Horace T. Lumpkin (1857-1930), a Virginia native and son of exslaves, is credited with introducing formal education to black children in Macon County. Educated at Knoxville College in Tennessee and Atlanta University, he founded Lumpkin Academy in 1886. In 1889, land was purchased at this site for the school, and the two-story wood-frame structure was constructed and operated with the financial support of ex-Oglethorpe resident Mrs. W.L. Peel. Students studied reading, writing, arithmetic, English, science, geography, history, mathmatics, and astronomy, and Professor Lumpkin often sought jobs around town in order to teach them agriculture, carpentry, and landscaping. Music and band were also available. When Rosenwald Schools for black children opened in Macon County in the early 1930’s, Lumpkin Academy, with its founder deceased and its aging building in disrepair, closed permanently.