Chartered in 1831 as a women's academy, LaGrange College is the oldest private college in Georgia. It sits on "the Hill," the highest ground in LaGrange, 60 miles southwest of Atlanta. It is a small United Methodist liberal arts college, with about 800 students and an 11-to-1 student-faculty ratio. Every new student gets a travel voucher to study away, and in 2006 it fielded Georgia's first NCAA Division III football team.
About this site
LaGrange College is a college & university in LaGrange, Troup County. It is one of 2 colleges & universities documented in Troup County, among 152 historic sites cataloged across the county on Georgia Roam.
The site sits at 33.0362, -85.0448 near LaGrange. The nearest cataloged historic site is LaGrange College – 1831 (historical marker), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include LaGrange College – 1831, Dr. Ulrich Bonnell Phillips, and College Home/Smith Hall.
This record is drawn from Georgia Roam. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
What makes LaGrange College different
LaGrange is the oldest private college in Georgia. It was chartered in 1831 as LaGrange Female Academy. lagrange.edu
In 1860 the main College Building, with its classrooms, labs, library and auditorium, burned in a fire caused by a traveling musician. lagrange.edu
Its Panthers began playing football in 2006 as Georgia's first NCAA Division III football program. By 2008 the team had gone from 20 straight losses to a 9–1 conference title and a national playoff berth. en.wikipedia.org
During the 1996 Olympics, athletes lived and trained on campus, and the college hosted the U.S. Olympic race walk trials. lagrange.edu
Painter Lamar Dodd took art classes at the college, then LaGrange Female College, as a sixth-grader. The college's art center has carried his name since 1982. en.wikipedia.org
Since 2011 every new class of students has received a travel voucher to use for a study-away trip in their junior or senior year. lagrange.edu
Students in the aviation minor, which started in 2023, can begin flight training on a Piper aircraft as freshmen, working toward a commercial pilot certificate. en.wikipedia.org
LaGrange College was chartered in 1831 as LaGrange Female Academy, just a few years after the town was laid out. In 1847 it became LaGrange Female Institute and gained the right to award degrees. Two years later it moved up Broad Street to its present hilltop, which is still called the Hill. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, took ownership in 1856. The school survived two disasters on the same site: a fire started by a traveling musician destroyed the main College Building in 1860, and in 1970 fire destroyed the 119-year-old Dobbs Hall, the second disaster on that spot.
The school became LaGrange College in 1934, earned full regional accreditation in 1945 and admitted men as regular students in 1953. The Callaway family, whose textile fortune shaped LaGrange, was a steady benefactor. Its foundation paid for the Banks Library in 1963 and doubled the campus in 1992 with a gift of land and athletic facilities. In between, a 1969 building campaign added the Callaway Science Building and a theater. The Lamar Dodd Art Center opened in 1982, named for the LaGrange-raised painter who took art classes at the college as a boy.
During the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, athletes lived and trained on campus, and the college hosted the U.S. Olympic race walk trials. Football arrived in 2006. The Lewis Library opened in 2009, the Hudson Lab Sciences Building in 2017, and the college's first doctoral program, an Ed.D., in 2024. Susanna L. Baxter is president.
LaGrange is a small liberal arts college. Classes average 16 students, and the calendar includes a January term for travel and intensive study. Newer additions include manufacturing engineering technology, an aviation minor, and graduate programs in teaching, counseling, computer science and education leadership up to the doctorate. The undergraduate majors below are the ones listed on the college's website in September 2026.
Known for
Art & Design
Five concentrations taught in the Lamar Dodd Art Center, which is named for the Georgia painter who took art classes here as a boy.
Known for
Nursing (BSN)
A long-running program that began with a two-year nursing degree in 1973. It is housed in the renovated West Side building.
Known for
Biology and Biochemistry
Taught in the Hudson Lab Sciences Building, which opened in 2017 with more than 40,000 square feet of labs.
Known for
Manufacturing Engineering Technology
A bachelor's degree launched in fall 2025 for applied engineering jobs in the region's manufacturing economy.
Known for
Film and Media Arts
Grew out of the Digital Creative Media and Film major launched in 2016.
Known for
Education (through the Ed.D.)
Paths run from teacher certification through the MAT, M.Ed. and Ed.S., up to the college's first doctorate, an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, added in 2024.
All degree programs at LaGrange College (27)
Undergraduate majors
Accountancy
Art & Design (ceramics/sculpture, graphic design, painting/drawing, photography)
Biochemistry
Biology
Business (including marketing & entrepreneurship and sports management)
Terry Kay — novelist of "To Dance with the White Dog" (1959 graduate in social science) en.wikipedia.org
Dean Young — longtime writer of the syndicated comic strip "Blondie," which he took over from his father (1960) en.wikipedia.org
Blake Clark — actor and comedian known for "Home Improvement," "Boy Meets World" and as the voice of Slinky Dog in the Toy Story films (1969) en.wikipedia.org
Dwayne Shattuck — television producer of "Mad Men" and "Magic City" (1983) en.wikipedia.org
Elizabeth Carlock Harris — First Lady of Georgia, 1983–1991, as wife of Governor Joe Frank Harris (1961) en.wikipedia.org
Athletics: LaGrange Panthers
NCAA Division III · Collegiate Conference of the South (football is a USA South associate member)
A Brief Moment in LaGrange's History: Lamar Dodd · City of LaGrange, GA#17 Berry vs. LaGrange Highlights | D3 Football Playoffs 2025 · The D3 ZoneLaGrange College set to launch aviation program · WTVM News Leader 9Sarah Funderburk, Class of 1945 Alumnae | Oral History Project | LaGrange College · LaGrange College
LaGrange College. It was chartered in 1831 as LaGrange Female Academy and has operated in LaGrange ever since.
How big is LaGrange College?
Small: 813 students in Fall 2024 (NCES), 651 of them undergraduates, with an 11-to-1 student-faculty ratio and average classes of 16.
What division is LaGrange College?
NCAA Division III. The Panthers play in the Collegiate Conference of the South, and football competes in the USA South. In 2025 the football team went 7–0 in conference play and won an NCAA playoff game.
Is LaGrange College religious?
It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and has been Methodist-related since 1856. Students of all backgrounds attend.
When did LaGrange College become coed?
The trustees made it officially coeducational in 1953. It had dropped "Female" from its name in 1934.
Can you visit LaGrange College?
Yes. The college holds preview days and schedules personal visits through admissions. The hilltop campus is a short drive from downtown LaGrange.
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