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Mercer University

Bibb County · dedicated 1959 · At the intersection of Coleman Avenue and College Street, on the right when traveling east on Coleman Avenue in Macon.

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Founded in Pensfield, Georgia, January 14, 1833, as Mercer Institute, Mercer University, the "oldest child" of the Georgia Baptist Convention, has been the chief source of Baptist ministerial and lay leaders through the years. Among the many notable Baptists who established this institution, three stand out: Josiah Penfield, whose legacy launched the movement: Jesse Mercer, who nurtured and supported the project; Billington M. Sanders, who, with Cynthia Holiday Sanders (Old Miss), fostered it through the first seven years. Mercer was one of the few colleges in the South that remained open during the War Between the States and the only one for men in Georgia. It was moved to Macon in 1871.

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This marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program, administered by the Georgia Historical Society. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

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On the National Register nearby

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Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.