Georgia School for the Deaf

Introduction

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The Georgia School for the Deaf has been serving the needs of deaf and hard-of hearing students since its founding in 1846. The school moved to a nearby farm outside of town but it operated at this location for several decades. The site consists of one non-historic building and three historic buildings, one of which, Fannin Hall, is now the Cave Spring City Hall (there was an additional building behind Fannin Hall but that appears to have been demolished). The complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Georgia School for the Deaf Historic District.

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Backstory and Context

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The origins of the Georgia School for the Deaf date back to 1833 when a deaf man named John Jacobus Flournoy lobbied Governor Wilson Lumpkin and the state legislature to establish a school for the deaf. At the time, students were sent to the American Asylum for Deaf and Dumb in Hartford, Connecticut. That facility was obviously far away and difficult to get to and traveling there was particularly unsuitable for children. Finally on May 15, 1846, the school opened in a log cabin and the first teacher was O.P. Fannin (for whom Fannin Hall is named). The school was not initially its own entity yet; it was a part of the Hearn Manual School which was also located in Cave Spring. The next year a brick school was built and the school was renamed the Georgia Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb.

When the school opened, it became tenth state-operated and supported school for deaf students in the country. Early courses included printing and shoemaking and the students offered these services to local residents. In 1858 the school changed its name to the Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, and then in 1892 it changed the name to its current one. Its growth contributed to the city's economic development. During the Civil War, the school closed and was used as a hospital to treat wounded soldiers.

Over time, the school building was expanded several times and was eventually named Fannin Hall. In the 1930s, it was remodeled, becoming what it appears today. The two buildings behind Fannin Hall were built in the early 1900s. The structure across Padlock Mountain Road, which was designed in the Romanesque Revival style, was built in 1894 and operated as an industrial arts facility. Information about the current use, if any, of these buildings is unknown.

Sources

"About Us." Georgia School for the Deaf. Accessed December 9, 2020. https://www.gsdweb.org/domain/1019.

"Georgia School for the Deaf." The Historical Marker Database. Accessed December 9, 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=47908&Result=1.

"Georgia School for the Deaf Historic District." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. June 19, 1980. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/f8c4db6e-6954-4699-8cf9-c1fe4abca6e5.

Additional Information