← All Georgia markers

The Church of the Purification: Locust Grove Academy

The Church of the Purification: Locust Grove Academy is a Georgia historical marker in Taliaferro County, dedicated 1956.

On GA 47, north of Sharon Street in Sharon.

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

In 1790 several Catholic families of English descent from Maryland settled near Locust Grove. They established the first Roman Catholic Church in Georgia and erected a log church in 1792. A priest, Father John LeMoin, was sent to it from Baltimore. French families, fleeing the French Revolution and, later, several Irish families joined the colony. After 1860 a church was erected in Sharon, as the Locust Grove location had become too remote. Locust Grove Academy, the first chartered Roman Catholic Academy in Georgia, was formed about 1818. Many prominent Georgians have come from these early Catholic families.

Marker not in place due to damage or maintenance Note from the marker program.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1794 · Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1795 · State of South Carolina. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1816 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1816 · Georgia (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1824 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, 1794, covering the location of The Church of the Purification: Locust Grove Academy, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, 1794, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Commission. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

South Liberty Presbyterian Churchunder 1 mi
Grave of Brig Gen. Aaron W. Grier2 mi
Robert Grier, Astronomer2 mi
Ray's Place-Now Raytown2 mi