of the products amounted to more than $48,000,000. Thus the cotton industry, including cotton-seed products—oil and fertilizers—amounts to $100,000,000 annually. Other important manufactures are lumber-factories, printing-establishments, flour and grist-mills, woolen-mills, furniture-factories, foundries, carriage-factories, car-shops, manufactories of brick, tile and pottery. The state exceeds all others in the manufacture of cotton-gins.
Transportation and Commerce. Georgia has superior transportation-facilities The chief trade-centers are Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, Macon, Columbus and Brunswick. Atlanta is at the junction of the streams of commerce from the northeast, the north and west. Augusta, Macon and Columbus are all situated at the head of steam-boat navigation in the rivers on which they are located. Savannah and Brunswick are the chief seaports of the state. Railway construction dates from 1833 when the Central of Georgia was built from Savannah to Macon. There now are 6,467 miles of railroad connecting the important cities and towns, and the rates of transportation are regulated by law.
Education. The public-school system was established in 1870, and it provides for instruction in the elementary branches at public expense for children between six and 18 years of age. The white and colored children are taught in separate schools. There is a board of education consisting of five members—the governor, the secretary of state, the attorney-general, the comptroller-general and the state school-commissioner. The last is the executive officer of the board. There is in each county a board of education, consisting of five members, elected by the grand jury, and a county school-commissioner, who supervises the county-schools and is elected by the county-board. In the cities and larger towns and in some counties the schools are operated under local laws, which provide for local taxation for schools. The state's public-school fund is about $2,500,000 yearly, and in addition to this over $1,800,000 is raised by local taxation and other means. There are about 740,000 children in the state, two thirds of whom are enrolled in the public schools and are instructed by about 12,600 teachers. In recent years there have been quite an awakened interest in education and much improvement in school-houses and school-work. The towns and cities and many rural communities maintain high-schools, and there are many excellent private preparatory schools.
The state university, established in 1785, is located at Athens. On the campus are located the following schools: Franklin College, State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, State Law School and the College of Pharmacy. The following institutions also are branches of the university: The State Normal at Athens; the Georgia Normal and Industrial College at Milledgeville; the School of Technology at Atlanta; the North-Georgia Agricultural College at Dahlonega; the Georgia Medical College at Augusta; and the Georgia Normal and Industrial College for Colored Youths at Savannah; also, 11 district Agricultural High-Schools.
Emory College, located at Oxford was chartered in 1836, and is the property of the Methodist church. Mercer University, a Baptist college, is located at Macon, and was chartered in 1836. Wesleyan Female College, situated at Macon and belonging to the Methodist church, has the distinction of being the first female college in the world to confer degrees upon its graduates. Other important colleges are Shorter College at Rome; La Grange Female College at La Grange; Bessie Tift College at Forsyth; Southern Female College at College Park; Brenau College at Gainesville; Agnes Scott at Decatur; Lucy Cobb Institute at Athens. For colored students there are Atlanta University, Clark University, Atlanta Baptist College, Morris Brown College and Spellman Seminary, all in Atlanta.
History. Georgia, named in honor of George II of England, was founded by James Oglethorpe, an Englishman, who landed at Savannah in 1733. At that time the territory was occupied by the Cherokee Indians in the north and by the Creeks or Muscogees in the central and southern portions. With these tribes Oglethorpe established friendly relations. For 21 years Georgia existed under a colonial government. Georgia originally extended to the Mississippi, and until 1802 included the territory now embraced by Alabama and Mississippi. Under the laws of the colony the introduction of rum and slaves was forbidden, and slavery was not introduced until 1749. In 1754 Georgia became a royal province, continuing such until the Revolution. In that struggle for freedom Georgia took an active part. Her representatives signed the Declaration of Independence, and on her soil some of the most important battles were fought. After the Revolution Georgia's increase in wealth and population was rapid. In 1861 Georgia seceded from the Union. During the Civil War she furnished not less than 80,000 soldiers to the Confederate armies, and a large part of the gunpowder used by the southern troops was made in Augusta. During the war Georgia bore more than her share of misfortune. Great commercial depression was followed by actual deprivation. At the end of the war it was estimated that four fifths of the public wealth had been destroyed. In 1865 Georgia was placed under military rule, and its affairs were administered by a provisional government
