MGA Cochran to host guided history tour through campus, archives later this month

Middle Georgia State University will hold a guided history tour through its Cochran campus later this month, say school officials. The tour will include a 45-minute walk through some of the campus’ most historic spots and the campus archives.

The tour, which is scheduled to take place on Oct. 26, will be guided by school Coordinator of Library Collections April Warren and Director of Campus and Community Engagement Randy Thompson.

According to Warren, she came up with the idea as a way to celebrate American Archives Month.

“We’re always excited about our archives, our Middle Georgia College archives,” she said. “We have a great collection, so many treasures in there.”

The tour will start at 7 p.m. at the second floor reference desk at Roberts Memorial Library. From there, the group will continue out of the library and through campus, visiting some of the college’s most historic locations like Ebenezer Hall. 

According to Warren, she’s currently working on a program that would allow tour-goers to scan a QR code and view old photos of a building as they pass.

The tour will end back at the library in the campus archives, where attendees can look through old documents and see surviving artifacts from the college’s over 100 year history.

Some of these artifacts include a taxidermied wolverine (previous mascot) and a clock that sat in Ebenezer Hall during the 1890s.

Besides the history of the college and its individual buildings, Warren says that during the tour, they will also talk about what college life would have looked like for students, male and female.

One major focus of the tour, says Warren, is the college’s rich aviation history. 

The school’s aviation program dates back to at least the 1930s, when the college trained U.S. Army Air Force pilots during World War II.

According to Thompson, the tour isn’t just about learning the history of the Cochran Campus.

“I think [the tour] is an excellent opportunity to engage the community with the university,” said Thompson. “I love when our citizens and local people come on campus. Anytime we can get them on campus and they can enjoy the rich history here and the activities we have here, I think it’s a win.”

The guided history tour through MGA Cochran is free, open to the public and will start Monday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. 

If the tour goes well, Warren says they’ll schedule more in the future.