Adjacent to the Cultural Center, we continue this walking tour with the Georgia Female Academy. This Greek Revival landmark is the only building remaining from the first of Madison’s schools developed expressly to enable female students to pursue higher education. The school was chartered in 1850 as the Madison Collegiate Institute and served as a finishing school for young white ladies. In 1851, it was renamed the Georgia Female College. This house, originally designed as the classroom building, included several large rooms for receptions and assembly. Soon it became the college president’s home when a new brick classroom building was constructed next door.

On July 25, 1861, many of the young white men of Madison, having formed the Confederate Panola Guards, gathered on the grounds of the Georgia Female College wearing sashes made by the young ladies. Miss Josie Thrasher stood and, “in a clear, musical voice in words befitting the occasion,” tendered them a flag to carry into battle. Classes were suspended during the war, and the school never completely recovered. After the classroom building burned around 1882, the college closed and this house became a private residence. In total, Madison had one male and one female academy and two female colleges, making Madison a regional center for education.