Chronology

The chronological information was gathered from school catalogues, yearbooks, newspapers, brochures, governing board reports and from letters and interviews with alumni and teachers. Dates, therefore, may, in almost all cases, reflect the year of an event rather than the end of an academic year. Earlier dates may be somewhat clouded with beginning and ending of certain building constructions.

Year Event
1866 John Charles Woodward born on July 26 on a farm in Butts County, Georgia.
1888 John Charles Woodward graduated as Senior Captain of Cadet Batallion and as valedictorian at North Georgia College in Dahlonega, Georgia.
1889 Instructor and Commandant of Cadets at a small college in Gainesville, Georgia.
1890 Named Vice President at Gordon Institute in Barnesville, Georgia.
1891 Married Lucile Castleberry of Dawsonville, Georgia.
1892 Elected President of Middle Georgia Military and Agricultural College in Milledgeville, Georgia.
1896 Entered the University of Chicago receiving the AB degree.
1898 Named Superintendent of Schools in Newnan, Georgia.
First educator in Georgia to establish home economic courses for girls and manual military training for boys.
1900 Founded Georgia Military Academy in one building (Founder's Hall built in 1895 and closed in 1897), the former Southern Military Academy.
Thirty students and three teachers.
1901 Enrollment of fifty students and five teachers.
1902 Rugby Hall constructed.
1903 Enrollment seventy students and six teachers.
First newspaper, The Gamilicad, published.
1904 Rugby Hall Annex built.
"The Retreat" constructed as the President's home.
1905 Enrollment one hundred students and nine teachers.
1907 Three-story gymnasium (the Old Gym) constructed (present site of McKay Hall).
First yearbook, Parade Rest, dedicated to Mrs. Alonzo Richardson.
Patterson Field built in the area behind Old Gym.
1908 Georgia Military Academy incorporated with Colonel Woodward as President/Treasurer and Mrs. Woodward as Secretary and later as Vice President.
The Sentinel (present site of Woodruff Hall) constructed.
1909 The Y.M.C.A. constructed (near site of Rutland Pre-School).
1914 Colonel Woodward organizes and establishes the Association of Military Colleges and Schools.
1915 The yearbook (combined with catalogues from 1908 until 1914) renamed The Arsenal published until 1922.
1916 Georgia Military Academy named a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps by the United States War Department.
1918 Approximately six hundred Georgia Military Academy alumni enlisted for overseas service during World War I with thirteen alumni dying in action.
Seventy-five prominent Atlantans become stock holders in Georgia Military Academy helping to promote the school.
Carolina Military and Naval Academy established by Colonel Woodward in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Three hundred acres purchased by Colonel Woodward as a separate organization from Georgia Military Academy in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Summer Camp established.
1920 Junior School established.
1924 Atlanta Breast Work Monument, provided by Daughters of Confederacy, unveiled in front of Founder's Hall.
1927 Cuban President Machado sent Cuban Flag Ship to Tampa, Florida to transport Georgia Military Academy students (members of the band, football team, and basketball team) to Cuba for athletic competition.
1928 Georgia Military Academy was first school in Georgia to offer courses in aviation with monoplanes and biplanes taking off and landing on the campus' runway.
Colonel Woodward, the Chief of Governor Hardman's staff, and the G.M.A. Cadet Corp were the official escorts of the Georgia delegation for the unveiling of the Alexander Stephen Memorial in Washington, D.C.
1929 Memorial Gate was given by the Class of 1929.
Georgia Military Academy Band named in honor of Robert W. Woodruff.
1931 Mrs. John Charles Woodward died on April 23.
Monument erected in memory of World War I veterans.
1932 New charter issued making Georgia Military Academy a non-profit institution owned by a self-perpetuating Board of Governors.
School dairy, poultry, and truck farms continued operation.
1935 The eagle above the Memorial Gate erected in memorial of Sergeant A. T. Johnson, former Assistant Professor of Military Science and Tactics.
1936 The William Randolph Hearst Rifle Range (present site of lighted tennis courts) dedicated.
The St. Elmo Massingale, Jr. Swimming Pool built (demolished for construction of Fine Arts Center and Middle School).
1938 Bandstand built by the Class of 1938 in area of present flagpole.
1939 The President's home, the "Oaks," built on the corner of Jackson Street and Rugby Avenue.
Colonel Woodward died at his home on August 27.
Douglas Woodward named Acting President.
Colonel William Roe Brewster, Sr. elected Georgia Military Academy's second president.
New stadium built for Patterson Field with a quarter-mile track.
