Austin Peay Normal School
An act of the General Assembly created Austin Peay Normal School – named after the Tennessee governor – as a two-year junior college and teacher-training institution in 1927. Twelve years later, the state Board of Education authorized the school to inaugurate a curriculum leading to the Bachelor of Science degree. The degree was first conferred during graduation for the Class of 1942.  Austin Peay State University’s plot of land has long been associated with education. Rural Academy first occupied the land from 1806 until 1810. From 1811 until 1824, the site served as home to Mount Pleasant Academy. Clarksville Academy called it home from 1825 until 1848. From 1849 until 1850, the land was home to Masonic College and then Montgomery County Masonic College until 1854. From 1855 until 1874, it was Stewart College. Southwestern Presbyterian College – which later relocated to Memphis and is now known as Rhodes College – occupied the site until 1925. |
