The First Academy of Richmond County

Year Erected: 1954

Marker Text:  One block east on Bay Street was opened as a boys' classical school on April 12, 1785. Here President George Washington attended examinations in 1791. The buildings housed the General Assembly of Georgia when Augusta was the capital, the Federal District and Circuit Courts, the county Superior and Inferior courts and the Masonic Lodge Columbia.

In 1798 the school was closed because of a lack of money and the dilapidation of the buildings. It was reopened in 1802 on Telfair Street. Thence, it was removed to Baker Avenue in 1926.

Tips for Finding This Marker: At the intersection of 4th Street and Reynolds Street, on the left when traveling north on 4th Street in Augusta.