In the Beginning (1783)

Registration for the first class of junior college took place at the academy on Telfair Street.

Augusta State University really has two histories. Its academic roots can be traced to 1783 when the Academy of Richmond County was chartered. Opening in 1785, it offered college-level classes for boys to enter universities as sophomores or juniors.

During the Civil War, studies were suspended and the building became a hospital for wounded soldiers. Richmond Academy re-emerged after the war with former Confederate Colonel George Washington Rains as regent.

A board of trustees oversaw operation of the academy until 1909 when control passed to the local Board of Education. However, the university system continued to supervise the college-level classes. In 1910, a formal fifth year of study was added.

With the Academy flourishing, it soon outgrew its accommodations on Telfair Street. Land for a new building was purchased on Baker Avenue (present site of ARC) and a decision was made to add a second year of college work. In 1925, before the building was completed, the Junior College of Augusta was established, becoming the first junior college in the state.

Enrollment grew. A solution to overcrowding presented itself in 1955 when the Augusta Arsenal was slated to be closed. At this point, the history of the university merges with that of the Augusta Arsenal.  

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