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Academy of Richmond County

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Coordinates: 33°28′26″N 82°00′19″W / 33.4740°N 82.0054°W / 33.4740; -82.0054
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Academy of Richmond County
The front entrance to current high school building built in 1926
Address
Map
910 Russell Street

Augusta
,
Georgia
30904

United States
Information
TypePublic
Established1783; 241 years ago (1783)
School board1st District
School districtRichmond County School System
PrincipalJason Medlin
Teaching staff67.00 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,141 (2022–2023)[1]
Student to teacher ratio17.03:1[1]
Campus typeUrban
Color(s)Purple and gold    
MascotMusketeer
Feeder schoolsAll Richmond county public schools
WebsiteARC [1]
Academy of Richmond County-1926 Campus
Coordinates33°28′26″N 82°00′19″W / 33.4740°N 82.0054°W / 33.4740; -82.0054
Built1926
ArchitectPhilander P. Scoggs, Whitley L. Ewing
Architectural styleCollegiate Gothic
NRHP reference No.03001491[2]
Added to NRHPJanuary 28, 2004
Old Academy of Richmond County
One of the previous Academy buildings built in 1857
Location540 Telfair St.
Coordinates33°28′12″N 81°57′44″W / 33.4700°N 81.9623°W / 33.4700; -81.9623
Arealess than one acre
Built1857
ArchitectWilliam Henry Goodrich
Architectural styleGothic Revival
NRHP reference No.73000639[2]
Added to NRHPApril 11, 1973

The Academy of Richmond County is a high school located in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Known previously as Richmond County Military Academy, it is commonly known as Richmond Academy or ARC.

Chartered in 1783, it is listed as the sixth oldest existing public high school in the United States, and the oldest existing public high school in the Southern United States.[2]

Richmond Academy is located at the edge of the Summerville historic district of Augusta.

History

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Initially an all-male private school, as were most of the high schools in the 1700s, after the Civil War it was adapted as a military school. During the last half of the 20th century, Richmond Academy transitioned into a co-educational, traditional public high school. It has maintained a strong military Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps that is available, but not mandatory, for participation by students. Both the 1857, and the present 1926, Richmond Academy buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

President George Washington delivered the commencement address at the graduation ceremonies at ARC in 1791.

In 1926, the academy moved to its present-day building on Walton Way. Principal Major George Butler described the school in 1927 as "second to none in the South in terms of facility."[3] The 1926 building was designed in Gothic-style architecture.

Up until the 1950s, ARC was for white males only. The 1951–1957 Richmond Academy boys' baseball team was ranked as one of the top 10 Georgia state sports dynasties.[4] It has teams in many sports.

During the 1950s the school became coeducational, admitting female students. In 1964, the school began to admit minorities and became desegregated.

Contemporary Richmond Academy

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Academics

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The Academy of Richmond County has 1,178 students in grades 9 through 12, with a student to faculty ratio of 16:1. It offers numerous Advanced Placement courses, has a GATE (gifted and talented education) program, and an International Baccalaureate Programme course of study that was added to the school in July 2003. It is for its highly motivated, college preparatory students.[5] ARC is one of three schools in the Central Savannah River Area that offers an IB program.

The Mathematics Team won the 2005 National Society of Black Engineers Try-Math-A-Thon, which was held in Boston.[6]

Athletics

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The school mascot is a Musketeer, and the school colors are purple and gold. The original school mascot was a bearcat.

The 1957 Varsity Baseball Team was named National Champions by MaxPreps.com. The 1952 and 1953 squads were honorable mentions.[7]

Alumni

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Name Class year Notability Reference(s)
Doug Barnard Jr. 1939 Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives
Dudley Hollingsworth Bowen Jr. 1959 United States federal judge
Lloyd D. Brown 1908 United States Army Major General [8]
Hervey M. Cleckley 1921 Psychiatrist; professor, author, and pioneer in the psychopathy field
Aquilla J. Dyess n.d. Medal of Honor recipient in World War II
Jack Fisher 1957 Professional baseball player (Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds)
William Henry Fleming n.d. Lawyer and politician, Member of the United States House of Representatives
William Dudley Geer 1941 First Dean of the School of Business at Samford University
Phil Gingrey n.d. Obstetrician and a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives
Isaac S. Hopkins n.d. First president of the Georgia Institute of Technology
Frank M. Hull 1966 Lawyer and U.S. Court of Appeals judge
Susan Still Kilrain n.d. NASA astronaut
John Pendleton King 1818 United States Senator
Joseph R. Lamar n.d. United States Supreme Court Justice
James Longstreet 1837 Confederate general of the American Civil War; post-war he commanded a force including African-American militia troops against a white supremacist paramilitary organization
Ray Mercer 1979 WBO world heavyweight champion
Dan Miller 1959 Journalist, television personality, featured nationally on CBS's The Pat Sajak Show and the Nashville Network
Steve Morse n.d. Guitarist (left after 10th grade)
David M. Potter 1928 Pulitzer Prize-winning history professor, holding professorships including at Stanford University, Yale University, and Oxford University
Carl Sanders 1942 Governor of Georgia and lawyer; named partner of Troutman Sanders, an international law firm (later Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders)
George D. Shea 1914 U.S. Army major general [9]
Andy West grad. date unknown Bassist and composer, a founding member of the Dixie Dregs
Ken Whisenhunt 1980 NFL head coach and player of Tennessee Titans [10]
Jim Whitehead 1960 Republican politician
Judy Woodruff 1964 Television news anchor, journalist, and writer; has worked at CNN, NBC News, and PBS; board member of the International Women's Media Foundation; member of the Council on Foreign Relations

Faculty

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Academy of Richmond County High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. ^ "ARC Student and Parent Handbook | History and Tradition" (PDF). rcboe.org. Richmond County School System. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  4. ^ Jeff Haws, Take 10: Georgia High School Sports Greatest Dynasties, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 1, 2008. Retrieved February 14, 2009.
  5. ^ "Academy of Richmond County".
  6. ^ Rickabaugh, Greg (April 20, 2005). "Richmond Academy math team wins national event". The Augusta Chronicle.
  7. ^ "High school baseball: Digging into history to crown national champions all the way back to 1910 - MaxPreps". MaxPreps.com. July 28, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  8. ^ Sarah Cantey Whitaker Allen| ref=Our Children's Ancestry, 1935, page 437
  9. ^ Andre, John A., ed. (April 1951). "From Private to General". Life of the Soldier and Airman. Governors Island, NY: Recruiting Publicity Bureau, U.S. Army. p. 9 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Scott Michaux Coach takes pressure in stride, Augusta Chronicle, January 28, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2009
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