Photograph of officers and student cadets at North Georgia Agricultural College building, Dahlonega, Lumpkin County, Georgia, ca. 1891
Dahlonega, ca. 1891. Officers and student cadets assembled in front of the main building of the North Georgia Agricultural College. The building pictured was erected on the foundation of the U.S. Mint. The mint operated from 1838 until February of 1861. The original mint building was donated by the U.S. government for use as a college in 1871 and was officially opened on January 6, 1873 as the North Georgia Agricultural College. On December 19, 1878, the old mint building was destroyed by fire. The building pictured was completed on June 13, 1879. This building still stands and is now the Price Memorial Hall, the administration building of the North Georgia College. It now has a fine covering of native Georgia gold leaf on the tower roof, added in 1973 to commemorate the college's centennial. Visible to the right is the monument to Colonel David W. Lewis (1816-1855), the first president of the college. The monument was dedicated on June 29, 1891, and his remains are buried at its base.
"North Georgia Agricultural College was established on Jan. 6, 1873 as a land grant school of agriculture and mechanical arts, particularly mining engineering." In the summer of 1929, the "school was renamed North Georgia College (NGC)." The school became known as North Georgia College and State University during the 1996-97 school year. On January the 10th, 2013, renamed the University of North Georgia with the consolidation (merger) with Gainesville State College.
**photo and background source: Digital Library of Georgia
