harris

Rev. G. J. Pearce

Rev. J. M. Armstrong

Prof. I. F. Cox

Rev. Morgan Callaway, D.D.
Rev. E. P. Birch
Mr. J. T. Johnson
Rev. J. R. Mays on
Rev. J. W. Heidt, D.D.
Prof. Rufus V/. Smith
Prof. Alvyn P. Smith

Miss Daisy Davies

Mr. William E. Thompson

Mr. Hubert T. Quillian, LL.D.

Dr. Waights G. Henry, Jr., D.D.

1831-1835
1835-18U3
181*3-1857
1857-1858

September, 1858-December , 1858

1859- 1860

1860- 1863

1866- 1867

1867- 1869

(College combined during this
period with Southern Female
College)

1869-1871

January, 1872-ITovember, 1872
November, 1872-December , 187^
1875-1881
1881-1885

1885-January, 1915

January, 1915-May, 1915
(Acting President)

1915-1920

1920-1938

1938-19^8

19^8-

-

. . .

APPENDIX C
LETTERS

203

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Washington 25, D. C.

March 2, 1951

Dear Mr. Henry:

Your letter of February 10, 1951, has been referred
to this Division for further attention and reply.

An examination of sources such as The "world Almanac
and Book of Facts for 195 1 and American Universities and
Colleges (Washington, D.C., American Council on Educations,
19^8) has revealed the following Protestant Colleges for
women which appear to antedate LaGrange College.

Lindenvood, St. Charles, Mo., 1827.
Salem, Winston-Salem, N.C., 1772.

Very truly yours,

Henry J. Dubester
Acting Chief
General Reference and
Bibliography Division.

Mr. Waights G. Henry, Jr.
LaGrange College for Young Women
LaGrange, Georgia

20k

SALEM ACADEMY AND COLLEGE
winston-Salem, North Carolina

November 15, 195k.

Ilrs. Frank G. Birdsong
32 Morgan Street,
LaC-range, Georgia

Dear Mrs. Birdsong:

Salem was founded in 1772 as a school for girls of
the Salem Village, which had been founded in 1766. The
school became a boarding school for girls in 1802 and was
Icnown for many years as Salem Female Academy.

It is nov, really two schools: (l) Salem Academy,
entirely for girls, covering the secondary or high school
years; and (2) Salem College, a four-year liberal arts
college. Both institutions have their separate campus
areas on the same total 56-acre area.

The Academy is strictly female; the College admits
a few men as day students but is considered primarily a
woman's college. The enclosed material may be of aid to
you.

Sincerely,

/Signed/ Dale II. Gramley

Dale K. Gramley
President

DHG:ent
enclosure

APPENDIX D
OUTSTANDING ALUMNAE

206

Listed below are some of the outstanding alumnae of LaGrange
College :

Ware, Caroline, 1353 prominent in U.D.C. circles

Andrews, Frances, 1857 internationally known scientist,
author, and educator. In 1915, with four other
outstanding Americans (Woodrow Wilson, Thomas A.
Edison, Nicholas Murray Butler, and E. E. Brown),
was elected to membership in the International
Academy of Literature and Science at Naples, Italy.

Culler, Alice, 1859 (Mrs. J. B. Cobb) missionary secre-
tary of the Woman's Board of Nashville, Tennessee.

Douglas, Frances, 186 1 (Mrs. Lowe) First President of the
Southern Division of Women's Clubs.

Hill, Mary, 1871 (Mrs. Boyce Ficklen) Leader in all

public work in her city; a Conference officer in
North Georgia Woman's Missionary Society.

Tray lor, Mattie, I869 (Mrs. Thomas H. Northen) Was
written up in "Women of Georgia."

Atkinson, Virginia, 1880 Served in China as a missionary
for forty years.

Parks, Carrie, 1883 (Mrs. Luke G. Johnson) One of two

women on General Board, M.E. Ch. , S. A leader in
Woman's Missionary Council; sent by Council to
France in interest of work there; one of eight
women appointed on Commission for Interracial Co-
operation.

Barry, Ellen, 188U (Mrs. Carvey) Spent some years in

Mexico under the Woman's Board of Foreign Missions,
where death interrupted her task.

Cook, Margaret, student in iQdh missionary to Japan.

