University of North Georgia

and Mechanical and was created with funds from the Morrill Act. William Pierce Price, a local congressman, persuaded officials at UGA to use part of the funds to establish a branch of the newly created college in Dahlonega, Price's birthplace and home. The college opened classes in 1873 with 177 students, 98 males, and 79 females, making it the first coeducational college in the state. Classes were originally held in the old U.S. Mint building that was shut down during the Civil War. After the college was awarded the power to grant degrees in 1876, the first graduating class received degrees in 1879. The first graduating class of four consisted of three men and one woman, making North Georgia the first public institution in the state to award a degree to a female.
The college had always had a military presence since land-grant schools were required to teach military tactics, but it was not until World War I that the military programs began to grow. The National Defense Act of 1916 that created the ROTC also helped …