Birthplace of the University Of Georgia Marker

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Savannah in Chatham County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Birthplace of the University Of Georgia
Meeting Place of Legislature in 1785

Birthplace of the University Of Georgia Marker Photo, Click for full size

By Mike Stroud, March 2008

1. Birthplace of the University Of Georgia Marker

Inscription. Directly across Bay Street from this marker formerly stood the brick building. Built in late colonial days and known as the “Coffee House.” In which the Legislature of Georgia met in 1785. Owned by Thomas Stone, it was described in a newspaper advertisement in 1785 as having “ten large, cool, elegant rooms” and as “not equaled by any other house in the state” for “business, and convenience for a large family.”

While meeting in the house owned by Thomas Stone the House Of Assembly of Georgia enacted on January 28, 1785, an act for the “establishment of a public seat if learning in this state”- the preamble reciting that is was “among the first objects of those who wish well to the national prosperity, to encourage and support the principles of religion and morality, and early to place the youth under the forming hand of society, that by instruction they may be molded to the love of virtue and good order.”

The charter granted to the Board of Trustees of the University of Georgia in 1785 was the first charter issued in the United States to a state university.

Erected 1957 by Georgia Historical Commission. (Marker Number 025-46.)

Location. 32° 4.848′ N, 81° 5.413′ W. Marker is in Savannah, Georgia, in Chatham County. Marker is on East Bay Street near Drayton Street, on the right when traveling west. Click for map. Located in park next to Drayton ramp. Marker is in this post office area: Savannah GA 31401, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Solomon's Lodge No. 1 F. & A.M Savannah, Georgia (a few steps from this marker); Old Savannah Cotton Exchange (within shouting distance of this marker); Old City Exchange Bell (within shouting distance of this marker); The Invention of the Cotton Gin (within shouting distance of this marker); Chatham Artillery (within shouting distance of this marker); Chatham Artillery (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named The Chatham Artillery (within shouting distance of this marker); Central Railroad & Bank Bldg. (within shouting distance of this marker). Click for a list of all markers in Savannah.

Also see . . .
1. About Georgia General Assembly. From Wikipedia (Submitted on March 27, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)

2. Thomas Stone. (Submitted on March 27, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)
3. A brief history of the University of Georgia. (Submitted on March 27, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.)

Credits. This page originally submitted on March 27, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,345 times since then. Photo 1. submitted on March 27, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.