Revill, Minnie, lQ8k (Mrs. R. J. Atkinson) Prominent in
work of North Georgia Missionary Conference, an
officer.

Smith, Maidee, 1837 Was a missionary to Brazil and then
later taught Bible and Religious Education at
LaGrange College, LaGrange, Georgia.

207

MacFarlin, Jane L. , 1891 (Mrs. Mattingly) Head of the

Mattingly School of Music. The Cable Piano Company
gave a full window display of her compositions.

Ferguson, Edna, 1893 (Mrs. Phillip M. Tate) First woman

bank president in Georgia; also a successful manager
of other business interests; the hub of all civic
and educational work in her town.

Ward, Antoinette, 1893 Unusually successful in musical

line; author of a system of teaching Piano that has
brought her much notice in Hew York City.

Anderson, Louise, l&9h (Mrs. Frederick P. Manget)

Missionary to China. Her husband founded Hoochow Hos-
pital, where they served for forty years. College
building at LaGrange named for her.

Harvard, Es telle, 189^ (Mrs. E. E. Clements) .Missionary
to Cuba.

Johnson, Dr. Buford J., 1895 Professor of Psychology at
Johns Hopkins University. Became the first woman
to be full professor at Johns Hopkins University.

Baker, Rose, student in 1897 Missionary to Cuba.

Campbell, Annie, 1897 Missionary to China.

Jenkins, Kate, 1895 (Mrs. Alonzo) Missionary to Cuba.

Thrower, Mabel, 1899 (Mrs. George McDouvell) Served as
missionary to Mexico and Cuba.

Bradfield, Stella, 1901 Taught at LaGrange College for a

number of years. Awarded Distinguished Alumni Itecog-
nition by the College at Commencement, I96U.

Bradfield, Kate, 1901 (Mrs. John S. Brown) Was the second
woman in the State to be elected a county school
superintendent (Henry County, 1921+). She was also
the first president of the Henry County Federation
of Woman's Clubs and active in other civic, state,
and national committee work.

Cotton, Lois, 1902 Missionary to Cuba (Mrs. P. H. Ellis).

Park, Marguerite, 1902 (Mrs. D. L. Shertz) With her

husband served in China as missionaries until 1950.
Now are in Rodesia, Africa, as Methodist mission-
aries.

*

. . .

208

Dillard, Annie Zu, 1906 (Mrs. J. G. Stipe) Served as
missionary to Cuba.

Jones, Juelle, 1906 (Mrs. Henry A. Willy) Served es
missionary to Hawaii.

Henley, Mamie, 1907 (Mrs. Joseph Meacham) Missionary to
Brazil.

Jenkins, Kate, 1907 Ilissionary to Brazil.

Murphy, Lizzie, 1907 Missionary to Brazil.

Pyle, Daisy, 1907 (Mrs. James L. Kennedy) Missionary to
Brazil.

Fox, Mary, 19 8 Missionary to Cut a.

Gray, Ellie, 1908 Missionary to Korea. Now secretary at
First Methodist Church in LaGrange.

Price, Leta, 1908 Mission school work among the Indians
of Montana.

Godwin, Ella, 1909 (Mrs. Clifford Hill) Missionary in
Mexico.

Webb, Lucy Jim, student in 1909 Missionary to China.

Burnside, Dr. Lenoir, 1911 Ph.D. of Johns Hopkins;

employed in Psychological Institute research work
in New York.

Lupton, Edith, 1911 (Mrs. Frank Hunt) Missionary to Cuba
and "Y" work in California.

Moore, Mary Hill, 1911 (Mrs. Harry E. Heal) Missionary to
Cuba.

Towson, Manie, 1911 Missionary to Japan.

Brinkley, Dr. Florence, 1912 Dean of Women, Duke Univer-
sity, Durham, North Carolina.

Brown, Dr. Susan Willard, 1912 MedicaJ. doctor as mission-
ary to China.

McGee, Eunice Hill, 1912 Critic and demonstration teacher

at East Carolina College, Greenville, North Carolina.

-

209

Walker, Ruth, 1912 Made outstanding record at Vassar.
Taught Northwestern University.

Eakes, Mildred, 1913 Educational Director for the Cincin-
nati Conservatory of Music. Wrote the book of
poems , Women Are That Way .

