History
North Georgia College & State University began as a branch of the Georgia College of Agriculture and Mechanical which was created by the University of Georgia in 1873 from funds from the Morrill Act. William Pierce Price, a local congressman, persuaded officials at UGA to use part of the funds to establish a branch of the newly created college in Dahlonega, GA, Price's birthplace and home. The college opened classes in 1873 with 177 students, 98 males and 79 females, making it the first in the state to admit women. Classes were originally held in the old U.S. mint building that was shut down during the Civil War. After the college was awarded the power to grant degrees in 1876, the first graduating class received degrees in 1879. The first graduating class of four consisted of three men and one woman, making North Georgia the first institution in the state to award a degree to a female.
The college has always had a military presence since land-grant schools were required to teach military tactics, but it was not until World War I when the military programs began to grow. The National Defense Act of 1916 that created the ROTC also helped establish the military presence that is felt on the campus today. In 1929 the designation of Agricultural was dropped from the name and the school became North Georgia College. By 1932 the college was reduced to a two-year junior college. World War II saw a decline in enrollment because of the number of male students joining the war effort. This changed when an Army Specialized Training Program was placed at the college to train junior officers. After the war the college grew because of young servicemen and veterans using their GI bill to attend school. By 1946 the college was reinstated as a four-year college. In the 1950s, Dahlonega provided gold for the leafing of the capitol building. It was also at this time that similar efforts to gold leaf Price Memorial Hall were begun, a project that did not see fruition until 1973.
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