LaGrange College (1830-1855)
LaGrange College; LaGrange, Alabama; Leighton, Alabama; Colbert County, Alabama; School; Education; Historical
LaGrange College was located on LaGrange Mountain. In 1830 it became the first State chartered college in Alabama. Within two months of its opening, there were seventy students enrolled at LaGrange College. The school year lasted for ten months. Tuition was $20 and board was $80, which covered students’ food, lodging, washing, and firewood for the ten months. At the peak of enrollment, LaGrange College had 230 students.
Dr. Richard H. Rivers became president of the college in 1854, when the college was facing financial problems. Dr. River’s solution, in response to an offer of better support, moved the college to Florence, Alabama in 1855. The Florence institution was denied permission to use the name of LaGrange College, thus being chartered as Florence Wesleyan University on February 14, 1856; today the college is the University of North Alabama.
Thomas Hale, University of North Alabama
Autumn Owens, University of North Alabama
“LaGrange College 1830-1855”, Accessed on November 18, 2015, colbertcountytourism.org/index.php/lagrange-college
Bishop, Allison. “War doomed first state college, LaGrange.” University of North Alabama Archives. University History: LaGrange College (UH:LG2).
Potter, Nancy. “Remembering the Mountain.” University of North Alabama Archives. University History: LaGrange College (UH:LG2).
“LaGrange College.” The Florence Informer: Volume 1 Number 23 March 27 – April 2, 1989. University of North Alabama Archives. University History: LaGrange College (UH:LG2).
http://www.lagrangehistoricsite.com/
Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
November 30, 2015
LaGrange Cemetery
Colbert County, Alabama; Leighton, Alabama; LaGrange Cemetery; LaGrange College; University of North Alabama; Cemeteries
LaGrange Cemetery in Colbert County is located on the site of Alabama's first college, which was established by charter in 1830, and served as a military academy in the years leading up to the Civil War. In 1854, most of the LaGrange College faculty and student body followed president R.H. Rivers to nearby Florence in Lauderdale County, and formed a new institution which later developed into the University of North Alabama. During the war, in 1863, the original college site on LaGrange Mountain was burned by Union troops under the command of Colonel Florence M. Cornyn.
Today, visitors to the cemetery are greeted by a marble statue, the Abraham Ricks Monument, sculpted on the site by an Italian artist who was brought to the United States by the Ricks family. A complete list of those buried in LaGrange Cemetery can be found at the USGenWeb source linked below. The college cemetery are listed on the Alabama Historical Register of Landmarks, and the cemetery has recently been restored by the LaGrange Living Historical Association.
To reach the college site and cemetery from Muscle Shoals, head southeast on Highway 172 for 8 miles, turn right onto LaGrange College Lane, veering right almost immediately onto LaGrange College Road. The college site and cemetery are on the right.
Brian Corrigan, University of North Alabama
"LaGrange College Site Park," LaGrange Living Historical Association, http://www.lagrange-collegesitepark.org/index_1.html (accessed November 21, 2015).
"LaGrange Cemetery, Colbert County, Alabama," USGenWeb Archives, http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/colbert/lagrangecem/lagrange.htm (accessed November 21, 2015).
"LaGrange Cemetery," RootsWeb, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maury/AlabamaCemeteriesWeb/ColbertCounty/LaGrangeCem/LagrangeCollegeCemList.htm (accessed December 5, 2015).
Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
November 26, 2015
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