Penfield, Georgia

Penfield, Georgia, in the United States was established shortly after 1829 in Greene County, Georgia, and named in honor of Josiah Penfield (c.1785 - 1828), a Savannah merchant and silversmith, who bequeathed $2,500.00 and a financial challenge to the Georgia Baptist Convention to match his gift for educational purposes. The Convention organized a manual labor school which opened in 1833 as Mercer Institute (renamed Mercer University in 1837), in honor of Rev. Jesse Mercer of Greene County, a major contributor to the matching gift request.

As the University grew, a Female Academy (1838), post office, bank, mercantile stores, print shops, Male Academy Preparatory School (1847), hosiery mill and cotton warehouses opened on the 450 areas that surrounded the campus. Residential housing, influenced by the requirement that homes provide housing for students, added to the charm of this typical southern community.

Before long, the Christian Index, Temperance Banner, Georgia Illustrated Magazine and The Orion were all being published in Penfield. Hard times brought on by the American Civil War, however, initiated the school’s move to Macon in 1871 and the village of Penfield survived on the strength of the cotton industry.