 Lipscomb-Lucy Cobb Institute collection
Collection DescriptionHistorical NoteThe Lucy Cobb Institute, a secondary school for young women in Athens, was founded in 1859 by Thomas R.R. Cobb, a prominent lawyer and proslavery writer. Between 1880 and 1928 Cobb's niece Mildred Lewis Rutherford, a Lucy Cobb graduate, taught at the school. Students, or "Lucies," in the collegiate track studied sciences (including chemistry and physics), higher mathematics (algebra, geometry, trigonometry), logic, rhetoric, languages, history, and literature. After 1918, once the University of Georgia (UGA) began accepting women students, graduates of Lucy Cobb's collegiate program could enroll. Indeed, the school aimed its curriculum to prepare graduates to attend the university. In her extensive 1916 report on women's education in the South, Elizabeth Avery Colton of the Southern Association of College Women listed Lucy Cobb as one of the very best schools for young women in Georgia. The school faced acute financial difficulties in the 1920s, mostly because of the agricultural depression that hurt the entire state. After Rutherford's death in 1928, the school struggled on for a few more years, finally closing in 1931. For more information, see Lucy Cobb Institute in the New Georgia Encyclopedia. Scope and ContentThe collection consists of material concerning the Alumnae Society of Lucy Cobb Institute, the dispensation of Lucy Cobb property, and lists of alumnae and activities. There are some financial records of the Board of Trustees and the Joint Stock Company of Lucy Cobb and the Select Female High School. Organization and ArrangementArranged in chronological order. Administrative InformationPreferred CitationLipscomb-Lucy Cobb Institute collection, ms736, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries. Related Materials and SubjectsSubject Terms | ||||||||||||||||||