Near this site in 1823, Reverend Aaron Williams established Unity Academy, the first public school in what would later become the town of Hickory Grove. Williams conducted the school on a grade and high school level, teaching mathematics, grammar, geography, languages, and sciences. Its earliest board of trustees consisted of Reverend Cyrus Johnston, Reverend Hugh Quinn, A. Thompson, Esq., Benjamin Morgan, John S. Moore, and David Byers.