Emory College

Emory College was founded in 1836 by the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Early faculty members included Alexander Means, Gustavus John Orr, Osborne L. Smith, and George W. W. Stone.

Emory College was chartered in 1836 to the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The first librarian noted in Emory College records, in 1840, was George W. Lane. In its early years, the College relied heavily on the libraries of the Few Literary Society and the Phi Gamma Society.

Emory College was founded in Oxford, Ga., in 1836 by the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The College was an extension of the Georgia Conference Manual Labor School. Emory College presidents included Ignatius Augustus Few, Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, George Foster Pierce, Alexander Means, James R. Thomas, Luther M. Smith, Osborn L. Smith, Atticus G. Haygood, I. S. Hopkins, Warren A. Candler, Charles E. Dowman, and James E. Dickey.

Emory College was chartered in 1836 to the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The College was an extension of the Georgia Conference Manual Labor School, founded in 1834. To fund the College, the founders sold plots of land in Oxford, Ga.; sought subscriptions and endowments; and sold perpetual scholarships. The College struggled financially in its early years but was bolstered by significant donations from individual benefactors including George I. Seney, W. P. Patillo, and Asa Griggs Candler.

Emory College was chartered in 1836 to the Georgia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Literary and debate societies, particularly the Few Literary Society, founded 1839, and Phi Gamma Society, founded circa 1837-1839, played significant roles in the social and academic life of the College. The societies debated varied topics including issues of the day, politics, morality and ethics, religion, history, and philosophy. The literary societies also amassed libraries which predated any official College library on the campus. Fraternities and secret societies were also prominent at Emory College. The Mystic Seven was organized at Emory in 1840 and is said to be the first national fraternity to be established in the South. The Kappa Alpha Order, Epsilon Chapter was founded in 1869.