WILKINSON COUNTY  GA  SCHOOL - Talmadge Institute

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Pat Evans
PTMACAW@aol.com


TALMADGE INSTITUTE

The first real step forward towards higher education in Wilkinson County was 
the incorporation of Talmadge Normal Institute in the town of Irwinton in 
1854.  Again Senator Arthur E. Cochran, a long-time proponent for betterment 
in the field of learning, had advanced his ideas still further.

The original thought was to create a centrally located institution for 
teacher training.  The program did not work out as planned and in 1874, the 
name of the school was changed to Talmadge Institute honoring Samuel 
Talmadge, an educator.

>From 1874 until the building was razed in 1923, the institute was a 11-grade 
school.  As the number of students gradually increased following World War 
One, modifications were continually being made inside the building in an 
effort to isolate the various classes.

Such changes not only distracted pupils because of the continuous movement in 
conducting classes on the two floors, but it was a fire trap also.  The new 
partitions partially blocked escape routes.

The physical building was a simple square two-story frame structure and 75 
years of use had rendered it unfit for continued occupancy.

WILKINSON COUNTY EARLY ABSTRACTS
PART  # 4
Page 35



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