New historical marker will commemorate Armstrong State University’s history
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The Georgia Historical Society and Georgia Southern University are dedicating a new historical marker to commemorate the history of Armstrong State University.
The historical marker covers Armstrong State University’s history from its beginning as a two-year college through the 2017 consolidation with Georgia Southern University.
The marker reads:
"Armstrong State University
Armstrong Junior College was founded in 1935 by Savannah Mayor Thomas Gamble as a two-year college. It held classes in the donated former home of businessman George Armstrong, adjacent to Forsyth Park. In 1959, through the leadership of President Foreman Hawes and alumnus
Frank Cheatham, Armstrong became part of the University System of Georgia. To accommodate Armstrong’s growth, in 1962 the Mills B. Lane Foundation and Donald Livingston donated 250 acres on Savannah’s southside for a new campus that opened in 1966. In 1963
future Savannah mayor Otis Johnson became the first African American to attend Armstrong, graduating the next year with an associate’s degree as the College received four-year status from the Board of Regents. In 1996 the college attained university status.
The Regents consolidated Armstrong and Georgia Southern University in 2017 to better serve the needs of students in southeast Georgia."
It is being erected by the Georgia Historical Society, Waters Foundation, Inc., and Georgia Southern University Foundation, Inc.
It will be unveiled Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the Quad Fountain behind Burnett Hall on the Georgia Southern University Armstrong Campus.
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