THE FABULOUS FIFTY OF 1906

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     On Saturday, December 1, 1906, Gov. Joseph M. Terrell, Georgia’s “education governor”, came to Savannah to moderate the bidding contest for the First District’s only Agricultural and Mechanical School. Bulloch County’s delegation consisted of fifty leading citizens whose names appear on the other side of this marker. The Statesboro News editorialized: “Bulloch County must have that college.”

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     The Fabulous Fifty rode the Savannah-Statesboro Railway to the bidding site. At the end of the day, Statesboro’s winning bid of $125,500 included a 300 acre campus on the town’s highest hill. Some citizens virtually emptied their bank accounts to make the town’s dream come true. The train conductor blew the whistle for the final mile home, beckoning everyone to come to the station to celebrate.

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     By 1924 old A&M had increased in stature and grew into a Normal College for teachers. In 1929, as the state’s second public coeducational college, it granted bachelors degrees. In 1990 the college became Georgia Southern University.

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Sponsored by Jack N. & Addie D. Averitt Foundation