Dublin Core
Title
Athens Female Academy / Athens State University
Subject
Education; Athens State University; Athens, AL; Limestone County, AL
Description
The city of Athens was founded in 1818 by Robert Beaty and associates, and shortly afterward these same founders persuaded Judge John McKinley to give the land for a female academy. They then recruited Daniel Perrin Bestor of Connecticut to preside over it. In 1822, they obtained a charter from the new legislature of the state of Alabama.
During the first few decades, Athens Female Academy's presidents were Baptist, Presbyterian, or Methodist ministers. In 1842 the Methodist conference voted to accept the academy, and local supporters built Founder's Hall. The first president, Reverend Richard Henderson Rivers revised the curriculum, giving the collegiate degree a more regular status, while maintaining elementary through secondary levels. Madame Jane Hamilton Childs, who was president before, during, and after the Civil War, was one of the college's most unique presidents. She not only furnished the campus elegantly and turned out excellent female graduates, she also kept the college open during the war and prevented occupying Federal troops from coming onto the campus. Two women have presided over the college - Madame Childs for eleven years and Mary Norman Moore McCoy, two terms for a total of seventeen years. In 1908, President Moore oversaw the elimination of the elementary level, the establishment of Rivers Hall as the secondary level, and the national recognition of Athens Female College. In the 1930s President E.R. Naylor began admitting male students and obtained a name change to Athens College. He also oversaw the creation of a work/study program for students in the area during the Depression.
In 1975, the Methodist conference gave the college and its property to the State of Alabama. The state recreated it as a degree-granting upper-division college, the only one of its kind in the state. Students complete their junior and senior years at Athens State.
In 1998, Athens State College's name was changed to Athens State University.
During the first few decades, Athens Female Academy's presidents were Baptist, Presbyterian, or Methodist ministers. In 1842 the Methodist conference voted to accept the academy, and local supporters built Founder's Hall. The first president, Reverend Richard Henderson Rivers revised the curriculum, giving the collegiate degree a more regular status, while maintaining elementary through secondary levels. Madame Jane Hamilton Childs, who was president before, during, and after the Civil War, was one of the college's most unique presidents. She not only furnished the campus elegantly and turned out excellent female graduates, she also kept the college open during the war and prevented occupying Federal troops from coming onto the campus. Two women have presided over the college - Madame Childs for eleven years and Mary Norman Moore McCoy, two terms for a total of seventeen years. In 1908, President Moore oversaw the elimination of the elementary level, the establishment of Rivers Hall as the secondary level, and the national recognition of Athens Female College. In the 1930s President E.R. Naylor began admitting male students and obtained a name change to Athens College. He also oversaw the creation of a work/study program for students in the area during the Depression.
In 1975, the Methodist conference gave the college and its property to the State of Alabama. The state recreated it as a degree-granting upper-division college, the only one of its kind in the state. Students complete their junior and senior years at Athens State.
In 1998, Athens State College's name was changed to Athens State University.
Creator
Dylan Tucker, University of North Alabama
Source
County, Ala. The Heritage of Limestone County, Alabama. Limited 1st ed. Clanton, AL: Heritage Pub. Consultants, 1998.
Publisher
Alabama Cultural Resource Survey
Date
1822
Format
Text
Type
Text