Agnes Scott College circa 1960

Agnes Scott College was established in 1889 with a distinctive mission: to educate women for the betterment of their families and the elevation of their region. The college was named in honor Agnes Irvine Scott, a Scots-Irish immigrant who upheld a strong sense of integrity and intellectual curiosity. Her son Col. George Washington Scott was the college’s primary benefactor, and the Rev. Frank Henry Gaines, minister of Decatur Presbyterian Church, was the founding president.

Initially named the Decatur Female Seminary in 1889 and renamed the Agnes Scott Institute in 1890, the college was chartered as Agnes Scott College in 1906 and was the first institution of higher education in Georgia to receive regional accreditation.