University of Georgia Botanical Garden: 1833-1856

In 1833 Dr. Malthus Ward, Professor of Natural History, opened the University Botanical Garden at this location. Covering the block bounded by Broad, Pope, Reese, and Finley, the four-acre garden was intended as a laboratory for learning and experimentation as well as a location of natural beauty. The promotion of the sciences, both in the classroom and through projects like the botanical garden, reflected a growing trend in higher education away from a strictly classics-based curriculum. Although the garden gained a national reputation and became one of Athens' greatest attractions, loss of funding forced its closure in 1856. Funds from the sale of the garden property were used to erect the iron fence surrounding the campus and the Arch, a free-standing gate that has become the symbol of the University of Georgia.