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Battle Ground Academy
Founded in 1889 as Mooney & Wall School by W. D. Mooney and S. D. Wall, it received its present name in 1902, when James A. Peoples and Ernest Rees became principals. They were succeeded in 1903 by R. G. Peoples and R. Hal Peoples; all were graduates of Webb School and followed the traditions of that famous institution. Suceeding principals have been Geo. I. Briggs, Glenn M. Eddington and J. S. Coverdale.
Tennessee Historical Commission
Marker reads the same on both sides.
Other Information:
Beginning with the early years of settlement in the late 18th century, the residents of Franklin and Williamson County exhibited a commitment to education. In 1889 this commitment, along with the desire to continue the tradition of independent education in Franklin, led to the founding of Battle Ground Academy by a group of local citizens. An impressive brick building was erected at the corner of Columbia Avenue and Cleburne Street, and the school was officially dedicated by U. S. Senator, former Governor, and ex-Confederate General, William B. Tate. The Board of Trustees hired S.V. Wall and W.D. Mooney to head the new academy. Wall left in 1894, but Mooney remained as headmaster until 1902.
The school operated as a day school even though students came from all over the South to attend. They boarded in private homes until the first dormitory was built in 1922, changing BGA to a boarding and day school.
In addition to the change in leadership, the year 1902 marked another major change - the school building burned and the school was relocated on a site on Columbia Avenue in Franklin where it remained until 2003.
The Board selected the Peoples brothers, Greer and Hal, to head the school at the Columbia Avenue location. Hal died in 1912 but Greer, who was better known as "Old Daddy" Peoples, remained as headmaster until 1925. During these early years it was common for a school to be called by the name of its headmaster and BGA was no exception. There are accounts of events at the "Wall and Mooney" school, the "Mooney" school, and the "Peoples" school. But the school's official name has always been, as stated in the original charter, Battle Ground Academy, the name coming from its location on the battle ground of the Civil War Battle of Franklin.
The reputation for sound scholarship was established during these early years and continues to the present. The classic curriculum in those early years of Greek, Latin, German, Logic, Philosophy, and Mathematics prepared hundreds of graduates who went on to institutions of higher learning and excelled in virtually every field. W.D. Mooney, himself a nationally known Greek and Latin scholar, attracted teachers of a similar bent and thus set the precedence for academic excellence which has endured for well over 100 years.
In 1925 a former BGA student, George I. Briggs, came to head the school. He guided the school through the Depression which claimed many less stalwart independent schools as its victims. Glen Eddington, a noted mathematician, served as headmaster from 1944 to 1950 and was succeeded by Jonas Coverdale. Under Coverdale's direction the school plant was improved and extended and the school placed on a sound financial footing. After his retirement in 1959, succeeding headmasters have been W. Paul Redick, J.B. Akin, John A. Bragg, and Ronald H. Griffeth, who had held the dual role of President and Headmaster. In 2002, the Board of Trustees voted to separate those two roles and Dr. Ronald H. Griffeth became President, then in 2003, Mr. Steve Hammond became Headmaster. Upon Dr. Griffeth’s retirement in June of 2004, a BGA alumnus, Dr. George B. Elder, Class of 1965, became the President, succeeding the very successful tenure of Dr. Griffeth.
Like most academies of the late nineteenth century, BGA was established to educate young men, but young women were "allowed to attend." The first young women enrolled in 1890 and formed a segment of the student body for forty years. After the construction of the first dormitory, the decision was made to go to an all male student body. The departure of the last women in 1929 ushered in a half-century when BGA was a boys' school in the absolute sense. In the early 1970's the boarding program was phased out, and the school was again open to women before the decade ended. Thirty-seven enrolled the first year (1979) and the numbers have grown steadily since. At present, young women account for approximately 45-50 percent of the student body.
In 1996, the location of the Battle Ground Academy Upper School changed to its present site on Ernest Rice Lane off Mack Hatcher Parkway. In 2003, the Middle School joined the Upper School in this same location in brand new state-of-the-art facilities. These new facilities afforded the excellence in education and programs to continue. Additionally, in 1998, Battle Ground Academy acquired the former Harpeth Academy and it became the BGA Lower School on Franklin Road. Currently, the school operates the two campuses and has the three divisions—Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School.
From:
Battle Ground Academy web site