43. GEORGIA MILITARY ACADEMY, 

E. Rugby Ave., College Park, is a boys' preparatory school with a standard of military training that has earned it a high rating by the United States War Department. The 12 red-brick buildings are grouped about a landscaped campus of 30 acres with athletic fields and a large parade ground. Each Sunday afternoon a parade is held and the public gathers to watch the lines of cadets, smart in their dress uniforms of blue-gray coats and white trousers, marching to the music of the band.

The enrollment of more than 300 students includes boarders from various States in the Union and foreign countries as well as day students from the Atlanta vicinity. Four courses are offered: classical or college preparatory, scientific or engineering, commercial, and special preparatory for West Point or Annapolis. Only one period of 45 minutes a day is given to drill, the greater part of the school hours being used for academic studies. Teams are coached in all the major sports, and each student is required to take part in some athletic activity.

The school was founded in 1900 after a number of College Park citizens had initiated a movement to establish a military academy in this vicinity. With only one assistant, Colonel James Woodward opened his school to 40 students in the first building, the present Founders Hall. Despite small beginnings, the school rapidly grew and became popular. An inspection made in 1908, by order of the President of the United States, revealed so high a standard of proficiency that an army officer was detailed here as military instructor. The War Department placed at the school a Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps unit in 1916 and added a second instructor to the faculty; three years later other officers were assigned here and a quantity of military equipment was provided. From that time on, the school has grown steadily in the favor of the War Department, which has designated it for the past 15 years as one of the honor military schools in the United States.

Contents