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Academy of Richmond County

Coordinates:33°28′26″N82°00′19″W/ 33.4740°N 82.0054°W/33.4740; -82.0054
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Academy of Richmond County
The front entrance to current high school building built in 1926
Address
Map
910 Russell Street

,
30904

United States
Information
TypePublic
Established1783;241 years ago(1783)
School board1st District
School districtRichmond County School System
PrincipalJason Medlin
Teaching staff72.70 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,102 (2019–20)[1]
Student to teacher ratio15.16[1]
Campus typeurban
Color(s)Purple and gold
MascotMusketeer
Feeder schoolsAll Richmond county public schools
WebsiteARC[1]
Academy of Richmond County-1926 Campus
Coordinates33°28′26″N82°00′19″W/ 33.4740°N 82.0054°W/33.4740; -82.0054
Built1926
ArchitectPhilander P. Scoggs, Whitley L. Ewing
Architectural styleCollegiate Gothic
NRHP referenceNo.03001491[2]
Added to NRHPJanuary 28, 2004
Old Academy of Richmond County
One of the previous Academy buildings built in 1857
Location540 Telfair St.
Coordinates33°28′12″N81°57′44″W/ 33.4700°N 81.9623°W/33.4700; -81.9623
Arealess than one acre
Built1857
ArchitectWilliam Henry Goodrich
Architectural styleGothic Revival
NRHP referenceNo.73000639[2]
Added to NRHPApril 11, 1973

TheAcademy of Richmond Countyis a high school located inAugusta,Georgia, United States. Known previously as Richmond County Military Academy, it is commonly known asRichmond AcademyorARC.

Chartered in 1783, it is listed as thesixth oldest existing public high school in the United States,and the oldest existing public high school in the Southern United States.[2]

Richmond Academy is located at the edge of theSummervillehistoric district of Augusta.

History[edit]

Initially an all-male private school, as were most of the high schools in the 1700s, after theCivil Warit was adapted as a military school. During the last half of the 20th century, Richmond Academy transitioned into a co-educational, traditional public high school. It has maintained a strong militaryJunior Reserve Officer Training Corpsthat is available, but not mandatory, for participation by students. Both the 1857, and the present 1926, Richmond Academy buildings are listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.

PresidentGeorge Washingtondelivered the commencement address at the graduation ceremonies at ARC in 1791.

In 1926, the academy moved to its present-day building on Walton Way. Principal Major George Butler described the school in 1927 as "second to none in the South in terms of facility."[citation needed]The 1926 building was designed inGothic-style architecture.

Up until the 1950s, ARC was for white males only. The 1951–1957 Richmond Academy boys' baseball team was ranked as one of the top 10 Georgia state sports dynasties.[3]It has teams in many sports.

During the 1950s the school became coeducational, admitting female students. In 1964, the school began to admit minorities and becamedesegregated.

Contemporary Richmond Academy[edit]

Academics[edit]

The Academy of Richmond County has 1,178 students in grades 9 through 12, with a student to faculty ratio of 16:1. It offers numerous Advanced Placement courses, has a GATE (gifted and talented education) program, and anInternational BaccalaureateProgramme course of study that was added to the school in July 2003. It is for its highly motivated, college preparatory students.[4]ARC is one of three schools in the Central Savannah River Area that offers an IB program.

The Mathematics Team won the 2005National Society of Black EngineersTry-Math-A-Thon, which was held inBoston.[5]

Athletics[edit]

The school mascot is a Musketeer, and the school colors are purple and gold. The original school mascot was a bearcat.

The 1957 Varsity Baseball Team was named National Champions by MaxPreps.com. The 1952 and 1953 squads were honorable mentions.[6]

Notable alumni[edit]

Name Class year Notability Reference(s)
Doug Barnard Jr. 1939 Democraticmember of theUnited States House of Representatives
Dudley Hollingsworth Bowen Jr. 1959 United States federal judge
Lloyd D. Brown 1908 United States ArmyMajor General [7]
Hervey M. Cleckley 1921 Psychiatrist;professor, author, and pioneer in thepsychopathyfield
Aquilla J. Dyess n.d. Medal of Honorrecipient in World War II
Jack Fisher 1957 Professional baseball player (Baltimore Orioles,San Francisco Giants,New York Mets,Chicago White Sox,Cincinnati Reds)
William Henry Fleming n.d. Lawyer and politician, Member of theUnited States House of Representatives
William Dudley Geer 1941 First Dean of the School of Business atSamford University
Phil Gingrey n.d. Obstetricianand aRepublicanmember of theUnited States House of Representatives
Isaac S. Hopkins n.d. First president of theGeorgia Institute of Technology
Frank M. Hull 1966 Lawyer andU.S. Court of Appealsjudge
Susan Still Kilrain n.d. NASAastronaut
John Pendleton King 1818 United States Senator
Joseph R. Lamar n.d. United States Supreme CourtJustice
James Longstreet 1837 Confederategeneral of theAmerican Civil War;post-war he commanded a force including African-American militia troops against a white supremacist paramilitary organization
Ray Mercer 1979 WBO world heavyweight champion
Dan Miller 1959 Journalist, television personality, featured nationally on CBS'sThe Pat Sajak Showand the Nashville Network
Steve Morse n.d. Guitarist (left after 10th grade)
David M. Potter 1928 Pulitzer Prize-winning history professor, holding professorships including atStanford University,Yale University,andOxford University
Carl Sanders 1942 Governor of Georgiaand lawyer; named partner ofTroutman Sanders,an international law firm (laterTroutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders)
George D. Shea 1914 U.S. Army major general [8]
Andy West grad. date unknown Bassist and composer, a founding member of theDixie Dregs
Ken Whisenhunt 1980 NFLhead coach and player ofTennessee Titans [9]
Jim Whitehead 1960 Republicanpolitician
Judy Woodruff 1964 Televisionnews anchor,journalist, and writer; has worked atCNN,NBC News,andPBS;board member of theInternational Women's Media Foundation;member of theCouncil on Foreign Relations

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abc"Academy of Richmond County High School".National Center for Education Statistics.RetrievedApril 27,2021.
  2. ^abc"National Register Information System".National Register of Historic Places.National Park Service.July 9, 2010.
  3. ^Jeff Haws,Take 10: Georgia High School Sports Greatest Dynasties,Atlanta Journal-Constitution,April 1, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  4. ^"Academy of Richmond County".
  5. ^Rickabaugh, Greg (April 20, 2005)."Richmond Academy math team wins national event".The Augusta Chronicle.
  6. ^"High school baseball: Digging into history to crown national champions all the way back to 1910 - MaxPreps".MaxPreps.com.July 28, 2021.RetrievedOctober 4,2021.
  7. ^Sarah Cantey Whitaker Allen| ref=Our Children's Ancestry,1935, page 437
  8. ^Andre, John A., ed. (April 1951)."From Private to General".Life of the Soldier and Airman.Governors Island, NY: Recruiting Publicity Bureau, U.S. Army. p. 9 – viaGoogle Books.
  9. ^Scott MichauxCoach takes pressure in stride,Augusta Chronicle,January 28, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2009

External links[edit]