1940 The Junior College established.
The Retreat Annex (Woodward Hall) established for Junior School students.
1943 Junior School Gymnasium (little gym behind Woodward Hall) constructed.
1946 An estimated 1,500 alumni served during World War II with fifty percent serving as commissioned officers. Ninety alumni lost their lives.
The gymnasium, a fabricated airplane hanger, constructed.
1947 The yearbook, The Grenadier, published for the first time since 1922.
1948 The Junior College Building (present Tucker Hall) built.
1953 Junior College discontinued and Junior School established in the Junior College building.
1956 West Hall (the present Upper School Administration Building) completed.
1959 GMAcres was purchased near Palmetto, Georgia for summer camp and retreats.
Brewster Hall (behind Rugby Hall) built.
1960 Colonel Brewster retired and became President Emeritus.
Commander William R. Brewster, Jr. was elected the third President of Georgia Military Academy.
1961 Robert W. Woodruff Hall (presently McKay Hall) was built on site of Old Gym.
Memorial Hall renovated and new facade added.
Korean Monument erected by Class of 1961.
First Kindergarten established.
Rugby Hall demolished on inside and rebuilt.
1962 One and one-half million dollar building program began.
Woodward Hall constructed.
Alumni Hall constructed.
Colquitt Stadium constructed.
1963 Rutland Hall Infirmary (site of Y.M.C.A. and present Campus Store) constructed.
1964 Brewster Hall (present academic building) built on the site of the original Founders Hall.
Flagpole erected by the Class of 1964.
Thirty-two female students admitted.
1965 Gymnasium named in honor of Colonel M.C. Paget.
First female students (Susan Brewster and Elizabeth Davis) graduated.
Colonel Brewster, President Emeritus, died.
The Kennedy Natatorium built.
1966 Georgia Military Academy renamed Woodward Academy.
Began phasing out of Military Program.
Distinguished Alumni Awards established with Robert W. Woodruff, Class of 1908 and Edwin Pauley, Class of 1919, as first recipients.
WATV closed-circuit television installed.
Main Street sign given by Class of 1967.
1967 First Woodward Academy graduating class.
The Richard C. Gresham Chapel dedicated on May 14.
Baseball field constructed.
1968 Herman Faculty Apartments constructed.
1969 Evans and Weltner Halls completed and first female boarding students enrolled.
NCR Century 100 computer and Data System installed.
The Sentinel (present Woodruff Hall) demolished.
The Joseph W. Jones Cafetorium completed.
The Gillis Planetarium built in Jones Hall.
The Junior School Building, Tucker Hall, renovated.
1971 Rugby Valley Apartments opened.
The Busey School in Riverdale, Georgia opened.
Robert W. Woodruff Hall completed.
Original Woodruff Hall housing the library was renamed McKay Hall.
1973 The Headmaster's home (between The Oaks and the Chapel) demolished.
The Middle School began in converted classrooms in the Rugby Annex.
Construction began on new gymnasium.
Woodward Hall renovated and air-conditioned.
Gymnatorium and principal's home completed at Busey.
Old Auditorium renovated into the Colquitt Student Center.
1974 Academy celebrated Seventy-fifth Anniversary with a four million dollar "Agenda for Tomorrow" capital fund campaign.
1975 Memorial Hall demolished.
1977 Middle School named in honor of R.L. Brand, Jr.
Rutland Infirmary became Rutland Pre-School.
McKay Hall renovated and tripledin size.
New student locker area constructed under McKay Hall addition.
1978 Rugby Hall demolished.
Richardson Fine Arts Center dedicated.
Michael C. Carlos Hall dedicated on November 3, 1978.
Improvements made in landscaping
1979 Captain William R. Brewster, Jr. retired as President of Woodward Academy.
Dr. Gary M. Jones became the fourth president of Georgia Military Academy/Woodward Academy.
1981 New school infirmary located in West Hall
Student Information Center moved to first floor, Brewster Hall.
1982 Student Computer Center constructed in basement of Woodward Hall.
New Gym Renovated.
Kennedy Pool Building Renovated.
1983 Middle School and dorms renovated.
North Hall of Woodward Dorm remodeled.
1984 McKay Hall additions: classrooms constructed in old locker area.
Science Building constructed at Busey School.
1986 Primary School constructed.
Campus Store moved to Rutland Hall.
1987 Thalia Carlos Science Hall constructed between McKay Hall and Rutland Hall.
1988 Three classrooms added to Brand Hall.
Busey Primary School constructed.
1989 Busey School Baseball Field constructed.
1990 Woodward North (the Academy's sixth school branch) began construction in North Atlanta.
A. Thomas Jackson elected as the Academy's fifth president.

 

Excerpt from “The Woodward Story”, by Robert Ballentine, published 1990 by Jostens Printing and Publishing; content used with permission of the copyright holder, Woodward Academy Inc., College Park, Georgia, USA.

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