Founded in 1870 at Culleoka by William R. ("Sawney") Webb, the school was joined by his brother John M. ("Old Jack") Webb in 1874 and moved here in 1886. Its curriculum, centered chiefly on Latin, Greek, and Mathematics, was designed to provide a sound preparatory education. Many of its early graduates later conducted schools of the same type, which were once prominent in the South's educational system.