It’s a case of what might have been

Oglethorpe University began its career as a liberal arts and sciences university in 1835 in the community of Midway, Georgia, not too far from, what at that time, was the state’s capital, Milledgeville. The Civil War interrupted Oglethorpe’s progression and the university closed its doors in 1862.

In 1870 Oglethorpe relocated and reopened in Atlanta and, among its many innovations at that time was the first offering of evening classes in the State of Georgia. After closing its doors for a second time in 1872, Oglethorpe was rechartered by the state in 1913 at its present location on Peachtree Road.

The university is named after the founder of the colony that established itself in Georgia in 1733, James Oglethorpe. In fact its landmark Gothic revival architecture was inspired by Oglethorpe’s honorary alma mater, Corpus Christi College at Oxford University in England and the Atlanta campus is part of the National Register of Historic Places.

You can get much more information and interesting facts about Atlanta’s Oglethorpe University by heading over to the New Georgia Encyclopedia and you can also get a quick Oglethorpe information fix by watching this week’s Stories of Atlanta where you’ll learn about a big idea that didn’t quite come to fruition.