Site of Fort Gaines Female College

Photographed by David Seibert, August 14, 2011

1. Site of Fort Gaines Female College Marker

Inscription. In 1857, the Legislature authorized a lottery to complete this college, chartered in 1838 as Fort Gaines Female Institute. It was finished in 1859. Sereno Taylor was the first principal, followed by John W. Grant. The large college building was used for a “tax-in-kind” depot -- for storage of one-tenth of all food and wool raised -- for the support of the Confederate Army. At the close of the war, Confederate soldiers distributed contents of this and two other local warehouses to families in this area before Federal troops arrived. Used for a time as barracks for Federal soldiers, it became again an important educational center. The school closed after an epidemic of typhoid fever.

Erected 1957 by Georgia Historical Commission. (Marker Number 030-8.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Georgia Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1857.

Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 31° 36.444′ N, 85° 3.231′ W. Marker was in Fort Gaines, Georgia, in Clay County. It was on Jefferson Street 0 miles west of Jackson Street, on the right when

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traveling west. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Fort Gaines GA 39851, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in Georgia’s Coastal Plain. It was also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: The Old Lattice Bridge (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The 1836 Fort (about 600 feet away); Old Pioneer Cemetery (about 800 feet away); Site of the First Clay County Courthouse and Jail (about 800 feet away); Fort Gaines (approx. 0.2 miles away); Historic Sites (approx. 0.3 miles away); Fort Gaines Guards (approx. 0.3 miles away); Clay County (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Gaines.

Another marker is no longer nearby. In the Confederacy (was about 600 feet away but has been confirmed missing).

Photographed by James L.Whitman, January 2, 2021

2. Site of Fort Gaines Female College Marker

Photographed by David Seibert, August 14, 2011

3. Site of Fort Gaines Female College Marker

Photographed by David Seibert, August 14, 2011

4. Site of Fort Gaines Female College Marker

Photographed by David Seibert, August 14, 2011

5. Site of Fort Gaines Female College Marker

Looking west on Jefferson Street toward Bluff Street

Photographed by David Seibert, August 14, 2011

6. Site of Fort Gaines Female College Marker

The site is now occupied by public tennis courts.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 8, 2021. It was originally submitted on October 2, 2011, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 1,079 times since then and 25 times this year. Last updated on January 5, 2021, by James L.Whitman of Eufaula, Alabama. Photos: 1. submitted on October 2, 2011, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. 2. submitted on January 5, 2021, by James L.Whitman of Eufaula, Alabama. 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on October 2, 2011, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.