Fox, Pauline, 1913 (Mrs. Claude Sitton) Missionary to
Cuba.

Grogan, Elmira, 1919 Author. Stories and articles

accepted by magazines as "Century," "The Bookman,"
"Yale Review," "Woman's Home Companion," "Cosmopoli-
tan," "Ladies' Home Journal." Member of the Board of
Directors of Friendship among Children and Youth
around the World, Inc., ITew York City.

Lane, Mary, 192U Teaches in Waycross and writes for the
Atlanta Constitution .

Foster, Edith, 1926 Was one of two librarians in the

United States chosen to participate in a symposium
on adult education before the American Library
Association in San Francisco, California. Is the
director of the West Georgia Regional Library and
is author of two books of poems , Beside the Wishing
Well and T Wind A Chain .

Floyd, Mary, 1927 Teaches at Pfeiffer College, Misen-
heimer, Horth Carolina.

Powell, Evelyn, 1930 (Mrs. Earl H. Hoffman) Interested in
dramatics. Her production of "The Heiress" was
selected, to be entered in the contest sponsored by
Temple University, who annually award the best
Little Theatre production on Philadelphia's Main
Line.

Car ley, Chrystal, 1931 (Mrs. Bill Starr) Was named "Woman
of the Year" by the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co.
This is the highest honor the company can confer on
a woman employee. Has now attained "Life Member of
the Women's Million Dollar Round Table."

Iviker, Betty, 1937 (Mrs. Carrol Johnson) Does an editorial
stint for a professional educational journal., The
School Executive.

210

Ayers , Adrienne, 1938 With the U. S. Information Agency as
a public affairs assistant. For the past two years
Miss Ayers was in Lahone , capitol of the Punjab
province of Pakistan. Before going to Pakistan, she
was on assignment in Stockholm, Sweden.

Arrington, Anne, 19k0 (Mrs. Richard Dunphy) 19^2-U2
secretarial work, office of Price Administration,
Washington, D.C.; 19^3-UU on Secretarial Staff of
Senator Walter F. George, Washington, D.C.

Perkins, Ida Virginia, 19^+0 ITow in Ascunsion, Paraguay
with the Un's "world Health Program. She is in
charge of establishing laboratories for the control
of certain diseases.

Bell, Jean, 19^+2 (Mrs. James M. Hill) Teacher at

Appalachian State College, Boone, Worth Carolina.

Hays, Kathryne, 19^3 Fashion Editor of Vogue Magazine .

Bailey, Dorothy Mae, 19^ Assistant speech director,
Bessie Tift College, Forsyth, Georgia.

Brannon, Sara, 19^+5 Studied in Hew York with one of the
theatre companies .

Barbour, June, 19k6 Graduated from Pasadena Playhouse in
California and is now writing for television and
stage in Hew York. Wrote TV Play, "The Thing That
Hever Happened," starring Sylvia Sidney in 1955.

Carter, Mary, 19^6 A young scientist, is a fellowship
student at the University of Edinburgh to pursue
studies leading to a doctorate in the cellulose
field of Chemistry, directly under the supervision
of Dr. Hirst, internationally famous in this
branch of industrial science.

McKee, Beth, 19^6 (Mrs. William Hinshaw) Received her

Master's degree from Pasadena Playhouse and now is
doing television and acting in Hollywood.

Jones, Jeweldean, 19^7 Chosen to be one of the four dele-
gates from the Y.W.C.A. of the United States to the
Third World Conference of Christian. Youth in 1952.
After the Conference Jeweldean traveled for several
months in India, after which she continued on
around the world. Wow with YWCA in Atlanta.

APPENDIX E
ALMA. MATER

ALMA. MATER

Hail to thee, our Alma Mater,

Guardian of our days ;
For thy spirit never failing

We will sing thy praise.
High aloft we hold thy banner,

Ever loyal, true;
And to thee , our Alma Mater ,

We our pledge renew.

In thy nighty groves of learning
Wisdom's paths we've sought;
High upon thy lofty hilltop
Visions have "been wrought.
From our hearts we sing the chorus
Time shall never change,
Hail to thee, Our Alma Mater,
Hail to thee, LaGrange.

Author: Dolly Jones House, 191*+.
Adapted by Ollie Reeves , Poet Laureate
of Georgia.

5