Academy of Richmond County-1926 Campus

Academy of Richmond County's 1926 campus, just west of downtown Augusta, is a 30-acre school complex built on drained swampland at the foot of Summerville hill. Its three-story brick main building, designed by the Augusta firm Scroggs and Ewing, uses Collegiate Gothic details such as pointed-arch entrances, corner buttresses, white stucco arches and patterned brickwork. Inside, the auditorium keeps its original light fixtures, orchestra pit and seats. Later additions from 1938 through the 1980s, a 1930 football stadium, athletic fields and a historic entry gate complete the grounds. The campus matters for architecture and for education. The school descends from an academy chartered in 1783, making it the oldest operating educational institution in Georgia. From 1926 to 1958 the building also housed the Junior College of Augusta, the first publicly supported junior college in the state, which later became part of the University System of Georgia. The school remains an active high school.