16 October 1908: Note in a Bottle Found in Old College Wall

On this day in 1908, the Weekly Banner reported an interesting discovery from the renovation of Old College on the University of Georgia campus:

Old College was built in 1806, and spent most of its years housing students and suffering for such service. The first attempt to remedy the constant wear and tear came in 1824, when the foundation and large cracks in the interior walls were repaired, and "fixed two belts of iron bars to go round the house fastened and united together at the corners of the house by screws to keep the four walls in 'status quo.'" 

The building's use as a Wayside Home for injured soldiers during the Civil War did not improve the structure's soundness, and in 1888, underwent a major renovation that included tearing down the interior walls and adding indoor bathrooms for the dormitory.  A. O. Lyndon, who placed the note into the wall while working on the building, was an Atlanta plumber.

Learn More:

• Weekly Banner, Jan. 1906 - Dec. 1908 on Microfilm in the Heritage collection.
• The Old College Compendium on the Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript website.
• 1900 and 1910 U. S. Censuses in the Ancestry Library Edition database via GALILEO.
• Athens Historic Newspaper Archive collection in the Digital Library of Georgia.
• College Life in the Old South by E. Merton Coulter in the Heritage and general collections.
• An Historical Sketch of the University of Georgia by Augustus Longstreet Hull in the Heritage collection.
• The University of Georgia Under Sixteen Administrations, 1785-1955 by Robert Preston Brooks in the Heritage collection.
• The University of Georgia: A Bicentennial History, 1785-1985 by Thomas G. Dyer in the Heritage and general collections.
• A Walking Tour of the University of Georgia by F. N. Boney in the Heritage and general collections.
• Antebellum Athens by Ernest C. Hynds in the Heritage and general collection.
• Confederate Athens by Kenneth C. Coleman in the Heritage and general collections.
• Annals of Athens, 1801-1901 by Augustus Longstreet Hull in the Heritage collection.
• Story about the most recent Old College renovation in 2006.